Yes, it's worth it. You'll realize it as soon as you remove the lens from the bag - it's heavy, it's "meaty" (very wide), and clearly a lot of glass went into the lens. I wish Bryan had a picture of the back of the lens - one element is RIGHT at the lens mount.


You could put another 85mm lens (zoom or prime) on your camera, choose an aperture (let's say f/4), snap a picture, change to the 85L, choose the same aperture, take a picture, and immediately see the difference in the colors, the contrast, the clarity. You'll find ways to use it for other shots, just because of that POP. I tried it one night at SeaWorld for the night Shamu show, and it was amazing - even with +1 exposure compensation to bring detail to black whales, I was happy at ISO 640 with shutter speeds of 1/400th. See http://photos.templin.org/gallery/sa...804d5/426C1348 for samples (choose the Shamu Rocks gallery to see more from that show, Sea World San Diego gallery for more from Sea World, etc.).


I've had great luck and fun with a 16-35 on my 1D3 and the 85L on her 40D - see http://photos.templin.org/gallery/nanog45d for examples from a night concert.


(But I'm biased...)