Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras
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List Price: $3,000.00
Our Price:
$1,749.95
You Save: $1250.05
Features
• f1.2 maximum aperture
• Ring-type UltraSonic motor (USM)
• EF mount; medium telephoto lens
• High-speed AF and circular aperture create shallow depth-of-field
• 111mm focal length for APS-H sensors, 136mm for APS-C sensors |
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Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras Customer Reviews
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♥♥♥♥♥
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The ultimate portrait lens
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Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens Review
The ultimate portrait lens
Pros:
Super Bokeh
Great lens hood
Super low light event lens
Sharp wide open, RAZOR blade sharp at F/1.6!!
Shoot outside at night with no tripod at 3200 ISO!
Amazing looking photos that say professional all over them.
Along with my Canon 135 F2 lens the finest portrait lens in the world!
Cons:
Price
Heavy! 1,025 Grams
Exposed rear element
Removal procedure (1 manual focus, 2 focus to infinity, 3 camera Off)
Install procedure (carefully line up without seeing red dot and protect rear element)
Some CA (Chromatic Aberration) wide open totally gone when stopped down to 1.8 not an issue with most portrait photos
Keeper tips:
Use a monopod or tripod
Set the aperture to F/1.6
Have your model's eyes parallel to your camera
Have your model remain as still as possible
Select an autofocus point on one of their eyes
Take the shot with one smooth clicking motion of the shutter button focusing and taking the exposure all with one smooth motion making sure that the autofocus point never leaves their eye. NOTE: (Never press the shutter button part way and delay taking the shot with this lens) If you push the button partway and then recompose or change the aperture before releasing the shutter you will not be focused perfectly. Take several photos, then take some more (sometimes it just mis-focuses and sometimes your model will move on you.)
If you want more Bokeh experiment with setting the aperture to F1.4 or F1.2 just be aware you might not have as many keepers.
Background:
I do a lot of portraits from weddings to just plain candid's at festivals etc. I also shoot church plays where lighting is dim at best and wanted a lens that wasn't as long as my great Canon 135mm F2 L lens and a little faster to stop motion and with great Bokeh. I found the 135 to be too long indoors on my Canon 40D and the Canon 17-55 EF-S F/2.8 produces great sharp shots but has too little Bokeh.
Well, I found just the lens the Canon EF 85mm F1/.2 L II lens! From the first time I tried it in the camera store with an employee holding out their hand 6 inches from their face and the hand was in perfect focus and their face totally blurred I fell in love.
Lens Hood:
When I got my lens and was assembling it I couldn't help but marvel at the lens hood. How can something so simple be so great? For starters you don't have to have it aligned you can put it on straight from any clock angle unlike all other hoods I've had that only go on one way. Most hoods I've had have to be turned 45 degrees to lock. The 85mm F/1.2 hood simply clicks right in place. Want to remove it? Just click on the two release dog ears and pull it off. It even spins in place.
Heavy:
This lens is heavy (1.025 G) which is one third more then my 135mm but it balances well on my Canon 40D. It reminds me of the weight of having my Canon 70-200 F/2.8 lens mounted just much shorter. You will not be mistaking it for your Canon 50mm F/1.4 or F/1.8 lens. I have a weak back so usually when I shoot portraits I have a monopod anyway but my first night of shooting and my back was aching.
CA:
There is some CA (Chromatic Aberration) wide open but it's totally gone when stopped down to 1.8 and mostly gone at 1.4. And to be fair this is mainly around strong contrasting shiny areas such as the sides of a chrome photo frame next to a black tuxedo so in normal portraits you may not notice it. A lot of photos I took at 1.2 I never noticed it.
Focus Feel:
One of the things that seemed a little weird at first but you get used to is the way the lens focuses. You can feel the center of gravity actually changing as the heavy lens elements move in and out. Also the removal procedure is a little involved because of the lens design. So that the lens element is retracted I always turn off auto focus, manually zoom to infinity, then turn off the camera. Note: You can't manually focus the lens once the camera power is Off. Guarantee you that you will turn Off the camera at least once and find your self trying to zoom to infinity to stow your lens and have to remember to turn the camera back on.
Is it worth all the hassle? You bet!!! The only other lens I have owned that produces Bokeh like this is my Canon 135mm F/2. I use them together as a team the 85mm for indoor and super lowlight events and up close shots and the 135mm for mostly outdoor and candid shots.
Keepers explained:
My first few shots brought back memories of everything other people said in their reviews about making sure you have perfect focus and don't focus and recompose or focus and change your F-stop. If you do you will not get the shot. Another thing I quickly learned is shooting from a mono-pod or tripod. And instead of focus lock and recompose like I do on all my other lens including my 135mm F2 I use my Canon 40D's autofocus point selection. I compose the shot with one of the focus points over one of the person's eyes and simply press the shutter and take the shot. This one little tip has given me many more keepers. For some reason if you click down on the shutter button partway and don't take continue pressing to take the shot it's not the same as just shooting.
Canon 85mm F/1.2 L vs Canon 135 F/2 L
I love my Canon 135mm F/2 L a lot and I am keeping it. Its light in weight compared to the 85mm F/1.2 L and it focuses very fast and balances well on a monopod and is easy to get great results with. However the Canon 85mm allows me to take photos inside and in tight quarters even if the focus is a little slow. My 135mm is mainly an outside lens or a lens I use when down in the crowd and shooting towards a stage or church platform. The 85 also allows me that almost a stop faster which allows me to get the shot when I am already at ISO 3200 and still not stopping the action with the 135. They are both keepers. Bottom line is if you just want to take great photos without working very hard for it and have the room to backup buy the 135mm F/2. If you are a photographer who loves a challenge and want to push yourself to the limit to get the absolute best Bokeh and don't mind the cost and weight get the 85mm F/1.2.
Conclusion:
If you are even reading this far then you know you want it. Go to your local camera store and put this lens on your camera and fire off a few shots or even better go rent the lens for the weekend. Take the photos home look at them on your home comput
Other lens owned:
Canon EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS Ultra sharp, great colors, poor zoom action
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Rebel XTi Kit lens Muddy, slow, pile of junk
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L Fantastic colors, pretty sharp, buttery smooth zoom, light weight
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Good budget portrait lens, light weight, disposable
Canon EF 85mm F/1.2 L II The best portrait lens I own, heavy and expensive it shares sharpness with 135mm
Canon EF 135mm F/2.0 L A great portrait lens and tied with Canon 85mm F 1/.2 for sharpest lens I own
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L fantastic colors and sharp for a zoom, very versatile ego boosting and attention getting
Filter Update 3/28/2008
After much searching I found the perfect filter. The Hoya Multi Coat HMC Pro1 Protection filter is not supposed to filter the shot just protect the front lens element. I was very worried that it would affect the shot after having tried some other premium filters like the B+W UV which caused the photos to be softer and duller. However, after some tests I found that in some weird way the Hoya Multi Coat HMC Pro1 actually makes the photos seem to have just a little more contrast and be a little sharper then without. I thought I had gotten the test shots backwards and had to retest with a little sign in the photo saying with and without filter in place just to make sure. Really amazing!!! I'm sold! er. You will not only be amazed but you will order this lens! I did! |
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Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras digital cameras, camcorders for sale