Canon 70-200mm f/4 Non-IS for a 85mm f/1.8?

[NedM]

Hi guys!

As a portrait photographer, I was very excited to finally own my first Canon L lens, the Canon 70-200mm f/4 non-is. I have had this lens for about 2 years now but I seldom found myself ever using it for my portraiture work.

When I did use this lens, I always found it hard to catch focus on my subject properly, even in a well lit environment. Manually focusing was even more frustrating as I always had trouble fine tuning the focus using the focus ring.

Lately, I have been thinking about selling my 70-200mm f/4 and using the money to invest into a Canon 85mm 1.8. I have heard a lot about this lens and the wide aperture would definitely help.

I do shoot a lot weddings, but I mainly use my 24-105mm f/4 IS as my all-in-one lens.

I guess what I am asking is would selling my 70-200mm to invest into a 85mm be a good idea for me?
Any and all opinions would be very appreciated!

 

[JacaRanda]

Are you sure there is not something wrong with the 70-200? Is your camera capable of AF micro adjustments?
If you are having that much trouble with it, and the wide aperture is needed, I would say yes.

 

[NedM]

Are you sure there is not something wrong with the 70-200? Is your camera capable of AF micro adjustments?
If you are having that much trouble with it, and the wide aperture is needed, I would say yes.

Hm, I have CAnon 5D MK 2. Is that camera capable of micro adjustments?
Where can I learn more about this topic?

 

[astroNikon]

can you show some of the Out Of Focus shots with your 70-200/4 ?

 

[NedM]

can you show some of the Out Of Focus shots with your 70-200/4 ?

Here is a very recent shot where I used my 70-200. Shot at 6pm two hours before sunset.

Settings:
5DM2
1/250, F/4, ISO 200

One shot and I had the focal point on her nearest eyeball.
Even during optimal lighting, I feel like I always have trouble focusing with this lens.

 

[TCampbell]

Yes, the 5D II does support Auto-Focus Micro Adjustment (AFMA). But you'll want to use a proper focus target to calibrate your lenses.

Typically this is a flat high-contrast focusing target (black and white pattern) and a scale that rests diagonally -- a center point is exactly adjacent to the high-contrast target. Focus the lens on the target, but inspect the lines on the scale immedaitely adjacent to the target. If the focus is accurate then the scale should be sharpest at it's zero point (immediately adjacent to the target's focus surface). If the lens/camera either front focuses or back-focuses then you'l notice lines on the scale either nearer or farther than the focus target will be sharper then the zero point on the center of the scale.

On the 5D II you can tell the camera to either adjust globally (all lenses get the same adjustment) or individually by lens (it can remember up to 50 unique lenses).

I'm not at my computer (using my iPad) or I could uplaod a sample image to show you how it works.

When testing, I take at least 12 images for each lens. For 6 of these images I manually rotate the focus ring to the minimum focus distance, let the camera focus and take the shot, and repeat until I've captured 6 images. Then I manually focus to infinity and let the camera focus and take the shot, repeating until I've captured 6 more images.

The idea is that if the lens mechanics have any gear-slop (backlash) then the accuracy of focus may do better in one direction than in the other. If the lens has backlash then you'll get inconsistent results (and needs service). If the lens gives consistent results (even if it misses focus -- just so it misses consistently in the same direction) then it simply needs a bit of Auto-Focus Micro Adjustment (AFMA) and it'll nail your focus from then on.

I use a DataColor LensCal target.

 

[Derrel]

No EXIF on the image, but it looks like the depth of field is too shallow for this subject matter.

 

[NedM]

No EXIF on the image, but it looks like the depth of field is too shallow for this subject matter.

I shot at F/4 .

 

[Derrel]

No EXIF on the image, but it looks like the depth of field is too shallow for this subject matter.

I shot at F/4 .

Depth of Field, Angle and Field of View, and Equivalent Lens Calculator - Points in Focus Photography

With a %D-III at 200mm at f/4 for a half-body shot, the distance is 18.079 feet, with a DOF from 17'9" to 18' 4.46", or a total depth of 7.42 inches. The hat shows the DOF issue, if indeed it is a DOF issue...

Is the lens de-centered? Is one side, or the top edge, often OOF like that? Her hip area and the belly chains look sharp, but her face,eyes, and brows are not sharp.

 

[beagle100]

Hi guys!

As a portrait photographer, I was very excited to finally own my first Canon L lens, the Canon 70-200mm f/4 non-is. I have had this lens for about 2 years now but I seldom found myself ever using it for my portraiture work.

When I did use this lens, I always found it hard to catch focus on my subject properly, even in a well lit environment. Manually focusing was even more frustrating as I always had trouble fine tuning the focus using the focus ring.

Lately, I have been thinking about selling my 70-200mm f/4 and using the money to invest into a Canon 85mm 1.8. I have heard a lot about this lens and the wide aperture would definitely help.

I do shoot a lot weddings, but I mainly use my 24-105mm f/4 IS as my all-in-one lens.

I guess what I am asking is would selling my 70-200mm to invest into a 85mm be a good idea for me?
Any and all opinions would be very appreciated!

If you're primarily a portrait photographer look at the 135mm or 200 f/2
Lisa Holloway / 500px