Tips for the Canon 85mm L f/1.2
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Canon Bob
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Focus and recompose at wide apertures can end up being disappointing once you see the results enlarged on a monitor so best to use focus point selection.
The bokeh from this lens is second to none IMHO so make good use of it by trying to keep the camera to subject distance shorter than the subject to background distance.
Finally, and this may be a user issue (me), AIservo for static subjects gives far more focus misses than One Shot AF.
Bob
The bokeh from this lens is second to none IMHO so make good use of it by trying to keep the camera to subject distance shorter than the subject to background distance.
Finally, and this may be a user issue (me), AIservo for static subjects gives far more focus misses than One Shot AF.
Bob
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A dash of flash usually looks good in situations like that, but the whole point of the 85 1.2 is the very low f/number, so it's going to be a very delicate dash! Might be a nice combo if you get it right though 
To maintain f/1.2 as much as you can, enable ISO expansion so you can drop to ISO50. You'll probably need an ND filter as well in daylight.
To maintain f/1.2 as much as you can, enable ISO expansion so you can drop to ISO50. You'll probably need an ND filter as well in daylight.
Mk2 - on rental just for the weekend
so you think using the Speedlite's AF assist lamp would be helpful? But I'm not sure but can you set it just to use the lamp and not actually fire the flash?? so i'll have to tone the output down I guess
looking forward to playing with it though
hope it doesn't make me want to buy one...
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good idea on the ISO - thanks
I don't think any of my 77mm filters will fit that - so going commando in that respect.
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You should be able to turn the flash off so you get AF assist only.
... and remember that the AF assist lamp on a flash unit won't work if your camera is set to AF servo.
Personally I would use "one shot" with AF assist from a flash or ST-E2 and press the shutter down in one continuous motion, so when the camera has focused it will take the pic with minimum delay (otherwise your subject has a chance to move!).
Good luck, please post again and let us know how you get on with it.
Les McLean
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Agree generally with whats been said, although I would suggest keeping away from F1.2, I know the temptation is always there to shoot at this aperture (because you can), but unless you nail the focus (which will be difficult with a bunch of kids running around), the DOF is so narrow you will end up missing more than hitting.
I find f1.6/1.8/2.0 is a lot more comfortable range to shoot in these circumstances.
I find f1.6/1.8/2.0 is a lot more comfortable range to shoot in these circumstances.
I'd consider getting the 85/1.8 and saving a load of money and a load of grief.
Rental is already arranged
I thought what the hell
always wanted to play with that huge chunk of glass
LongLensPhotography
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That's nothing even close to 1DsII + 24+70 + UV filter + 580EX + tripod plate + strap - just to put it into the perspective...
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It's the UV filter that does it, take that off and you're sorted; light as a feather.
My short weekend with this lens is unfortunately over…
So a quick review was in order. Not that I'm a pro, far from it.
Physical.
It's a nice chunky lens to hold – there is a lot of glass in there and it shows, just holding it up to the light without any caps was a pleasure. There is virtually no protection on the body end of the lens where the glass is virtually flush so that’s something to watch out for. Also for some reason I had it in my head it was an 82mm filter thread but it turned out to be 72mm. Not that it mattered as I only had 77mm filters. The lens although technically not really heavy I found to be heavier as I was holding the whole camera by the grip more rather than under the lens/body. The lens however is nicely curved so you can grip it well from underneath. The other feature I loved was the snap-on/snap-off hood. Why can't all Canon L hood's be this simple! I hate the hood on my 70-200 with a passion. The focus ring is very smooth and light and very easy to micro adjust probably thanks to the epically long travel.
Focus
Yes this lens is slow to focus. The time it takes to go from the MFD 0.95m to Infinity is about 1.5sec. This will never be mistaken for a sports lens though with the 85mm focal length and 1.2 aperture it begs to be used for sports or indoor action. I did not particularly like the electronic manual 'focus-by-wire'. The body has to be ON for manual focus to work but in the end I stuck to AF.
Overall though once I understood how the focus worked I didn’t find it too difficult to adapt to the slow focus speed and found I was getting a good hit rate and compensating by overshooting. I even used the lens to grab some action shots of Eagles in flight using AI Servo with good results (albeit a bit of CA fringing)
Image Quality and how I did
Well you don’t really need me to tell you the image quality is superb – but I would like to say that even in the hands of a firm amateur like myself I got some really really great shots.
I hired the lens to use for my daughters 3rd Birthday party which was supposed to be a garden party but we got rained inside for half the day. We also took the kids out to Warwick Castle on the Friday and I packed ONLY the 85mm to take along.
What I had to understand with this lens is the extremely shallow DoF you get. Now you have to understand that my walk around lens is the 24-105L f/4 so I'm used to shooting at f4 or smaller apertures. I have a 70-200 f/2.8 IS too which is superb but not really my walkabout lens.
So going from an f/4 lens to a f/1.2 lens caused some major on the job re-training for me as I now had the choice of an extra 9 stops to deal with (1.2, 1.4, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3.2, 3.5). I'm sure I didn’t get it right most of the time and I shot at f/1.2 probably more than I should have but hey it was fun to play.
The trick was getting the shooting distance up so the DoF was more controllable – however for the best bokeh – and I really mean the BEST bokeh – its meant getting up close but I guess all you pros already know that.
Daylight shots were tricky and I had to dial down the exposure most of the time. Someone above suggested an ND filter and I believe that would have helped if I had one. What I didn't get to try was the 85mm along with my speedlight as the batteries died (major DOH! For a b'day party I know).
Anyway that’s enough rambling – bottom line is I agree with many that this is a Bokeh KING and a superb Canon portrait lens but I can't help thinking that this is very much a specialist lens. You need to treat it with care and above all skill to get the most out of it – and I wouldn't use this for general purpose as I did. Stick to great portraits, great bokeh and controlled circumstances and I think you'll never be disappointed.
Thank again to all the posters and comment – I appreciated your advice.
So a quick review was in order. Not that I'm a pro, far from it. Physical.
It's a nice chunky lens to hold – there is a lot of glass in there and it shows, just holding it up to the light without any caps was a pleasure. There is virtually no protection on the body end of the lens where the glass is virtually flush so that’s something to watch out for. Also for some reason I had it in my head it was an 82mm filter thread but it turned out to be 72mm. Not that it mattered as I only had 77mm filters. The lens although technically not really heavy I found to be heavier as I was holding the whole camera by the grip more rather than under the lens/body. The lens however is nicely curved so you can grip it well from underneath. The other feature I loved was the snap-on/snap-off hood. Why can't all Canon L hood's be this simple! I hate the hood on my 70-200 with a passion. The focus ring is very smooth and light and very easy to micro adjust probably thanks to the epically long travel.
Focus
Yes this lens is slow to focus. The time it takes to go from the MFD 0.95m to Infinity is about 1.5sec. This will never be mistaken for a sports lens though with the 85mm focal length and 1.2 aperture it begs to be used for sports or indoor action. I did not particularly like the electronic manual 'focus-by-wire'. The body has to be ON for manual focus to work but in the end I stuck to AF.
Overall though once I understood how the focus worked I didn’t find it too difficult to adapt to the slow focus speed and found I was getting a good hit rate and compensating by overshooting. I even used the lens to grab some action shots of Eagles in flight using AI Servo with good results (albeit a bit of CA fringing)
Image Quality and how I did
Well you don’t really need me to tell you the image quality is superb – but I would like to say that even in the hands of a firm amateur like myself I got some really really great shots.
I hired the lens to use for my daughters 3rd Birthday party which was supposed to be a garden party but we got rained inside for half the day. We also took the kids out to Warwick Castle on the Friday and I packed ONLY the 85mm to take along.
What I had to understand with this lens is the extremely shallow DoF you get. Now you have to understand that my walk around lens is the 24-105L f/4 so I'm used to shooting at f4 or smaller apertures. I have a 70-200 f/2.8 IS too which is superb but not really my walkabout lens.
So going from an f/4 lens to a f/1.2 lens caused some major on the job re-training for me as I now had the choice of an extra 9 stops to deal with (1.2, 1.4, 1.8, 2.0, 2.2, 2.5, 2.8, 3.2, 3.5). I'm sure I didn’t get it right most of the time and I shot at f/1.2 probably more than I should have but hey it was fun to play.
The trick was getting the shooting distance up so the DoF was more controllable – however for the best bokeh – and I really mean the BEST bokeh – its meant getting up close but I guess all you pros already know that.
Daylight shots were tricky and I had to dial down the exposure most of the time. Someone above suggested an ND filter and I believe that would have helped if I had one. What I didn't get to try was the 85mm along with my speedlight as the batteries died (major DOH! For a b'day party I know).
Anyway that’s enough rambling – bottom line is I agree with many that this is a Bokeh KING and a superb Canon portrait lens but I can't help thinking that this is very much a specialist lens. You need to treat it with care and above all skill to get the most out of it – and I wouldn't use this for general purpose as I did. Stick to great portraits, great bokeh and controlled circumstances and I think you'll never be disappointed.
Thank again to all the posters and comment – I appreciated your advice.
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Glad to hear that you enjoyed using it, Harpreet. It's a beautiful lens, isn't it? I think you're right that for everyday shooting it's probably not ideal, but in the right situation there's nothing to touch it.
One thing you didn't mention in your review - how many admiring/envious looks you got when people saw what was on the front of your camera!
One thing you didn't mention in your review - how many admiring/envious looks you got when people saw what was on the front of your camera!
lol - thanks for the rental
cant wait to hire more
and thats true you know - I'm always surprised by the growing number of SLR users you see out and about.
At Warwick Castle there were many of them - a few with some white lenses - but when you have £3.5k strapped around your neck you do get some sly looks...
cant wait to hire more
and thats true you know - I'm always surprised by the growing number of SLR users you see out and about.
At Warwick Castle there were many of them - a few with some white lenses - but when you have £3.5k strapped around your neck you do get some sly looks...
cuthbert
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Thanks for the write up, HSC - really interesting reading.
It love to see some shots taken with the lens, along with crops - I have the Sigma 85 which I use as a general lens and i'd be fascinated to see how it compares in a similar situation that I use mine!
It love to see some shots taken with the lens, along with crops - I have the Sigma 85 which I use as a general lens and i'd be fascinated to see how it compares in a similar situation that I use mine!
this was my favorite shot - sorry I just cant get it to embed
totally impromptu, not staged
she was sitting in a room at the castle and I grabbed the shot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hchohan/6014277318/in/set-72157627243702149
totally impromptu, not staged
she was sitting in a room at the castle and I grabbed the shot
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hchohan/6014277318/in/set-72157627243702149