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EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Retaining the impressive optical performance and large aperture of the original EF 85mm f/1.2L USM, this new medium telephoto lens uses a Ring-type USM, high-speed CPU and optimized algorithms to achieve an autofocus speed approximately 1.8x faster than the original. The high-speed AF and circular aperture create a shallow depth-of-field that brings attention to the subject and blurs the background, which is ideal for portraits and weddings. The floating optical system, which includes an aspherical lens element, suppresses aberrations and ensures excellent imaging performance.
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Average Customer Rating:
out of
5
11 out of 12(92%)customers would recommend this product to a friend.
Customer Reviews for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Review 1 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
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Nickname: SuperM3
Location: Riverside, California
Used this product for: more than 1 year
Expertise Level: Professional or Expert
Product replacement: Yes
The Ultimate Bokeh Machine
Date: March 4, 2010
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
Cons: nothing
This is one of the best lenses on an already excellent line-up of the Canon L Series. The low-light and bokeh- producing capabilities of this lens is unmatched. It has the creamiest bokeh of all lenses.The color rendition and sharpness are really superb. At aperture 1.2 at its closest focusing distance, the depth of field is only 1.5cms., and that gives you a very dramatic look that other lenses will find difficulty reproducing.
I've read other reviews, not only here but also in other sites, about focusing problems, and those to me are most probably operator issues rather than a problem with the lens itself. This lens can be technical to use because you have to rethink how to focus on your subjects. You can not just point and shoot specially if using the largest aperture settings. It is important that you have to precisely know what you are focusing on. Using the individual focusing points will solve probably 99% of the focusing issues. Once you have trained yourself on how to focus with this lens, the rewards are great.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Review 2 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
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Features
5
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Performance
5
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Price/Value
4
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5
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5
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Nickname: Pilot850
Used this product for: 1 to 3 months
Expertise Level: Advanced Amateur
Incredible Portrait Lens
Date: February 17, 2010
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Super-sharp images, great background defocus
I managed to get my hands on one of these at a camera show. It was incredible! Attach it to any Canon DSLR, and it will instantly make you a pro (assuming you have at least some experience with SLRs). It is well worth the cost if you are a pro photographer, and perhaps even if you are an amateur. I recommend this lens for anybody who wants to take their portrait shots to the next level. My only concern is the price, so only buy this if you have plenty of money to burn.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
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Review 3 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
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5
Features
2
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3
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Price/Value
3
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Nickname: Anonymous
Used this product for: 1 to 3 months
Expertise Level: Advanced Amateur
Great glass, but poor focus ring
Date: October 26, 2009
Pros: Superior build quality, beutiful bokeh, great portrait lens
Cons: poor manual focus, feel of focus ring
This is a great piece of glass, but shooting at f1.2 results in such shallow depth-of-field that manual focus is essential. This is where the lens has a terrible fault. The focus ring is not really manual, it requires the camera to be turned on to power the focusing ring. The electronics translate manual focus into actual focus. The feel is very awkward, the ring feels too loose, and focus is not as precise. Also, to protect the lens from being stored in an extended position, it requires that you consciuosly refocus the lens to retract it before turning the camera off or changing lenses.
16 of 23 people found this review helpful.
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Review 4 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
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5
Features
4
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5
Performance
4
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Price/Value
4
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5
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5
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Nickname: snapping turtle
Location: New Jersey
Used this product for: 6 to 12 months
Expertise Level: Professional or Expert
Best portrait lens
Date: August 16, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality
Cons: Slow auto-focus
Lens performance simply does not get any better. Just read the name, and you should already know that this lens means business. Amazing image quality that beats any zoom and places itself among the top of fixed focal length lenses. It is the ultimate portrait lens for both indoor and outdoor. Especially useful in weddings when taking formal portraits of the bride/groom getting ready in her/his room. Take advantage of its large aperture performance while you can so you can enjoy the excitement of noise free images! It is the king for those who want the maximum f/stop creativity.
Physically this lens could have been built better. The lens should not have to be mounted on the camera to activate manual focus. This is not severe in most situations, but the fact that this lens also extends externally, makes me want to return the lens to infinity when I am finished for the sake of reducing the lens size. I am also quite surprised that a lens at this level does not get weather sealing! Though not very important, its a member of the L class, why not have it! AF speed is decent, but not fast enough for sports and quick stage photography. But this lens was never really meant for such action anyway.
I don't recommend large aperture lenses like these for beginners or for those who are not careful with focusing. With such a shallow depth of field, you really only get one thing sharp. The rest would be soft. Even the slightest wrong movement can render a soft image. I have been told by Canon reps and agree with them that "Focusing is an acquired skill". This lens would really test that skill.
40 of 40 people found this review helpful.
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Review 5 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
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5
Features
5
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Performance
5
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Price/Value
5
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Nickname: John
Location: Houston, TX
Used this product for: Less than 1 month
Expertise Level: Advanced Amateur
Product replacement: No
Best Glass Around!
Date: July 22, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus
Canon has built another truly amazing lens in the 85mm f/1.2L. I bought this one primarily for portraits, but also out of video curiosity with my 5D Mark II.
Wow, great choice! The background blur at 1.2 is really amazing, and I haven't found focusing to be much of an issue (even while chasing around a couple of toddlers). Trick is to set the camera's autofocus mode to "one shot", put your desired focusing sensor on the subjects eye (or wahtever you want to be sharp), and fire away. The result is breathtaking!
14 of 15 people found this review helpful.
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Review 6 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
out of
5
Features
5
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Performance
5
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Price/Value
4
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5
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5
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Nickname: 68NOVA
Location: ORLAND PARK, IL
Used this product for: 1 to 3 months
Expertise Level: Hobbyist/Enthusiast
Product replacement: No
BEST LENS SO FAR
Date: April 22, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, great bokeh
I just love this lens. The image quality and the Bokeh are absolutley unbeliveable. It does take some getting use to but the almost magical images it produces is very rewarding. Also, the 1.2 gives me many more low light oppertunities that I was able to get before.
15 of 18 people found this review helpful.
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Review 7 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
out of
5
Features
4
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Performance
5
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Price/Value
5
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5
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Nickname: MS Florida
Location: Oviedo, FL
Used this product for: 3 to 6 months
Expertise Level: Professional or Expert
Product replacement: Yes
Spectacular images - worth every dollar
Date: February 13, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, beautiful background blur
Cons: Slow auto-focus
I've been shooting with L zoom lenses for several years -- primarily wedding work -- and always considered the long end of the 24-70 or the short end of the 70-200 as suitable for portaits (using a full-frame 5D sensor), but nothing prepared me for the superior clarity and gorgeous bokeh of this lens. The lens is heavy, and is slow to focus, as most reviewers note, but this is a small trade-off for the superior performance. The razor-sharp DoF can work against you if you're tempted to shoot 1.2 all the time, but it definitely adds extreme drama when you've focused correctly. This is the best lens you can have for portrait or low-light photography.
45 of 48 people found this review helpful.
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Review 8 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
out of
5
Features
5
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Performance
5
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Price/Value
5
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Nickname: PC PHOTO
Location: Fargo, ND
Used this product for: more than 1 year
Expertise Level: Professional or Expert
Product replacement: Yes
PORTRAIT PHOTOGRAPHER'S DREAM COME TRUE
Date: February 13, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, magical results
If portrait's are your thing, you are considering on of the best. If you desire superb optical quality, extreme dept of field control, and wonderful bokeh, this is the lens for you. I find the pictures I get with it inspire me to keep taking more. It's truly excellent!
12 of 15 people found this review helpful.
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Review 9 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
out of
5
Features
5
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Performance
5
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Price/Value
5
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5
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Nickname: Matty B
Location: New York, NY
Used this product for: 6 to 12 months
Expertise Level: Advanced Amateur
Product replacement: No
One of the best lenses out there!!!
Date: January 30, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality
If you want a great portrait lens with a fast aperture and razor sharp images, LOOK NO FURTHER. Although this lens hits your wallet HARD, I would say this is the best lens I own. (this includes 35mm f/1.4L, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS, 400mm f/2.8L, 24-105mm f/4L, etc.) I have used it on my 30D, 5D Mark II and 1D Mark III and it is stellar across the board. And even though I like it the most on my full-frame sensor body, the cropping factor of a 30D, etc. did not bother me. 90% of my favorite images have come from this lens.
And, unless you're trying to photograph sports, I don't think the auto-focus is THAT slow. Sure there are faster lenses out there, but it is still the best.
26 of 28 people found this review helpful.
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Review 10 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
out of
5
Features
5
out of
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Performance
5
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Price/Value
4
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Quality
5
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Satisfaction
5
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Nickname: scjurgen
Location: New York, NY
Used this product for: more than 1 year
Expertise Level: Professional or Expert
Product replacement: No
The very cool but also difficult lens
Date: January 28, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, extreme shallow dof
Cons: learning curve is as slow as this lens is fast
Short summary: after leaving behind a lot of trouble you will never ever want to go out without this lens.
Story: This lens has been love on first sight: extreme aperture, extreme DoF, extreme sensibility in choosing the focal point. But as this it shows also your limits in shooting.
At first you love it, but then you get to do some portraiture's and you start to hate it: constantly out of focus because you always go with F1.2. Furthermore a not so fast auto focus and unclean focal point, because the camera is not sensible enough to get it right.
After this downfall you start to learn again to use a lens of this caliber: using manual focus and/or live view (on a 5D mark ii it get's perfect) you get what you had in your mind when talking about shallow DoF. Using apertures of greater than 4 to get the sharpest images you can ever dream of. At the end uou need to understand perfectly the focal plane because it is so razor sharp, and after all this trouble you will never ever want to go out without this lens.
47 of 52 people found this review helpful.
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Review 11 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
out of
5
Features
5
out of
5
Performance
5
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Price/Value
4
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5
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Nickname: vpnd
Location: North Dakota
Used this product for: more than 1 year
Expertise Level: Professional or Expert
Product replacement: No
best stationary lens ever
Date: January 18, 2009
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality
Yes the auto focus is slow, but it is faster than the old version. This lens is made for portraits and events. Do not buy if you mainly photograph moving people or objects. For the portraits and wedding crowd, it is the sharpest most beautiful lens ever made. Period.
15 of 17 people found this review helpful.
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Review 12 for EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
Overall Rating
out of
5
Features
5
out of
5
Performance
5
out of
5
Price/Value
4
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Quality
5
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Satisfaction
5
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Nickname: Bob
Location: Lake Charles, LA
Used this product for: 3 to 6 months
Expertise Level: Hobbyist/Enthusiast
Product replacement: No
Superb Images
Date: November 9, 2008
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality
Cons: Slow auto-focus
I got this lens while looking at another L series lens. After seeing the beautiful, silky smooth background blur, I was hooked. My best portrait type shots are with this lens. The colors are amazing and details are great. I love this lens.
The autofocus is slow, as compared to my 70-200 f2.8 and it's a heavy lens, but most quality lenses are going to be heavy.
The autofocus is slow, as compared to my 70-200 f2.8 and it's a heavy lens, but most quality lenses are going to be heavy.
35 of 46 people found this review helpful.
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