70-200 2.8 IS II vs. 85 1.2 II for Portraits?

Press Correspondent wrote:

DOF (the amount of blur) is the same: 2.8*85/200=1.19 with the same subject framing (different dustance).

Dof and perceived background blur is not the same thing. Dof calculators assume certain "ideal" lens features. The 85 gives more perceived background blur, plus it gives it with an "intimate" 85mm perspective, which is basically the whole reason this lens exists.

Bokeh (the quality of blur) is better on the prime.

Agree with that.. at least up to half body shots. Anything wider than that the prime deteriorates pretty badly as well.

85/1.2 focuses very slow. I have decided against investing in it, but waiting for the upgrade instead. If you are in a rush, get 85/1.8 until the new 85/1.2 is released.

Also note that f/1.2 is not for regular portraits, but for taking photos of person's eye with the rest of the face blurred. F/1.2 doesn't blur the backgroung, it completely destroys it beyond recognition and as such makes the image look flat, since there is no depth in the background anymore.

I disagree with this. It's not for taking pictures with a single eye in focus but for achieving a lot of background separation with a wider framing. And a destroyed background does anything but make the picture flat. It might make it look like you used a backdrop, but that only happens in extreme cases.

It will be impossible to capture moving subjects (kids) with 85/1.2 due to the slow focus and shallow DOF. The static subject must be on the focusing point (forget focus and recompose at f/1.2). It is OK with 5D3 and such, but does not work so well for the bodies with 9 or 19 focusing points.

I'm having better success with manual focus on static subjects so I have to agree with you here, it's not for moving stuff.. not at f/1.2 at least.

It is a great lens, but very specialized. If you are in doubt, it would probably not be a wise investment yet.

I second this, if after understanding what it can give you you're still in doubt, don't get it.

Best regards,

Alex