Feedback: EF 85 mm f/1.8 USM sharpness for handheld shots

pilou1253 wrote:

Thanks for your reply.

I am interested in this lens because of its large aperture and to complete my set composed of 50 mm and 28 mm f/1.8. I am already used to the techniques associated with such wide apertures, so here it will mainly to learn how to deal with it at a longer reach, without IS.

My primes include the 28/1.8, 50/1.4 and 85/1.8. A very capable set of primes that doesn't break the bank. Of the three, the 50 is, by far, the LEAST used. An awful lot can be done with just a 28 and an 85. We also have the 100L, which I really like, but I tend to think of it most as a macro lens despite being pretty fine as just a regular short telephoto prime.

Regarding flash, yes, I think it can obviously bring something extra to the image, apart from solving the long shutter speeds. But the problem is that I am a lazy guy... The day I really feel limited and/or ready to experience it, then I will make the big jump.

Funny you should put it that way... I tend to think that, for indoor shots, bounced flash simply reflects my own laziness! I'm so "light oriented" that I'm almost never happy with whatever ambient illumination is indoors (it's different outside with "natural" light as opposed to man-made sources such as lamps, etc.), and so bounced flash tends to be my standard. I do enjoy, however, trying to bounce creatively rather than just using the ceiling. A large, white wall, for instance, can actually produce some really nice, soft light on people that would be the envy of all but the largest softboxes, the biggest difference simply being the lack of control with the wall that one would otherwise have with a softbox.

It's all fun.