Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II

daveo228i · Nov 28, 2019

F1.8, 1.4 or 1.2. The question you should ask yourself, how much low light work will you be doing? Leica for instance make a 50 f 0.95. The reason behind the different ‘f’ stops is need. Buy what you need.

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Sharpshooterr · Dec 9, 2019

MLCIII said:
FWIW, I have the 85 1.8, and it's the sharpest tool in the shed. You can even upgrade to that fancy new iPhone X with all the money you'll save.

FWIW, at f8 the 85 1.8 is the sharpest tool I the shed!
BUT at 1.8 it’s the dullest tool I the shed!!! LoL
I used it exclusively for portraits for 4 years and have shot tens of thousands of frameas with it but fortunately most of them are at f8 or so.
So if one intends to do a lot of shallow dof field work, wide open, then the 85 1.2 mkl is a great choice and the mkll even better and focuses way faster than the mkl !
I would not hesitate to get the 85 mkll over the 1.8 if you have the money.
BUT do look at the new 85 1.4. I think it’s gonna be my next lens to replace the 85 1.2 mkl. I’m gonna skip the 85mkll !!!
SS

fotografdenunta · Feb 26, 2020

IF you pick something new i the future i reccomend Canon 85 f/1.4 L IS. It is a great lens for video also!

fotografdenunta · Feb 26, 2020

I own Canon EF 85 f1.4 L IS and it is the best portrait lens I ever owned. I recommend this lens to you.

daveo228i · May 20, 2020

Unless you are a professional with portraits, you don’t need the 85 f 1.2L. Unless you want to brag. Most professional portrait photographers use medium format or larger. Stick with the 50 f1.8 or 85 f1.8. They will give the most bang for the buck for where you are at.

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photoflyer · May 20, 2020

daveo228i said:
Unless you are a professional with portraits, you don’t need the 85 f 1.2L. Unless you want to brag. Most professional portrait photographers use medium format or larger. Stick with the 50 f1.8 or 85 f1.8. They will give the most bang for the buck for where you are at.

It is an interesting point because even with my humble little 85 f1.8 the DOF is so shallow I can't imagine shooting at 1.2 even if I could. I've concluded that most folks that have a 1.2 lens open it up a bit anyways and that what is really getting is excellent optical quality throughout the entire aperture range. But I could be wrong...I don't have the choice.

Derrel · May 20, 2020

Three year-old thread, with revivals at two years, and a few months ago, and now today. In the interim Canon has released an 85 mm f/ 1.4... have not heard how this lens performs in real world use, but I would expect that it is first rate.

andrewdoeshair · Sep 6, 2020

I owned the EF 85mm F1.2L ii for a few years and was happy enough with it on my 5Diii but when I Went to the EOS R and also started doing more video work I found that the lens’s imperfections were more apparent with the higher resolution and the focusing was too clunky for the kind of videos I was doing. I sold it and got the Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art and it was much sharper, focused much more quickly, and it felt really good in hand (the giant focus ring is a dream). However, I ultimately sold the Art because the out of focus areas were pretty bad, it had a tendency to sort of create ghosts of any high contrast areas, similar to the way that purple or green fringing looks except it was every color fringed at once so it almost looked like a dragged shutter and shaky camera, but only in the out of focus areas. It would make a ghostly second silhouette of (say) a black t shirt on a white backdrop (see photo) while I’d shoot tightish head shots, and so I ultimately sold that lens as well and borrowed an RF 85mm F1.2L. The RF was basically perfect, sharpest of the bunch, decent AF, smoooooth out of focus areas, but it didn’t feel worth the money— I opted for an RF 70-200 because it was just more remarkable as a whole than the RF 85mm (I actually tested them side by side on my YouTube channel, search Andrewdoeshair) and then I bought a used EF 85mm F1.8 for basically next to nothing and I’ve honestly been happier with it, knowing it’s limitations and knowing that it was cheap, than I was while trying to find the perfect 85mm. Side note, if auto focus isn’t necessary, Rokinon makes an 85mm F1.2 that is pretty cheap, especially used, and quite remarkable optically (except for a slight warm green tint overall). If slightly tighter works, and size/weight isn’t an issue, sigma’s 105mm Art is absolutely jaw dropping, it’s just about perfect.

andrewdoeshair · Sep 6, 2020

Sorry, I didn’t check the dates before I replied

Sharpshooterr · Dec 7, 2020

daveo228i said:
Unless you are a professional with portraits, you don’t need the 85 f 1.2L. Unless you want to brag. Most professional portrait photographers use medium format or larger. Stick with the 50 f1.8 or 85 f1.8. They will give the most bang for the buck for where you are at.
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Maybe the OP isn't looking for bang for the buck?!!
Maybe the OP is looking for SHARPNESS. I used the 85 1.8 for years and never shoot it wide open because it's SOFT wide open. And at 1.8 the L lens is SHARP!
Not all pros use MF, some use 50mp FF which will also get you a sharp 40x50 inch print if you shoot tight and not throw all your pixels away with a crop.
And with the money you save on the MF camera you can still get that fancy iPhone AND a car to get you to the shoots!
SS
BTW, last year I said I'd skip the 85 1.2 mkll...., well I didn't!! LoL