Canon EF 85mm 1.8 USM

[Greenninja]

I find myself needing to consider a faster lens to support my current standard zoom (24-105 f4L).

Given that the 24-70 f2.8L is either out of stock or stupidly expensive and the mark II is both out of stock and stupidly expensive; my thoughts are turning to the 85mm f1.8. Now while this is a prime it's of the focal length which I tend to shoot anyway, so I can happily move my feet to zoom.

I'm not familar with the lens at all- but it does seem to get good reviews - so be interested to hear about your real world experiences - particularly relating to how robust it is and of course overall sharpness. Quality of background blue is also important to me.

 

[Ghostface]

I find myself needing to consider a faster lens to support my current standard zoom (24-105 f4L).

Given that the 24-70 f2.8L is either out of stock or stupidly expensive and the mark II is both out of stock and stupidly expensive; my thoughts are turning to the 85mm f1.8. Now while this is a prime it's of the focal length which I tend to shoot anyway, so I can happily move my feet to zoom.

I'm not familar with the lens at all- but it does seem to get good reviews - so be interested to hear about your real world experiences - particularly relating to how robust it is and of course overall sharpness. Quality of background blue is also important to me.

I have on the way, should be here tomorrow so will comment on the build quality and if I can the sharpness.

 

[trencheel303]

Lens is cracking. I had one, used on a full frame Canon 1Ds (original) 11MP. Very sharp even at f/1.8 and 100% zoom, although we must take into account the old camera's low resolution sensor didn't stress the lens resolution too much.

^if I remember correctly, this was done using extension tubes so I could focus in closer and blur the background more, the background by the way was only about 1.5 metres away! (living room)

^grab shot of a moggy, background again wasn't even that far and was very nicely blurred

The last one is a 100% crop. So sharp even you can see the texture from the lens body!

 

[Musicman]

Lens is cracking. I had one, used on a full frame Canon 1Ds (original) 11MP. Very sharp even at f/1.8

Stop it down to f/2.2 and it'll make you wince! It's a lovely lens, especially for the money you can get it for.

The only problem is that it's rather prone to axial CA (purple fringing) at high contrast boundaries - you see it on the 17-40mm text in the last pic that trencheel303 posted. This is common with wide, short teles. ACR 7 and Lightroom 4.1 have tools to deal with this fairly painlessly.

 

[artj]

I purchases the 85 F1.8 18 months ago, and like your self my standard zoom is the 24-105 f4L, i use the 85 f1.8 a lot for taking photo's of our grandchildren using available indoor lighting and it produces excellent images, and used on a 1.6 crop Canon body it's equivalent to a 136mm f1.8 focal length which is another bonus, and the awful summer that we've had with dull and cloudy conditions i've been very pleased to have the extra speed this lens has.

 

[gman]

Best Canon lens I had. Super sharp, super fast focusing and colours had a lovely deep feel to them.

 

[Greenninja]

Thanks guys - it looks sounds like it's a worthwhile addition to collection - I must say the background blur on the moggy shot is pleasantly smooth. The 100% crop on the lens shot does bring out plenty of detail - and the CA is definitly easy to cope with too.

Think I'm going to have to grab one in the next couple of weeks

 

[woof woof]

The only thing that put me off this lens is that the shape of highlight bokeh can be angular due to the shape of the aperture blades. I ended up going for the Siggy. It is more expensive but bokeh character is very important in a lens like this, IMVHO. Other than that one point and the Siggy being f1.4 the Canon f1.8 looks to be a good buy.

 

[trencheel303]

The Sigma f/1.4 is a higher class of lens though, it's more in Canon 85 f/1.2 territory really, so I'm not surprised it's better. The bokeh on the Canon f/1.8 isn't that angular though... look at the photos above

 

[woof woof]

The key word is "can." And it can. It depends on aperture setting and subject/lighting. If you have the lens you can do a series of shots and you'll see it if you get the combination right. Actually, you don't need to shoot at all, just look at the aperture shape as you stop down and you'll see what can cause the angular bokeh.

 

[s32]

It's a great lens, especially for how little it costs compared to other 85mm lenses out there. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

 

[Greenninja]

It's a great lens, especially for how little it costs compared to other 85mm lenses out there. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

I think this is what I find most impressive is that it is (comparatively) little money yet still seems to deliver in all departments. Roll on next month and I'll be grabbing one.

 

[mart77]

I find myself needing to consider a faster lens to support my current standard zoom (24-105 f4L).

Given that the 24-70 f2.8L is either out of stock or stupidly expensive and the mark II is both out of stock and stupidly expensive; my thoughts are turning to the 85mm f1.8. Now while this is a prime it's of the focal length which I tend to shoot anyway, so I can happily move my feet to zoom.

I'm not familar with the lens at all- but it does seem to get good reviews - so be interested to hear about your real world experiences - particularly relating to how robust it is and of course overall sharpness. Quality of background blue is also important to me.

I use it a lot, the 85 will pee all over the 24-105 in terms of image quality, Bokeh and sharpness. It is sharp from f2 onwards, it will make you change over to primes most likely.