Loving my new 85mm f/1.8

Nuffles

Nuffles

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Jack
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Just a bit of a thread to show off my new toy. Stunningly sharp even wide open so long as I get the focus nailed, and stopped down it's jaw dropping. Really really happy with it, very good Birthday present from my parents :love:

1/500, f/2.2, ISO400
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1/125, f/1.8, ISO400
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1/80, f/1.8, ISO2000
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1/50, f/1.8, ISO2000
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Thinking of selling my 50mm f1.4 and buying one of these too, just feel the 85mm is the perfect portrait lens on a FF body.
 
I agree it'd be nicer on a full frame, it's a little long on my crop body, but 'one day' I'm looking to pick up a used 5Dmk2 so it'd be perfect for that. In the mean time it makes a perfect extension for my 17-55mm f/2.8. What really astonishes me is the rendition of out of focus areas - just so soft!
 
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Nice job. I couldnt decide between one of these and a 100mm f/2. I ended up buying the 100mm which is just as sharp as the 85mm as I fancied the slightly extra reach but still fancy the 85mm.
 
It's such a beautiful lens, and one that is definitely on my wish list. I find the 50mm f/1.8 to be a little too short (on crop sensor) for portraits when outdoors as you need to be a bit 'in their face', I guess this lens would solve that!
 
I had one for a few years but never really got on with it. I sold it just before i went full frame. I was tempted to get another as i think it works better on FF but like wibbly I went for the 100 f/2 instead. It seems to suffer less CA than my old 85 did, which was horrible unless it was stopped down.
I do think the 50, 85 and 100 are a classic set of lenses, small, light and sharp. Great for street shooting when you dont want attention.
 
dave_bass5 said:
I had one for a few years but never really got on with it. I sold it just before i went full frame. I was tempted to get another as i think it works better on FF but like wibbly I went for the 100 f/2 instead. It seems to suffer less CA than my old 85 did, which was horrible unless it was stopped down.
I do think the 50, 85 and 100 are a classic set of lenses, small, light and sharp. Great for street shooting when you dont want attention.
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From my 85 @ f1.8 on the old 5D Mk1 I just bought for £380 on Ebay

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I got an 85 f1.8, a 50 f1.4 and a 35 f2 recently and it's a hard job to decide which is my favourite. The 85 and 50 are both fantastic, very sharp and very fast, but I love the 35 focal length for portrait shots. All 3 are great lenses and I'm sure you'll love shooting with yours. Mine don't really get enough use but I'd not be without them.
 
dave_bass5 said:
Nice shot although the purple fringing bothers me, even at that size. I expect its easier to get rid of it these days, I had mine before i had LR4.2 with its fantastic CA correction.
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The CA can be an issue unless stopped down. I'm still using LR4/PS CS4, and the ACR plugin I use for PS annihilates any CA instantly, but I process most of my shots in LR4 now unless I'm doing fine editing work (all of those were done in LR4) so currently stuck without a CA tool. Looks like I'm going to have to get a hold of LR4.2 then.
 
The Colour tool in the lens correction in LR4.2 is fantastic, definitely worth trying.
I did like my copy of the 85 but felt the CA was quite pronounced, even at f/2.8 sometimes. I found DPP was better at correcting ti than LR back then, but i didnt want to use DPP.
I'd love to try another now i have a 5DMKIII, my 100 f2 is my favourite lens and on my camera most of the time, but i think 85 would work just as well.
 
dave_bass5 said:
Nice shot although the purple fringing bothers me, even at that size. I expect its easier to get rid of it these days, I had mine before i had LR4.2 with its fantastic CA correction.
Click to expand...

I have to confess I hadn't noticed the fringing until you commented. Will that be a shortcoming with the lens (being wide open), or the camera (being set at ISO 800)?
 
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Yep, downloaded LR4.2 this morning and the CA tool is fantastic. There's some slight fringing in my first image (around the Canon logo and on the highlights down the top of the lens). With a little tweaking of the slider it completely got rid of it. I can live with a little (correctable) CA considering how sharp this lens is, especially considering the relatively very low cost too.
 
dave_bass5 said:
Sorry about that :-).
Its the lens. This lens is known to suffer quite badly with CA, especially wide open. Its not a huge issue these days, especially if you shoot raw, but its one more thing to have to think about.
Click to expand...

I do shoot raw, but don't use Light Room. Am I missing something I can't do in Elements? Advice welcome...
 
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