Canon EF-85mm f/1.2L II

[Richard Lane]

I just purchased a new Canon EF-85mm f/1.2L II.


For those of you unfamiliar with this lens, it's a wide aperture, low light, portrait lens without IS that has a wonderfully thin DOF and beautiful bokeh, due to its wide aperture.


I thought I would also be able to use this lens as an Indoor Sports Lens for Basketball and Volleyball, but I don't think that will be the case due to it's slow Autofocus and slow Manual Electronic Focus. Perhaps it would work if you pre-focus to a particular area and then fire away. I was aware of this before I bought it, however I didn't realize that it would be this slow. I'm also thinking of buying an EF-135mm f/2L for the up and coming indoor sports season.


I took a few test shots and the color and contrast seems great. Outside you have to stop down a bit in order to avoid chromatic aberration in bright sunlight.


Anyone have any pointers regarding this lens in general, or especially in bright light outdoors in order to avoid chromatic aberration. I realize that if I stop down it improves, but if you want to get that beautiful bokeh and thin DOF, it seems to be counter productive. I also put a B&W MRC UV filter on it. I did buy it as an indoor lens, but I was just curious what everyone else was doing.


Thanks,


Rich

[Sean Setters]

I just purchased a new Canon EF-85mm f/2.8L II.

I think you either mean the EF 85mm f/1.2L II or the EF 85mm f/1.8. Probably the former, though...

[Richard Lane]

Yes, you're right it's the EF-85mm f/1.2L II


I corrected the title.


Thanks Sean!


Rich

[Sean Setters]

No problem. I actually checked to see if it was a discontinued lens that I had never heard of!

[neuroanatomist]

I thought I would also be able to use this lens as an Indoor Sports Lens for Basketball and Volleyball, but I don't think that will be the case due to it's slow Autofocus and slow Manual Electronic Focus.

Well, it's not fast, certainly. In good light, the AF on the lens is not bad, especially for relatively short distances and tracking. I know it's far from a BIF lens, but my first day outdoors testing it, I caught this grackle flying by (full image left, 100% crop on right):





Clearly, 85mm is not the optimal focal length, but the AF did pretty well. Of course, that was in bright light, and I had a while to track him as he flew.


The relatively slow AF is the one reason I still have my 85mm f/1.8. Still, I plan on selling that in the near future - mostly because while I think 85mm on a 1.6x is a good length for indoor action shots, by the time my daughter is doing dance recitals I'm pretty sure that I'll have a FF body and a 135mm f/2L.


In terms of tips for use, really, it's a portrait lens. Shooting at f/1.2 in poor light can give you a reasonable shutter speed, but the DoF might be too thin for the shot. An 85m f/1.8 or 100mm f/2 would likely make a better indoor sports lens, and the cost is relatively minor compared to the 85mm f/1.2L.


The CA is just a fact of life with any lens with a very wide aperture - it's physics, and lens designers have already pushed the lens to the limit. You see it with the 35L, the 50L and the 85L. Best advice to avoid the issue is composition - try to avoid specular highlights in your outdoor shots.


I have a B+W MRC UV filter on the lens (like on every other lens I have). Only other thing to consider is that you might want an ND filter for outdoor portraits, to make use of the wide aperture. Even 1/8000 might not be enough to allow f/1.2-f/1.8 in bright light. I find a 3-stop ND (B+W #103) does the trick. Since I have several lenses with 77mm threads, I use a 77mm ND filter - fortunately, with the 77mm filter mounted on a 72mm→77mm step up ring, the 85L's hood still mounts over the filter.


Hope that helps...


--John

[Richard Lane]

Thanks.., that's kind of what I was thinking. Today, 1/8000sec was still too bright fully opened up at ISO 100 in bright sunlight, so an ND filter may be the way to go if I don't want to stop down. All my other Lens stop at 2.8, so I never had a need to use an ND Filter on them, I do use polarizing filters at times.


I really bought this lens as a low light lens, so I have no regrets. I've also discovered another nice use for this lens and that's walking around at dusk.


I'm also considering the; 85mm f/1.8, 100mm f/2, and 135 f/2L as you had suggested as my indoor sports lens. I know the 135mm f/2L is the best out of that bunch, but it may be a little long on my 7d but I know that I will eventually be going FF soon. I would love a new, fast, FF (low light) body from Canon. I hope they announce a new FF 1DsIV. My other option is the 1.3X 1DIV, which has mixed reviews, but is a big step up from my 7D.


Anyone here have any experience with the 1.3x, IDIV body?


John, how do you like the optical quality on the 85mm f/1.8?


Rich

[Keith B]

I know the 135mm f/2L is the best out of that bunch, but it may be a little long on my 7d but I know that I will eventually be going FF soon. I would love a new, fast, FF (low light) body from Canon. I hope they announce a new FF 1DsIV. My other option is the 1.3X 1DIV, which has mixed reviews, but is a big step up from my 7D.


Anyone here have any experience with the 1.3x, IDIV body?

I'd suggest a used 1Ds mkIII for less $$ than the 1D4. I just purchased a used 1Ds2 (budget was an issue) and am loving it more that my 5DII and way more than the 7D I essentially traded for it. So imagine a mkIII would be quite awesome.

[Richard Lane]

Thanks for the suggestion, I suspect that when the 1DsIV comes out.., there will be a lot of used 1DsIII's for sale. Definitely something to consider. That's cool that you like you like it better than your 5DII, because I think that the image quality on the 5DII is stunning.


Rich

[Keith B]

The 5DII IQ is hands down better, especially at 400+ ISO, but the 1DsII is no slouch either. The 5DII will still be my main camera and the 1Ds will be my back up or when AF speed is a must. The AF and shutter response of the 1DsII makes me giddy. The shutter lag of the 5DII bites me in the but with sport shots. You can really see the difference in the AF accuracy of the 1D bodies when using fast lenses. Plus they just feel so awesome in your hands. When used 1DsIIIs come down to about $2500 I think I'll pick one up.

[JJphoto]

I know the 135mm f/2L is the best out of that bunch, but it may be a little long on my 7d but I know that I will eventually be going FF soon

Rich, the 7D,135mm2.0 combo for low light (indoor sports) is pretty good but sometimes it's a little push because the hi ISO performance of 7D is not that great, I guess often you have to pump ISO to at least 800 to freeze the action.so getting a better body to use with the 135mm 2.0 is a good idea. here is the picture taken by this combo, I had to push ISO to 1600 to get shutter speed of 1/2500 to freeze the action I think it's pretty decent, but could be a lot better(noise) if taken with a 1D or 1Ds body.








85mm 1.8 is a very good lens , I had this lens before and loved it so much although I didn't use it very often aftert I got my 135mm 2.0


it's razor sharp , fast but a little less contrast compare to the 135mm 2.0,for you and for it's price, you can just take it anyway for a walk around lens in low light[]