DPReview.com is closing April 10th - Find out more

One of those lenses they probably won't be designed today, but would surely be missed

Started Sep 13, 2015 | User reviews thread
MayaTlab0 Senior Member • Posts: 2,985
Re: One of those lenses they probably won't be designed today, but would surely be missed

Alexsfo wrote:

If you get similarly good copies the 100mm is the sharper lens. I agree that the 85mm is a more versatile focal length while the 100mm compresses the background more. It all comes down to personal preference.

In this review, 4 copies of 100mm f/2 were evaluated and consistently were found to be noticeably less sharp than 85mm, it's one of the reasons I decided to get 85mm instead of 100:
http://www.wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/85_100_135/

This is Lensrentals' measurements from 10 copies of each, averaged, here showing sample variation :

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/MTF.aspx?Lens=106&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=118&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0&CT=VAR

Given that both of these lenses are among the worst Canon lenses in terms of sample variation, it's perfectly normal that opinions diverge on which one is sharper than the other. On average though the 85 should be a little bit sharper (despite Canon's MTF figures), but a good copy of the 100mm can be much better than a poor copy of the 85mm.

Both of these lenses are badly in need of a refresh anyway :D.

Keyboard shortcuts:
FForum PPrevious NNext WNext unread UUpvote SSubscribe RReply QQuote BBookmark MMy threads
Color scheme? Blue / Yellow