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How sharp is the Canon 85mm f1.8 wide open?

Started Oct 1, 2016 | Questions thread
Keith Z Leonard Veteran Member • Posts: 6,134
Re: How sharp is the Canon 85mm f1.8 wide open?

SonyArtisan wrote:

Keith Z Leonard wrote:

My copy is lovely at 2.8 amd good below that. We each have our acceptable performance opinions. My 135 l is better. Hard to beat the 85 1.8 for the price though.

There ar other factors to get the most from your lens. The images you linked seem like studio style shots with great lighting....they were also resizer. If you want to see some images check out pixelpeeper, you can specify the camera, the lens, and show inly full res images...it data mines flickr very useful.

Thanks for the reply. I checked out PixelPeeper but there appears to be very limited samples for the 85mm from f1.8-f2 on 20-20mp full frame bodies. Only 32 total for both the 5DIII and 6D combined, most don't look as sharp as the others I posted previously, and not many portraits to assess.

Looking at the images I posted, the second two specifically as I believe they are higher resolution, would you say your copy is equally sharp at f2-f2.5? I would rarely use the lens anywhere but f1.8-f2.5 so what I'm trying to find out is if the copy/photos I linked are outliers or the norm. The problem when viewing samples online is that there are so many variables with camera bodies, sensor resolution/performance, and uploaded resolution/compression that it's tough to tell actual lens performance. While individual feedback is subjective I'm hoping that I can get some responses comparing the images above or offering similarly sharp samples taken by members here at full resolution on 20-24mp bodies from f1.8 f2.5. Do you have any samples in this range you could post? Portraits would be most useful. Thanks

Here are a few from my 85 f1.8, you can view the original size, so 100%.

5d3 + 85 f1.8 @ f2.5

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22781076@N03/19745399638/in/album-72157655828601178/

5d3 + 85 f1.8 @ f2

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22781076@N03/19933515315/in/album-72157655828601178/

5d3 + 85 f1.8 @ f1.8

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22781076@N03/29420984983/in/dateposted-public/

5d3 + 85 f1.8 @ f2

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22781076@N03/22464247329/in/album-72157660141282077/

 Keith Z Leonard's gear list:Keith Z Leonard's gear list
Canon EF 70-200mm F4L USM Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM Sigma 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Canon EOS 400D +16 more
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