EF 85mm f/1.2L II on a moving subject - results straight out of the box

I literally just received this lens, refurbished from Canon thanks to the Father's Day refurb sale, and I was pretty hesitant to order it because although I've REALLY wanted it, the reports of slow AF had me worried. A couple of months ago, I had an opportunity to mount one on my 6D (since sold) and play with it for about 2 minutes and I found the reports to be overblown, IMO. So, when this deal arrived, I pounced on it.

Just to be sure I wasn't out of my mind, the very first thing I did when the lens arrived a few minutes ago was to mount it to my camera (now the 5D Mark III) and take my dog outside for a few quick pictures. Settings were:

• f/1.2
• 1/8000
• ISO 100
• AI Servo
• High Speed burst
• Case 1 tracking (not really relevant)
• Focus priority 1st and 2nd shot
• Selectable AF point - keeping that one point over Maya's eye as best as possible

These were minimally processed. Decreased highlights because the f/1.2 aperture just let in SO much light, normal sharpening, and purple fringing fixed (expected it given the black/white nature of her fur - I get the same thing with the 85/1.8).

First shot

AF point is on her left eye (camera right)

This is the same picture, cropped in tight

Now, for the next 4 images as she strode towards me...

Remember, she was walking the entire time. Not fast, just casually walking in the grass. Here's the last image, above, but without the crop...

As you can see, I've panned the camera and her placement vs the background is different, although her body appears to be in basically the same position, gate-wise.

Are the images SUPER sharp for a 100% crop? (yes, this IS a 100% crop) Of course not. It's f/1.2, I've literally never used the lens before, haven't checked to see if it needs microadjusting, and 100% crops are rarely ULTRA sharp wide open - especially at f/1.2, etc. But can the AF in the lens keep up with a little bit of movement? Absolutely. Should people who are shooting anything like this (movement wise, or less) be scared to buy this lens? Absolutely not. If I can do this, straight out of the box, first time shooting, what's stopping me (or anyone else) from improving upon this result going forward?

My minimally informed opinion at this point? This lens is absolutely usable for the vast majority of portraits, even with subjects who are moving at a casual pace, if you're interested. I plan to continue testing out the lens to find it's, and my, limitations for moving subjects but I have the feeling I won't find the AF too limiting for the majority of my shoots. Should I find it impossible for a certain circumstance, I have the 85/1.8 which can come to the rescue.

Hope this helps someone

EDIT: By the way, I didn't use one of the 5 dual cross type points.  This was the upper left-most corner of the middle 21 AF points which, from what I can tell, is the LEAST sensitive of the cross type points based on this diagram...

So works great even with one hand tied behind its back? 

Jonathan Brady wrote:

lol

Well the dog isn't exactly tearing up the track...

Jonathan Brady wrote:

Oh, definitely not. And I don't believe that it could keep up if she were, at least not with my skills.

I know its probably not the first choice for indoor basketball, but I have definitely seen great basketball images from the 1.2.  I think it can do much better than your examples even you or myself are behind the camera.

jitteringjr wrote:

I know its probably not the first choice for indoor basketball, but I have definitely seen great basketball images from the 1.2. I think it can do much better than your examples even you or myself are behind the camera.

You can certainly get basketball images with it. You just get fewer frames per second as the focus motor tries to keep up, and you'll get longer periods of no photos if the AF locks on the background.