Amazing lens, excellent for the money!

I have owned the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II before. I was never happy with that lens, and I never felt like it was sharp wide open. Furthermore, f/1.2 rarely gave me enough DOF. I quickly sold that lens. I recently purchased this for under $200. It is razor sharp, and it is about as good as $200 can buy you. I use this primarily on my 1DX Mark III, it will also go on any of my other bodies very nicely. I have shot my last few events with this and the 200mm f/2.8L II (another 5 star lens), and they have been on my body far more often than the 70-200mm. For the price, it absolutely deserves 5 stars.

Nikon33 wrote:

I have owned the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II before. I was never happy with that lens, and I never felt like it was sharp wide open. Furthermore, f/1.2 rarely gave me enough DOF. I quickly sold that lens. I recently purchased this for under $200. It is razor sharp, and it is about as good as $200 can buy you. I use this primarily on my 1DX Mark III, it will also go on any of my other bodies very nicely. I have shot my last few events with this and the 200mm f/2.8L II (another 5 star lens), and they have been on my body far more often than the 70-200mm. For the price, it absolutely deserves 5 stars.

The newer is even better and with IS.

ASR45 wrote:

Nikon33 wrote:

I have owned the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II before. I was never happy with that lens, and I never felt like it was sharp wide open. Furthermore, f/1.2 rarely gave me enough DOF. I quickly sold that lens. I recently purchased this for under $200. It is razor sharp, and it is about as good as $200 can buy you. I use this primarily on my 1DX Mark III, it will also go on any of my other bodies very nicely. I have shot my last few events with this and the 200mm f/2.8L II (another 5 star lens), and they have been on my body far more often than the 70-200mm. For the price, it absolutely deserves 5 stars.

The newer is even better and with IS.

I don't think there is an 85mm f/1.8 IS, is there?

Nikon33 wrote:

ASR45 wrote:

Nikon33 wrote:

I have owned the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II before. I was never happy with that lens, and I never felt like it was sharp wide open. Furthermore, f/1.2 rarely gave me enough DOF. I quickly sold that lens. I recently purchased this for under $200. It is razor sharp, and it is about as good as $200 can buy you. I use this primarily on my 1DX Mark III, it will also go on any of my other bodies very nicely. I have shot my last few events with this and the 200mm f/2.8L II (another 5 star lens), and they have been on my body far more often than the 70-200mm. For the price, it absolutely deserves 5 stars.

The newer is even better and with IS.

I don't think there is an 85mm f/1.8 IS, is there?

Yes you are correct, but they have the newer 85mm F1.4 IS which is better.

ASR45 wrote:

Nikon33 wrote:

I don't think there is an 85mm f/1.8 IS, is there?

Yes you are correct, but they have the newer 85mm F1.4 IS which is better.

That's surprising since it only costs a thousand dollars more than the f1.8 lens.

ASR45 wrote:

Nikon33 wrote:

ASR45 wrote:

Nikon33 wrote:

I have owned the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II before. I was never happy with that lens, and I never felt like it was sharp wide open. Furthermore, f/1.2 rarely gave me enough DOF. I quickly sold that lens. I recently purchased this for under $200. It is razor sharp, and it is about as good as $200 can buy you. I use this primarily on my 1DX Mark III, it will also go on any of my other bodies very nicely. I have shot my last few events with this and the 200mm f/2.8L II (another 5 star lens), and they have been on my body far more often than the 70-200mm. For the price, it absolutely deserves 5 stars.

The newer is even better and with IS.

I don't think there is an 85mm f/1.8 IS, is there?

Yes you are correct, but they have the newer 85mm F1.4 IS which is better.

Well, that defeats my point!

I'm sure the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 is even sharper, but I don't think that I want to spend any more money hahaha.

1Dx4me wrote:

i like this lens quite a bit and here are few shots to prove your point:

Nice pussy.

I have recently borrowed this lens from a friend to use for some basketball shooting.  I am shooting it on a 7DII.  Worked great for basketball most of the time if you keep your shooting so that they don't get too close to you.  Nice to have a wider aperture than f2.8 for the high school gyms.  I don't always shoot wide open but at f2.0 or f2.2

I have found this lens to be super sharp in general.  I was surprised at how nice the shots were of everyday stuff around the house.  I might have to get one of my own.  Now with the RF version out, there probably will not be a updated version of this lens.

This was my main portrait lens for years and I liked everything about it, except it had more CA than I liked dealing with. Even so, I really enjoyed it. Mine was good at f/1.8 and very sharp at f/2.

rmexpress22 wrote:

This was my main portrait lens for years and I liked everything about it, except it had more CA than I liked dealing with. Even so, I really enjoyed it. Mine was good at f/1.8 and very sharp at f/2.

Interesting, my last shoot was an engagement (shot in the Canon R5), and I did not notice any issue with CA. Perhaps the R5 has something in camera to fix that problem. I have also since sold my 70-200mm lens, and still own the 85mm...

Nikon33 wrote:

rmexpress22 wrote:

This was my main portrait lens for years and I liked everything about it, except it had more CA than I liked dealing with. Even so, I really enjoyed it. Mine was good at f/1.8 and very sharp at f/2.

Interesting, my last shoot was an engagement (shot in the Canon R5), and I did not notice any issue with CA. Perhaps the R5 has something in camera to fix that problem. I have also since sold my 70-200mm lens, and still own the 85mm...

It is mainly axial CA. The Tamron SP 85mm F1.8 Di VC USD has much less CA, but it doesn't focus as quickly as the Canon, and it has a considerably higher retail price.

QuietOC wrote:

Nikon33 wrote:

rmexpress22 wrote:

This was my main portrait lens for years and I liked everything about it, except it had more CA than I liked dealing with. Even so, I really enjoyed it. Mine was good at f/1.8 and very sharp at f/2.

Interesting, my last shoot was an engagement (shot in the Canon R5), and I did not notice any issue with CA. Perhaps the R5 has something in camera to fix that problem. I have also since sold my 70-200mm lens, and still own the 85mm...

It is mainly axial CA. The Tamron SP 85mm F1.8 Di VC USD has much less CA, but it doesn't focus as quickly as the Canon, and it has a considerably higher retail price.

That is interesting.  I like Tamron products but one of the main things I would use the 85mm f1.8 for is indoor sports like basketball or volleyball.  Fast focus is needed.

Hello Nikon33, Thank you for sharing your insights on the Canon 85 1.8.  I was hoping to ask you when the lens is on your 1dxmiii does it stand upright or is it just heavy enough for it to tilt the camera forward onto the lens (like resting on a table)?  Sure appreciate any help and thank you advance.

JustBrian wrote:

Hello Nikon33, Thank you for sharing your insights on the Canon 85 1.8. I was hoping to ask you when the lens is on your 1dxmiii does it stand upright or is it just heavy enough for it to tilt the camera forward onto the lens (like resting on a table)? Sure appreciate any help and thank you advance.

That was unfortunately not something I specifically tested...