The Lord of the L rings- A hobbyist Photographer review

I own 9 Canon L Series lenses and 1 Non L lenses and i can proudly say this lens is the Lord of the L rings.

One a full frame camera this lens is insanely sharp at F2.0 which is very good. Most of the lenses are usually a bit soft wide open but now i can agree hype is true and this is insanely sharp wide open.The colors and contrast are punchy. The quality of Bokeh is amazing.

I wont recommend this lens in crop sensor for portraits. Consider going for a 85mm for crop sensor as it is about 135 equivalent.Go for this lens is you wana do outdoor portraits, family shots outdoors, close sports for kids.I also own the 70-200 f2.8 is ZOOM and trust me when i say this it blows the zoom out of the league. After using this i also bought the 200mm f2.8 prime which has the similar design and performance and i couldnt have been more happy.

For indoor i find the working distance to be little long hence you are better of with the 85mm indoors.

I personally feel this lens is perfect for portraiture outdoors.I strongly recommend this.

A gem only beaten by the epic Zeiss APO Sonnar 135mm f2.
The Zeiss is even sharper and less CA. Amazing piece of glass.

Agree you can't beat the zeiss, but my point it is among all the Portrait L canon makes 50L ,85L, 135L for me 135 stands out for wide open performance

The 85L II is better than the 135L. In fact this is the only lens where Canon beat's Zeiss in IQ. The Zeiss 85mm f1.4 has worser purple fringing /COMA

I consider 135mm L is the best Canon lens because of very special images it draws. However, as much as I love the results, it is a specialty lens. Even on FF, 135mm is long indoors and also outdoors. For that reason, I much prefer 85mm f1.8 so I don't have to step away insanely far for environmenta portraiture even if 85mm does not produce the same compression as 135mm. Photography is all about compramise, I wish I could just use 135mm for everything.

Damoo wrote:

The 85L II is better than the 135L. In fact this is the only lens where Canon beat's Zeiss in IQ. The Zeiss 85mm f1.4 has worser purple fringing /COMA

I disagree...ain't life grand like that?  I much prefer the 135L to the 85L personally.

My comment was purely based on IQ, bokeh and sharpness.

A 100 times I tried the Canon 135L with Zeiss 135 and I went with the Zeiss. A 100 times I tried the Canon 85mm f1.2L II with Zeiss 85mm f1.4 and went with the Canon.

Both lenses from Canon are great. The 135mm L is an awesome focal length. But the Zeiss beats it all aspects. Its an outstanding lens.

i own the 85 as well and its the mini beast if u compare it with 600mm and 800mm. 135 for price i dont think any sense even comes near

Damoo wrote:

My comment was purely based on IQ, bokeh and sharpness.

A 100 times I tried the Canon 135L with Zeiss 135 and I went with the Zeiss. A 100 times I tried the Canon 85mm f1.2L II with Zeiss 85mm f1.4 and went with the Canon.

Both lenses from Canon are great. The 135mm L is an awesome focal length. But the Zeiss beats it all aspects. Its an outstanding lens.

I wasn't commenting on the Zeiss, as I've not used it, I was referring to

"The 85L II is better than the 135L."

I much prefer the 135 to the 85.  The Zeiss loses out immediately for me due to lack of autofocus in use with a system built for autofocus.

Nicely said it always a compromise else i want canon to release Canon EF 8mm-1200mm f1.2 L USM one day if technology allows.

Joking anyway. Out of 85-135 i personally like 135 wide open.May be my personal taste

I shall call the 85 1.2 the Mini beast. 500 to be momma beast, 600 papa beast and 800 king of beast

Trust me i moved from zooms to prime for a reason the only zoom at this day i have is 8-15 mm fish eye

i echo the statement i prefer 135 for my needs of outdoor shots

zeiss is always rated above canon for contrast and sharpness. However i always prefer canons for bokeh quality specially for 50 1.2, 85 1.2 and 135. Also in this digital age i personally am not a fan of manual lenses just my personal taste. I am not sure weather the 100 ziess is manual or not. But at the end of the day we all love what we do and we all have our own personal preference. I am happy you spent time going through my review and shared ur findings.

Happy shooting mate.

First of all, you need to understand I was not talking about the Zeiss Otus 85mm f1.4. I was talking about the Zeiss planar 85mm f1.4.

Instead of talking, I suggest u shoot with both the Zeiss 85mm f1.4 planar and the Canon 85mm f1.2L II and then check the outcome. No need to trust or believe what I say.

And I did not say I own a Canon 135mm L. I own a Zeiss APO Sonnar 135mm f2.0. In the country I live, its easily possible to take your memory cards to a photoshop and shoot with the lenses to try them out and subsequently make a decision. I have done that many a times with the Canon 135mm L. So I am sure I know what I am talking about.The Canon 135mm L is great but the Zeiss  135mm f2.0 beats it comprehensively. Don't believe? Just try shooting with it.

Arpit Agrawal wrote:

i echo the statement i prefer 135 for my needs of outdoor shots

I prefer it for my indoor shots as well. It's a bit overblown that the 135 can't be used indoors. Even in a small house or venue I find it's serviceable. There are times the 85 is more convenient, sure, but it's not exclusive.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/22781076@N03/albums/72157645361357696

Arpit Agrawal wrote:

zeiss is always rated above canon for contrast and sharpness. However i always prefer canons for bokeh quality specially for 50 1.2, 85 1.2 and 135. Also in this digital age i personally am not a fan of manual lenses just my personal taste. I am not sure weather the 100 ziess is manual or not. But at the end of the day we all love what we do and we all have our own personal preference. I am happy you spent time going through my review and shared ur findings.

Happy shooting mate.

I agree, I actually don't mind manual lenses but my 5D3 really isn't built with them in mind.