Key Features
- EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
- Aperture Range: f/1.2 to f/16
- One Aspherical Element
- Super Spectra Coating
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Top customer reviews
- Great glass, but poor focus ringThis is a great piece of glass, but shooting at f1.2 results in such shallow depth-of-field that manual focus is essential. This is where the lens has a terrible fault. The focus ring is not really manual, it requires the camera to be turned on to power the focusing ring. The electronics translate manual focus into actual focus. The feel is very awkward, the ring feels too loose, and focus is not as precise. Also, to protect the lens from being stored in an extended position, it requires that you consciuosly refocus the lens to retract it before turning the camera off or changing lenses.
- Super lensI have wanted an 85mm 1.2 since my first days of serious photography, back in the 70s and the old SSC (Super Spectra Coat) lenses. All my years of waiting ended about 6 months ago, and I couldn't be happier with this lens. As other reviewers have mentioned, this lens is meant to be shot wide open, and it does a great job. You can keep the ASA really low and still maintain reasonable shutter speeds (but be sure to enlarge the image in the camera if you're working on the edge to be sure there's no camera shake.) It gathers light better than the human eye; on several occasions I have taken some shots in poor lighting, observed that the lens seemed to provide its own fill, and asked others if they saw the same thing I saw. They did. I have had success in lightening dark areas (if needed) by overexposing by about a stop - I don't do much photoshop or raw file manipulating. It provides great warmth (perhaps its greatest asset) which is generally lost even with well balanced flash. I took some portraits of my wife for publication and the editor inquired about what equipment was used because of the beautiful bokeh. I loved my 85 1.8 but they are two very different lenses. Yes, it's heavy and costly, and as noted it mounts a little funny, but I'm sorry I waited so long to enjoy this.
- PERFECTNow more than one year later, this is portrait lens of record for 15,000 images. The glass is heavy and the autofocus has to struggle a bit with all the mass to move, but when the beep goes off you are razor thin focused at full open aperature. I leave my flash in my bags and just love to grab portraits in deep shadows for the most dramatic lighting effects available. If it weren't for the required f5.6 tripod group shots at the weddings I'd only use this one wide open for nearly everything. People think I am a decent photographer, it is really THIS lens. Thanks Canon, a fan for life
- Like looking down a wellThis lens is like looking down a well from the outside of the lens in. at 1.2 , you better have what you want in focus, because DOF is shallow, as it should be. the lens is amazingly sharp. for portraits of any kind, candid or posed, you're not going to find any better. this is the lens to compare ALL other 85s to. People often compare much cheaper portrait lens's and the others may be all most as good as, but this is the one you want when you want The Best .
- One of my Best L lensesI've just finished making a few portrait shots with this lens and I must say, I am amazed by the image quality. The images have a great contrast, sharpness, and beautiful clarity; even at aperture wide open. The background blur (bokeh) is ASTONISHING--it just melts like cream.
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