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love for 85 f/1.2L leading to lust for 50 f/1.2

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Don't you love it when you buy something and you still really enjoy it much later in time? I got my 85L II in May and am still thrilled with what it can produce. Maybe I'm still justifying the cost but I still think there's a magical element to this lens. When the 50 f/1.2 was first announced at $1600, I thought 'no way!'. But after seeing some initial pics from it I'm thinking hmmmmm, at $1200, or $1299 I just might bite.

Some recent family pics from the 85 1.2 on a 5D. . .

at f/1.2





at f/2





 
I realized that too the other day. The new 50mm could end up
being a heck of a great lens.

50mm is an interesting length, and it will have L colors, and be
tack sharp.

All that could really shape up to be something awesome.
 
Hello 85mm,

Just last week I purchased a 85 1.2L MK1 used, and I'm amazed how good is my new (used) 85 1.2L lens. I have not had a time to give it a good work out yet but perhaps this weekend will be the day to do it.
The 50 1.2L is around the corner, for now I'll be content with my 50 1.4.

Best regards,
Garen
--
Who says it can't be done?
 
I have a feeling we’re in for disappointment.

Looking at some first reviews and scarce samples it looks like it will be much closer to 35L, but softer and with much slower AF.
See here: http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=305

I hope I’m wrong, but I have a feeling that the lens will be “just” great, but not “magic” like 85L.

Great photos BTW, but don’t you just hate how Canon burns out certain reds? I have the same problem with my 5D.

--
http://www.pbase.com/mikez
 
Do you find much use for the 135mm? I'm not sure how often I'd reach for it if I had an 85mm 1.2 in the bag. I know I'd reach for it often if my next lens down was the 50mm 1.2, but I'm wondering if folks find the focal length jump from 85mm to 135mm big enough to warrant going for an L lens in both. I'm not a pro, so having every focal length covered isn't crucial, and I've always thought of the 85 & 135 as portrait lenses--I'm just trying to figure out where to put my limited resources.
--
  • Eric
http://web.mac.com/panosian
 
Aside the first one; The Images don't seem to work for me. Seems like you don't mind the small parts of their bodies being cropped out. Leaving big spaces and un-meaningful headrooms.

Will takes some time for me to get used to it. If that's even possible.

Sorry if you are offended by my C+C.
 
ePan said:
Do you find much use for the 135mm? I'm not sure how often I'd
reach for it if I had an 85mm 1.2 in the bag. I know I'd reach for
it often if my next lens down was the 50mm 1.2, but I'm wondering
if folks find the focal length jump from 85mm to 135mm big enough
to warrant going for an L lens in both. I'm not a pro, so having
every focal length covered isn't crucial, and I've always thought
of the 85 & 135 as portrait lenses--I'm just trying to figure out
where to put my limited resources.
--
  • Eric
http://web.mac.com/panosian
Click to expand...
As far as we're talking about the portrait lenses, 85L is THE portrait lens. I rarely grab my 135L instead. 135L has different strengths like the focusing seed and lack of CA, but for portraits nothing beats the 85.
--
http://www.pbase.com/mikez
 
Ok, the only thing I will say about the only review there at the moment was there wasn't much concerning the IQ. The value for performance comment comparing the 50 1.2 to the 50 1.4 just doesn't work. It would be like comparing the 85 1.2 to the 85 1.8. It's not just the ap. numbers, the IQ on the 1.2 is better than the 1.8 (although the 1.8 is a great lens). Like I said, lets wait for a real review of the 50.

Bear
 
kaop said:
Aside the first one; The Images don't seem to work for me. Seems
like you don't mind the small parts of their bodies being cropped
out. Leaving big spaces and un-meaningful headrooms.

Will takes some time for me to get used to it. If that's even
possible.

Sorry if you are offended by my C+C.
Click to expand...
I've been taking a lot of family shots this month and I get sloppy when I go to post process. I find that especially with the shots I take wide open that I'll adjust the colors and exposure to what I like but will often not crop more than I should because I don't want to go back to reduce the vignetting that I often like. At the same time I don't just want to crop a shot with fairly significant vignetting when I crop off center.

The 2nd shot could have used more cropping but at the time I edited I liked how the coble stones faded away. On the 3rd and 5th shots, I had been wanting to get this shot since the last time we visited this playground with this cool structure where I could have fun with a shallow dof. I already cropped the 5th one a bit but liked how the ropes faded in and out of focus on the 3rd. They all could use better composition though.
 
ePan said:
Do you find much use for the 135mm? I'm not sure how often I'd
reach for it if I had an 85mm 1.2 in the bag. I know I'd reach for
it often if my next lens down was the 50mm 1.2, but I'm wondering
if folks find the focal length jump from 85mm to 135mm big enough
to warrant going for an L lens in both. I'm not a pro, so having
every focal length covered isn't crucial, and I've always thought
of the 85 & 135 as portrait lenses--I'm just trying to figure out
where to put my limited resources.
--
  • Eric
http://web.mac.com/panosian
Click to expand...
I got the 135mm f/2 only because I found a good used one at a price I could sell it off for at little loss. So far except for the first couple days of playing with it, it hasn't got much use simply because I end reaching for the 85 instead. I was used to that range too from using a 85mm lens on a cropped Nikon body. But 85mm on a fullframe body is so much easier to use indoors and outdoors when I have to stay close to my kids. The shallow dof on a 5d has also been more of a challenge when I'm shooting my kids together. In the following pic I shot at f/4 and still didn't get them both in focus. At this point, the 135mm is as useful to me as a 70-200 which I'm considering trading it for or just selling the 135L outright. The 5d, 35L, and 85L really covers my needs for now.

Here's the shot taken at f/4 with the 85L and my son is still out of focus.

 
Srf_Cast said:
I have a feeling we’re in for disappointment.
Looking at some first reviews and scarce samples it looks like it
will be much closer to 35L, but softer and with much slower AF.
See here:
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showproduct.php?product=305
I hope I’m wrong, but I have a feeling that the lens will be “just”
great, but not “magic” like 85L.
Great photos BTW, but don’t you just hate how Canon burns out
certain reds? I have the same problem with my 5D.

--
http://www.pbase.com/mikez
Click to expand...
We'll see how the 50L turns out. For me the 85L was such a no brainer especially after making a tidy profit off a Nikon 28 1.4. The 50L will hit the wallet harder if it becomes a must have. Thanks for the comments. I'm going to call the burned out red a user error problem for now. I don't know what my wife would do if I started looking for a new camera body after mostly transitioning out of my Nikon kit : )
 
not the best pics but just imagine the lens in the right hands : P
 
David Mazeau said:
I realized that too the other day. The new 50mm could end up
being a heck of a great lens.

50mm is an interesting length, and it will have L colors, and be
tack sharp.

All that could really shape up to be something awesome.
Click to expand...
I'll be here watching from the sidelines as people show their first 50L 1.2 shots. Can't wait to see how it turns out!
 
Well, when you spend USD 1600 on a lens, you better still have use for it 5 months later...
 
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