January 17th, 2012:
Remember how I joined Canon Professional Services as a Platinum Member, where I can get free “Evaluation Equipment“? Well, I am loving trying out new gear and the second lens I requested (after the 100mm macro) was the Canon 85mm F/1.2 II (the “II” means it is the second version of this lens). As I said before, I know many of you out there won’t care about these gear review posts, but a few of you will, so I’ll keep on reviewing as the lenses come.
f/1.6 ISO 50 1/1000 sec
Right now Felicia and I shoot with 4 lenses (the 24mm f/1.4, 35mm f/1.4, 50mm f/1.2 and the 135mm f/2) and while I am completely happy with our current setup, we are always hearing about the 85mm f/1.2, and how some photographers swear by this lens while others just swear at it. The complaints are about slow focus, the giant weight (almost 2 1/2 lbs) and the excessive cost (around $2K); while the photographers who love it say it all doesn’t matter once you open the aperture wide and see the dreaminess of its backgrounds. The real question for me is if this uber-expensive lens is worth the 5x premium over the 85mm f/1.8 (which supposedly focuses faster & just as sharp, and costs only $360), also I am interested in knowing if I actually will enjoy shooting at this focal length and we will get something our other lenses don’t already provide.
f/1.2 ISO 125 1/400 sec f/1.6 ISO 125 1/125 sec
The first day I had this lens, Felicia and I were up in Santa Barbara wandering the streets and took a few portraits of each other. I popped off a few of her at f/1.2 and saw that famed background blur and razor thin focus. She snapped one of me looking goofy at f/1.6 and instantly exclaimed that she loved this lens. (Anyone wants to give her a late Christmas/early birthday gift? Just sayin’….)
Genna & Michael had the luxury of enjoying this lens through their wedding images, and I used it during the ceremony in addition to my 35mm f/1.4 (I always have 2 cameras on me), and found this to be a spectacular focal length for a ceremony such as this one where there are very little restrictions on where I can be. and don’t need the extra reach of the 135mm f/2. As you can see from the image above, everything goes “magical” really quickly with this beast.
Genna & Michael’s ceremony was late in the afternoon in November and by the time we were doing their portraits the sun had already dropped behind the surrounding hills, I was able to open up the aperture quite wide and still capture amazing images on this lens in very little light (which I could also do with my 50mm f/1.2).
All in all, I had no complaints about the focusing speed and although 85mm f/1.2 is quite heavy, Felicia and I didn’t find it unmanageable to carry throughout a wedding day. This will most likely be added to our camera bag one day, but I still think I’ll probably buy the 100mm macro first. I also want to check out Canon’s other 85mm before I commit to the $2K purchase of this lens. Although, I don’t deny, when this lens came in the mail and we begin using it, it certainly looks REAL nice next to its L-Series siblings in my bag (Yes, I am a shameless gear whore).
Our next review? The Canon 14mm f/2.8 ultra wide!
Thanks for reading, and if you’re looking to buy this lens, check out B&H, they normally have the best prices and always have the best service.
2 Comments
Join the discussion and tell us your opinion.
do you find it difficult to nail focus at 1.2?
It can be a bit tricky at f/1.2, even if you breathe you’ll lose focus. I usually shoot a couple extra shots to make sure I get the exact one I want.