Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L MKII USM

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Noah_

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Ashly
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Does anyone have this lens?
I think it's the lens I want to go for next, but I was wondering if anyone on here
owns one that could tell me a little more about it ~ What's it like to use?

#Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L MKII USM
 
Big. Heavy. Slow to focus. Expensive. Utterly wonderful.

If you want f/1.2 it delivers, if f/1.8 is enough then there is really no sensible reason to get one as the non-L is very very good for the price and focuses faster.

I saw that you're looking to get your first L lens... Might I suggest the 70-200/2.8L IS II... It's a zoom yes but sublime.

Depends on what you want to shoot of course.
 
vaizki said:
Depends on what you want to shoot of course.
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I shoot mostly portraits.
I love shallow depth of field tho & have seen some of the work this lens produces ~ amazing.

Just wanted to hear what others have thought about using it, thank you for the advice, altho I usually manually focus.
 
vaizki said:
Big. Heavy. Slow to focus. Expensive. Utterly wonderful.

If you want f/1.2 it delivers, if f/1.8 is enough then there is really no sensible reason to get one as the non-L is very very good for the price and focuses faster.
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Flats said:
It's wonderful. But actually quite difficult to use.
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I have the mkI and agree with the above... the wafer thin DOF can be hard to work. I find it is fine when shooting adults but for kids the hit rate is very low (they just won't stay still)!
 
Flats said:
It's wonderful. But actually quite difficult to use.
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Mind explaining?
I might hire the lens for a day from Fixation & try it out on a test shoot.
For the price tag on this lens it's worth getting others' experiences with it!


postcardcv said:
I find it is fine when shooting adults but for kids the hit rate is very low (they just won't stay still)!
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I can imagine that the DOF can be hard to work with & luckily enough I rarely work with kids! hahaha.
 
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I love it's size, it's weight and don't even mind it's AF speed.

Utterly brilliant piece of engineering, hands down one of the best mass production "affordable" lens anyone has ever made.

I've even shot kids with it. DOF is not a problem if you technique is right, try not to focus and recompose.

I can show you some samples when I get home.
 
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It's a great lens and that bokeh is just to die for Ashly. Downside is the slow focusing but that won't affect you. It is heavy but worth the effort if you shoot portraits. IMHO you can tell the difference in the bokeh. If you shoot kids ( pardon the expression ), the 50L may be a better option. Hiring one for a trial is an excellent idea :)
 
Focussing accurately is really really difficult. I never work in a studio setup, or with the camera on a tripod, so any movement from me (ie slight swaying back or fwd) or the subject kills the photo. It's not as slow as you would believe from reviews, but compared to a normal USM L lens there is no comparison. It is also all electronic, you can only focus manually if the camera is switched on. This gets me every time, as when you're done with the lens and go to put it away, you notice the front element is not fully retracted. To do so you have to mount it on a body, then MF it back in....you get the picture. I know nothing about the mechanics of lens design, but I am sure that in many ways it is a marvel of engineering, but in many other ways it sucks.
 
Flats said:
Focussing accurately is really really difficult. I never work in a studio setup, or with the camera on a tripod, so any movement from me (ie slight swaying back or fwd) or the subject kills the photo. It's not as slow as you would believe from reviews, but compared to a normal USM L lens there is no comparison. It is also all electronic, you can only focus manually if the camera is switched on. This gets me every time, as when you're done with the lens and go to put it away, you notice the front element is not fully retracted. To do so you have to mount it on a body, then MF it back in....you get the picture. I know nothing about the mechanics of lens design, but I am sure that in many ways it is a marvel of engineering, but in many other ways it sucks.
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Yes, I found out the hard way re the MF the front element back only work if it's on the body. The "problem" with this lens is the focus element I'd the front element of the lens rather than the rear like the 35/135L and that is a big piece of glass to move. It's fine focusing to something near it but to move it from one extreme to another will take a bit longer than most other USM lenses.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Yes, I found out the hard way re the MF the front element back only work if it's on the body. The "problem" with this lens is the focus element I'd the front element of the lens rather than the rear like the 35/135L and that is a big piece of glass to move. It's fine focusing to something near it but to move it from one extreme to another will take a bit longer than most other USM lenses.
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Actually Raymond, I am rather grateful to both Jonathan and you for your experience with this lens since it had been vying for pole position on my radar so all in all I think the 50L would work best for me.


BTW Ashly, do please let us know when you've had a chance to evaluate the 85L. Should make for interesting reading ;)
 
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You should look at the 85mm f/1.8 too. The 85L is as mentioned big, heavy, slow, expensive and can be a purple fringe fest at times. What other kit do you have?
 
Raymond Lin said:
I love it's size, it's weight and don't even mind it's AF speed.
Utterly brilliant piece of engineering, hands down one of the best mass production "affordable" lens anyone has ever made.
I've even shot kids with it. DOF is not a problem if you technique is right, try not to focus and recompose.
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Houston1863 said:
It's a great lens and that bokeh is just to die for Ashly. Downside is the slow focusing but that won't affect you. It is heavy but worth the effort if you shoot portraits. IMHO you can tell the difference in the bokeh. If you shoot kids (pardon the expression), the 50L may be a better option. Hiring one for a trial is an excellent idea :)
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Yeah I'll definitely have to look at hiring one. I think it's £33 for a day which is definitely a decent price! I
tend to shoot children rather rarely, I don't think movement will be too much of an issue for me. I'll use my
neckstrap for the weight but I doubt that'll effect my decision if the quality is as Raymond Lin described!

Flats said:
I know nothing about the mechanics of lens design, but I am sure that in many ways it is a marvel of engineering, but in many other ways it sucks.
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Thank you for your honest answer about the focusing problems. It's making me more sure that I want to
hire it out for a shoot or two.

Houston1863 said:
Ashly, do please let us know when you've had a chance to evaluate the 85L. Should make for interesting reading ;)
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I definitely will! Hopefully I'll pick a day in a few weeks time when Spring begins to arrive & the light is
much better to experiment in.

Laudrup said:
You should look at the 85mm f/1.8 too. The 85L is as mentioned big, heavy, slow, expensive and can be a purple fringe fest at times. What other kit do you have?
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I only have the 50mm f/1.8 at the moment, a decent value lens in itself but nothing for the 5D MKII body I'm
working with. I need something much better quality. I was considering the f/1.2 because I want the narrower
field for when I'm doing more experimental work in my own time.


Thank you all for the feedback, it's amazingly helpful.
 
I have the 35/1.4, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 85/1.2, 135/2.0, 24-70L, 16-35 and 2 x 5Dii.

I put a prime on each 5D when i work, they are the 35L and 85L. My 2 favourite lens and for different reasons.

The 85L can make a subject pop like nothing else.

Where do I begin?

Portraits.

The typical should/head shot. I haven't checked 100% but I am pretty sure I shot most of these at 1.2 (It's why I bought it!)





Half body shots





You have the full body shot, now things REALLY pop. A lot of people however find resulting photos at this aperture and this focal length with its distance odd, mainly because they haven't seen photos like this since they don't have lens like this!



 
However, what you can really do with this aspect of the lens is the best part.

Isolate and separation of your subject from its surroundings.





Action shots, yes, I can even shoot kids with it!





 
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Fast moving feet, tap dancing.



Miscellaneous





Why would anyone sell this lens? ! Heavy? Go to the gym ! lol
 
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Also, have you notice that most of the shots the main focus point is off centre? I rarely use the centre one and I have the infamous 5Dii "ancient" AF system.
 
@Raymond Lin
Thank you, those photographs certainly speak for themselves! Beautiful work. Beautiful lens!
 
Houston1863 said:
Best way as you've decided would be to find out for yourself Ashly.
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Of course, I've already mentioned my desire to hire one for the day, just
thought I'd ask what other people have experienced when using this lens!
 
I would spend the money on a 135/2L and a 85/1.8 .. wait.. that's what I did :)

One thing I forgot to mention.. the 85L and 135/2L have a minimum focusing distance around 1 meter but the 135/2L naturally gets you "closer" with bigger maximum magnification. On the 85L at MFD a subject of 41x27cm fills the sensor, on the 135/2L it's 24x16cm. I just hate it when I have to step back and frame more loosely than I intended to (yea I know you have lots to crop from on the 5D2).

As a comparison, average human head is maybe 24-27cm tall. So with the 85L, you can't really get a tightly framed headshot in camera. Minor niggle but may be frustrating for some like me. I also hated the MFD on my Sigma 30/1.4 ..

And yes I'd love to own a 85/1.2L even with these quirks mentioned :)
 
Laudrup said:
You should look at the 85mm f/1.8 too. The 85L is as mentioned big, heavy, slow, expensive and can be a purple fringe fest at times.....
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Ashly's yearning for this f/1.2 is the shallow DoF it is capable of so "purple fringing" (CA) isn't likely to be a big problem.....in fact it's better than the f/1.8 in this respect until stopped down to f/2.8 or more. Certainly some caution is called for at f/4-f/8 although it appears to have been improved over the MkI version.

CA is a case of "no gain without pain" where fast primes are concerned.

Bob
 
Ashley,

The EOS 85mm is an excellent lens! Have you ever heard of Samyang? They have a 85mm (manual focus) lens, f/1.4 costing £219 new (Canon fit), a huge saving over the Canon version.

Look up 'UK Digital' who sell/stock Samyang.

I've been using both Samyang's 14mm f/2.8 and their 35mm f/1.4 glass on my EOS 5D Mk1 with top-notch results!
 
@macvisual
Thank you for the suggestion but it's the glass in the 85L that appeals to me as much as the narrow DOF. It's L
series, creating beautifully detailed photographs. My current lens is okay, but the photographs appear slightly grainy
& lack any real quality which is such a shame when I'm working with a full frame camera! It feels like the potential
just goes to waste.
 
Ashly, i notice on your page that one of your favourite photographer is Lara Jade?

Not trying to pursued you to buy the lens but her favourite lens is the 85L. almost every photo of her on shoot is using that lens, although she holds her camera weirdly (grip on the bottom).

:p

 
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IamAshlyRose said:
@macvisual
Thank you for the suggestion but it's the glass in the 85L that appeals to me as much as the narrow DOF. It's L
series, creating beautifully detailed photographs. My current lens is okay, but the photographs appear slightly grainy
& lack any real quality which is such a shame when I'm working with a full frame camera! It feels like the potential
just goes to waste.
Click to expand...

You could always look at the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 or the Canon 135mm f/2 or if you like manual lenses the Zeiss 50mm f/2 is lovely. The 85L is nice, but for a high price. For me narrow DoF is done to death so often it becomes passé. Invest in good glass though as your camera deserves it.
 
Canon Bob said:
Ashly's yearning for this f/1.2 is the shallow DoF it is capable of so "purple fringing" (CA) isn't likely to be a big problem.....in fact it's better than the f/1.8 in this respect until stopped down to f/2.8 or more. Certainly some caution is called for at f/4-f/8 although it appears to have been improved over the MkI version.

CA is a case of "no gain without pain" where fast primes are concerned.

Bob
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The digital picture review:

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM Lens shows more CA (Chromatic Aberration) than the older 85 L. And my 85 f/1.8 shows less CA than either version of the 85 L lens.
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You're right though it isn't a big problem and can be dealt with in PP. Just worth mentioning when people crave these fast lenses.
 
I picked up a second hand mk II recently. I'm going to have to take it in to get it checked when I get chance. It seems to be back-focusing a fair bit, and obviously any error in focusing is that much more obvious at f/1.2.

Micro adjust on my 1D seems to get it into shape, but I can't use it on my 5D at the moment due to the lack of micro adjust. (Which is the camera I'd rather have it on).
 
Laudrup said:
The digital picture review:
The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II USM Lens shows more CA (Chromatic Aberration) than the older 85 L. And my 85 f/1.8 shows less CA than either version of the 85 L lens.

You're right though it isn't a big problem and can be dealt with in PP. Just worth mentioning when people crave these fast lenses.
Click to expand...
Which is probably true as a generalisation but I was being specific about wider apertures (up to around f/2.8) where the faster lens has less CA.

Whatever, they're both optically good and each has its place.

Bob
 
I've had an 85/1.2II on a 5DII for a while now. Every month I think about selling it because of the problems with it - cost, colour fringing, and occasional disappointment with shots after a shoot - but so far it has stayed with me. I do a quick tally of what lenses I had used in the shots I stick in my favourites folder/wall/webpages. The 85/1.2 is overrepresented in this sample because it can take those special shots, and so I keep it.

But if I had to start with an empty kit bag I don't think I would buy it. I'd get a 100/2.8 L macro and a 50/1.4 or maybe a 1.2.

The 100mm macro is lovely. Not as fast obviously but really sharp, reliable focus, lovely contrast and colours and two big advantages for me over the 1.2 - image stabilisation that works very well and a short minimum focus distance. Sure you can open up the 85/1.2 if it is dark but very thin depth of field isn't always what you want in a shot. One pro I spoke to said many clients find the very thin depth of field effect odd-looking and assume it is a photoshop effect, rather than a function of the lens. And the temptation to shoot wide open is so great it is easy to get a bunch of shots with just one eye in focus - OK every now and then, but most people prefer to have both eyes sharp.

I too often find I am tight on the 85mm minimum focus distance as I love to crop in very close on portraits (or go for details).

I'd get the 50mm focal length to give me some variation in shots. The 1.4 version is very reasonable but the bokeh goes crazy sometimes. I'd think the 1.2 would do a better job.
 
Raymond Lin said:
Ashly, I notice on your page that one of your favourite photographer is Lara Jade?
Not trying to persuade you to buy the lens but her favourite lens is the 85L.
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Yeah she does have it :} It produces beautiful work.
She's one of a couple of inspirational photographers that use that lens.
 
IamAshlyRose said:
Yeah she does have it :} It produces beautiful work.
She's one of a couple of inspirational photographers that use that lens.
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Me too, love her work, even bought a couple of prints from her.

I saw on your Flickr that your work is really good. No doubt your talent will be enhance with better gear such as the 1.2 but if you are worried about the initial outlay then try the 85/1.8 first and if you do like that focal length, sell it and upgrade to the 1.2. You won't lose much money on it and will cost you as much as renting the 1.2.
 
ianmarsh said:
I've had an 85/1.2II on a 5DII for a while now. Every month I think about selling it because of the problems with it - cost, colour fringing, and occasional disappointment with shots after a shoot - but so far it has stayed with me.
And the temptation to shoot wide open is so great it is easy to get a bunch of shots with just one eye in focus - OK every now and then, but most people prefer to have both eyes sharp.
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If you don't mind me asking, disappointment after shoots in what way?
I've considered the 50mm but I'm currently working with a standard 50mm & I think I want something just a little
more telephoto. The full frame obviously doesn't crop & makes the 50mm wider than it appears on non-full frame
bodies. I understand that the temptation to shoot wide open can leave only one eye in focus but I'm not a 'professional'
photographer & I don't usually have clients. I just want the opportunity to take the DOF thinner when doing more experimental
work ~ not necessarily just in portraits. There are other lenses I'm considering on my wishlist. I don't wish to limit myself, it
was just this lens that I was curious about in this thread as many have so many different experiences with it.
 
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