Canon 85mm 1.2 L ii or Canon 85mm 1.4L

lighthunter80 wrote:

PvTsAm wrote:

Hi,

I am a professional wedding photographer and i own canon 85 mm 1.2 ii lens

as you all know its not a cheap lens . i did research for about one whole year before buying the lens and the results are just crazy (POSITIVELY GOOD) . I used it on Canon 5dsr before and then i bought the mammoth Canon 1dx mark ii body to better my photography experience

my question here is... should i sell the 85mm 1.2ii and get the new 85 1.4?

sounds crazy ? well i have been using the 1.2 since past 14 months and its awesome

but the drawbacks for me are very annoying , slow focus and heavy weight are just starters

i feel like the weight of the lens is not proportionate . the moment i saw 85 mm 1.4 2 days ago i lost my sleep . it feels like i m really tired of the 85 mm 1.2 ii because of its bulkiness

i switch lenses way too often , and 85 mm is my main lens in the weddings .. but it just won't focus properly and fast

i have been embarrassed in front of my clients a lot of time adjusting my focus in the low light , also the pictures are not very sharp and trust me i literally held my breath when i took pictures

Cons of 1.2 for me

- slow focus

-super heavy

All of that makes it sound like you need to change. If you're genuinely embarrassed in front of your clients, that's a recipe for disaster. Can lead to rushing and corner cutting, and if it's really slow enough for you to miss shots, that's an issue.

-small size makes it very hard to handle as it feels like a rock ( i guess the weight is not balanced properly)

Pros for me -

1. the corners create good vignette and the photograph overall looks like it doesnt need editing

2. quality of the lens is super class

3. 1.2 great aperture

4. looks awesome (yes, seriously)

5. feels awesome (it really matters to me)

Appears to be a dichotomy here to me between "hard to handle" and "feels awesome"...

the reasons are clear to you guys just one more thing

the new 85 1.4 looks like 35 1.4 ii which i own and really adore

so i wont be uncomfortable getting the same looking lens , also the grip looks great because its longer in size .

what are your thoughts?

ps -this is my first thread on any forum so dont mind the broken english

You are way overthinking this.

Your customers (wedding couples) won't care about your lenses you use. Even if you would use the non-L 85/1.8 you would be fine.

Absolutely true. I do in fact use the 85 f1.8 professionally, although not currently for weddings. Does a perfectly decent job, and it's quite fast enough for me given I need some depth of field for my shots. Clients (unless they're DPR Forumites) really couldn't care less about the equipment, only about the results, almost certainly won't know the difference between any Canon 85mm lens, and won't care, so long as the pictures are great.

It's only yourself who is worried about the decision.

Again true.

If I were you I would keep the 1.2 L and keep using it. Any change to another product would be an emotional but not an economical decision.

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That bit I don't agree with, for the reason above about focus speed.