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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.
Developed to succeed Canon’s highly acclaimed EF85mm f/1.2L USM lens
launched in September 1989, the new EF85mm f/1.2L II USM is a
mediumtelephoto lens boasting the highest Brightness in its class* to deliver the high-Resolution, high-Contrast images for which Canon’s L-series is renowned.
Employing large, high-precision aspherical lenses in combination with a
floating construction that suppresses aberrations during focusing,
Canon’s new ultra-large- aperture medium-telephoto lens maintains the
superior image quality throughout the shooting range that its
predecessor was acclaimed for.It employs lens element positioning and
lens Coating to ensure excellent Color balance while minimizing the
ghosting and flare that can easily occur when shooting in the digital
format.
Moreover,the new Canon EF85mm f/1.2L II USM lens goes even farther
to meet the needs of professional and advanced amateur users by
incorporating such high-performance features, high-speed CPU, and an
optimized AF algorithm to realize an AF speed 1.8 times as fast as that
of its predecessor.
Ideal for professional photographers who shoot portraits and
weddings, Canon’s EF85mm f/1.2L II USM medium-telephoto lens features a
circular EMD (electromagnetic diaphragm) that achieves excellent
background Blur.
Concept of development The EF85mm f/1.2L II USM (Photo 2) is an L-series medium
telephoto lens developed as a successor to the EF85mm f/1.2L USM, which
is very popular for its ultra-large aperture of f/1.2 and high
resolution since it was released in 1989.
The model has been redesigned to increase AF speed, while retaining the excellent optical performance of its predecessor.
The development concept is as follows:
Inheriting excellent optical performance of the original EF85mm f/1.2L USM
Much higher AF speed than its predecessor
Use of circular aperture
Feature 1: Inheriting excellent optical performance
By adopting a large aperture, precision ground and polished glass
aspherical lens with the same 8 elements in 7 groups as its
predecessor, the EF85mm f/1.2L II USM minimizes aberrations such as
Spherical aberration and provides excellent quality images with both
high resolution and contrast from the maximum aperture of f/1.2 (Fig.
4).
Fig. 4 EF85mm f/1.2L II USM Optical System
The lens uses relative floating element construction in which the rear
lens group is fixed and the other groups extend as a unit during
focusing. This suppresses Aberration variations and achieves excellent
performance over the entire imaging area (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5 MTF Characteristic Charts of EF85mm f/1.2L II USM
Feature 2: Much higher-speed AF
The combination of a front lens group focusing system in which groups 1
to 7 are extended and a ring-type USM drive is the same as its
predecessor, but the AF speed has been significantly improved by up to
1.8 times* compared to its predecessor through the use of a high-speed
CPU and optimization of AF algorithms.
* Depends on camera and shooting conditions.
Feature 3: Circular aperture for attractive bokeh effects
Thanks to the EMD's circular aperture together with the shallow depth
of field typical of a large aperture lens, the lens provides attractive
blur effects (bokeh).
Feature 4: Lens coating optimized for use with digital SLR cameras
Like its predecessor, the EF85mm f/1.2L II USM uses coating optimized
for use with digital SLR cameras. As a result, it successfully realizes
both good color balance and minimization of ghost and flare
attributable to surface reflections from the digital imaging element.
Feature 5: Superb operability Focusing ring providing a smooth feel to operation
The electronic lens ring system provides subtlely smooth focusing. It
also provides Full-time manual focusing that allows manual focus after
one-shot AF operation without leaving AF mode.
Distance information for improving flash exposure precision
Distance information can be sent to the camera during AF, thus making
the EF85mm f/1.2L II USM compatible with the E-TTL II autoflash system
for the optimal flash exposure.
Rubber coating for excellent grip
A soft rubberized outer coating has been used to provide a more secure grip and easier handling.
Dedicated hood with superb light blocking
Like its predecessor, the EF85mm f/1.2L II USM uses the ES-79II
cylindrical hood, which is excellent for preventing Reflection thanks
to flocking on the inner surface.
Feature 6: Environmentally friendly design
The optical system contains only environmentally friendly lead-free
glasses. The EF85mm f/1.2L II USM is also in compliance with Canon's
own standard covering the RoHS Directive.
Like others of extreme specification, this is a connoisseur's lens. Bearing in mind its street price it is clearly not meant for most amateurs. Our view is that a wide-aperture optic should be brought for its performance wide-open and because the photographers work or interest requires it - not for imagined prestige as may have occurred in the past. Who needed a medium telephoto f/1.2. Canon describes it as the companies definitive portrait lens and points to applications in covering indoor sports and natural life in poor light, as well as impromptu shots as weddings and other social functions to avoid the use of flash. The pattern of performance found on the test certainly confirms its suitability for portraiture, going from a pleasant softness of textures when wide open to sharper rendering on stopping down. However, there is a lingering feeling it could be better still fully open and the colour fringing makes it a hesitant recommendation without prior trial for your specific use. Although improved in some respects - mainly mechanical - it remains, essentially a 17 yer old design. At a less extreme aperture this ago would not be that relevant. Possibly the market demand for an 85mm f/1.2 is sufficient to incur the heavy costs of reformulation, with use o fmore expensive low-Dispersion glass, tooling up and so on. As it stands, it is a classic traditional lens of a unique specification, which fulfils its claims but is not for those looking for cutting -edge crispness of detail at the wider end of the aperture scale.
Oh buy the way this is a truly stunning looking lens and you will find it hard to see a more beautiful chunk of glass.
Sharpness / Definition
The impact on contrast of closing the aperture is dramatic, taking performance levels from poor at f/1.2 to high at f/5.6. Much of the density loss is due to lateral chromatic aberrations, particularly in the longer red wavelengths.
Vignetting
Corner darkening might well be noticeable at full aperture in theory, but with the type of image likely to be shot with this lens being portrait then its presence is probably go unseen. By the time the aperture is closed 2 EV to f/1.8the effect will not be visible.
Focal length
We found then when focused at infinity the lens length was 83.8mm , at 15 meters it was 85.4mm and at 7.7meters it was 86mm.
Why should you care what I think?
My relationship with this item: Editor review
Conclusions at a glance
Would you recommend this Item: Undecided Pros: Speed, build Cons: Price, not s good as you would expect for this price.
Last updated: Wednesday, 23 January 2008
User Lens Reviews
Average user rating from: 22 user(s)
Overall rating (weighted)
4.7
Sharpness
4.6
Build Quality
4.8
AF Speed
4.8
Value for Money
4.8
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0 of 0 people found the following review helpful
The sharpest canon lens on the market to date, Monday, 05 May 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I am a huge fan of this lens - both on my full frame body (canon 1dsmkiii) and on my crop chip backup camera (40D).
Besides the fact that this lens is super expensive... it is probably the best canon lens made today.
It is by far - the sharpest lens - I have ever used on the canon line... and probably one of the top 5 sharpest lenses I have ever used in any camera system.
Not just sharp - two stops up from wide open... but sharp - wide open.
I was shooting a party at a bowling alley. Disco bowling. So it was mostly dark - and there were disco lights and fog and all sorts of distractions. This lens performed flawlessly and autofocused fast and correct almost all the time.
When using this lens in a regular light situation - it could be useful to put a neutral density filter on it... and shoot it wide open for the most beautiful bokeh that the canon line has to offer.
Upsides: sharp, great colors, amazing bokeh downsides: heavy, expensive, and not a zoom.
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This is a single purpose lens but ...., Wednesday, 23 April 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
it does it really really really well.
The lens is expensive, you can buy 5 85 f/1.8 for 1 85 f/1.2.
The lens is heavy and fat.
You could use it as an indoor sport lens since it a f/1.2, but the 70-200 f/2.8 IS is more useful, since it focuses quicker and the range is more useful.
You can use it as a walking around lens, but 24-70 f/2.8 is a better choice.
Macro, the 100 f/2.8 macro is more suitable and only 1/5 of the price.
Is it worth the money?
It depends.
It's a difficult lens to work with.
As others have noted, the DOF is incredibly thing.
Most don't really need f/1.2.
No you buy this lens for only one purpose.
Bar none it is the best portrait lens out there.
The bokeh and sharpness is stunning.
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Ditto, great lens, Friday, 04 April 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I have 70-200 2.8, 24-70 2.8, 16-35 2.8 and this lens. This being my only prime is great. Can't say enough about what this lens will do. DOF needs to be watched you can get a focused tip of the nose and out of focus eyes even with someone with a small nose :-)
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Great lens for portraits, Thursday, 03 April 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.3
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
3.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is a great lens, especially for portraits. However, I feel it's a Bit too expensive so I can't give it a 5 star rating due to the price.
The MKII version focuses certainly a lot faster which is nice however if you already have the MKI version, it's probably not worth it to upgrade. I did but I do shoot professionally and can write it off on my taxes. I definitely notice that it's faster. Now I can focus at a slow speed rather than a glacial speed.
This is a serious lens in every way. It's heavy, expensive but can yield some awesome results.
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Excellent lens if you know what you're doing, Sunday, 30 March 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
5.0
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
This is not a beginner lens. In fact, even experienced shooters will take some time to get used to this lens. But if you know what you're doing, it can produce some amazing shots.
The key feature of this lens is of course it's very wide aperture creating a very narrow DoF. Which means your focus needs to be spot on. I found that this is one of those lenses where your results are best if you shoot with a single, selected focus point. It's also one of the lenses where the 1DM3/1DsM3 microadjustments for focus may be worth undertaking.
The challenge with this lens is the slow AF, because its front focusing. It won't track a moving person very well. It's also a heavy lens - even though it's a prime lens, it weighs more than most zooms. But chances are if you're considering this lens, you also have one of the bigger and heavier full frame bodies.
As such if you hope to use this lens as a everyday multi-purpose lens you will be disappointed. But if you use it for a narrow range: portraits or other objects which don't move much, and benefit from a very narrow DoF, this is a fabolous lens.
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I now have too many clients!, Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
I now have too many clients because of this lens and no longer have time to update or make changes to my review so I took all of it off except this intro and the pros and cons. Also I now have to supply my clients with a photographers release as most places say a pro must have shot these you must have a photographers release. These are great problems I never had before purchasing this lens.
The ultimate portrait lens
Pros:
Super Bokeh Great lens hood Too many clients!! Super low light event lens Best portrait lens for women and girls ever made Shoot outside at night with no tripod at 3200 ISO! Amazing looking photos that say professional all over them. Along with my Canon 135 F2 lens the finest portrait lens in the world! Sharp wide open in the center with wonder halo effect around outside Sharp edge to edge by F2.0
Cons:
Price Heavy! 1,025 Grams Exposed rear element No focus lock and recompose! It's always out of focus Removal procedure (1 manual focus, 2 focus to infinity, 3 camera Off) Battery Hog!! I only get 300 - 360 shots or so with Canon 40D 200 with Rebel XTi Install procedure (carefully line up without seeing red dot and protect rear element) Some CA (Chromatic aberration) wide open totally gone when stopped down to 1.8 not an issue with most portrait photos
Lens I currently own: Canon EF-S 17-55 F/2.8 IS Ultra sharp, great colors, great low light, poor zoom action Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Rebel XTi Kit lens Muddy, slow, pile of junk Canon EF 17-40mm f/4 L Fantastic colors, pretty sharp, ultra smooth zoom action, light weight Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L Fantastic colors and contrast, sharp, zoom a little stiff at first, heavy! Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Good budget portrait lens, light weight, disposable, sharp from F/2.5 Canon EF 85mm F/1.2 L II The best portrait lens for female and children clients, buttery smooth Bokeh, heavy and expensive it shares sharpness with 135mm Canon EF 135mm F/2.0 L The best portrait lens for males and tied with Canon 85mm F 1/.2 for sharpest lens I own, buttery smooth Bokeh Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L fantastic colors, sharp for a zoom, very versatile ego boosting and attention getting and heavy!
My next lens purchase I'm saving for right now: Canon EF 300mm F/2.8 IS L the finest lens ever made by Canon
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Know in advance, this lens is HEAVY, Thursday, 24 January 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
5.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
4.0
Heavy! Yes, but it is "picture-perfect." You want fantastic bokeh (background blur) this is for you. You can drop this down and take indoor pictures without a lens in most situations. This is a wonderful lens, although canon does charge and arm and a leg for it. One could argue this is the best lens in the Canon lineup and they could back it up with reasonable arguments. Maybe it is not the best, maybe it is, either way, this lens allows you to take wonderful pictures in situations where very few other lenses could even attempt to capture a good image. I love this lens for those situations which call for it. I don't regret spending the extra money over the 1.8f version, as I find it worth every extra penny (dollars$$$)! Buy and enjoy and you can separate yourself from others by showing background blur that some photogs droll over.
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A journey into the masterful, Wednesday, 02 January 2008
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
I've only been using it for a short while and I can already say that this lens is going to take me a bit to master. Still, it's very forgiving when not wide open and I'm really liking the results so far! Unbelievably sharp, excellent bokeh, good feel. Heavy, but balanced (on a 40D). Manually focusing is a bit clumsy, but with a chunk of glass this large, I can see why the internals are so "precise and micro" for the focus.
Like others have said... at wide open (f/1.2) and even at ISO 100, it's easy to blow out your shots. At night, this lens belongs at 1.2, but by day, it's best when stopped down a bit. This lens will make you learn to be comfortable in manual mode.
Regrets? NONE!
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Great specialized glass; still room for improvemen, Wednesday, 19 December 2007
Overall rating (weighted)
4.8
Sharpness
4.0
Build Quality
5.0
AF Speed
5.0
Value for Money
5.0
The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens is a very heavy (1025 grams or 2.25 lbs), very well built lens. It comes packaged with the appropriate hood, the Canon ES-7911. You get both a lens cap and a mount cap, all packed inside tight conformal foam to protect the lens during shipping. There's also a very brief manual and the usual warranty paperwork.
The 85mm specification is for a full-frame camera; with an APS-C size sensor like the one in my EOS 40D, this is multiplied by 1.6 to an effective 136mm.
The lens offers AF and manual focus. However, the manual focus is electronically driven from the focus ring to the AF motor system, which has several consequences. First, you can't focus when the camera is off. Second, the rate of focus is limited by the speed of the focus motor. Third, focus adjustments are extremely precise, essentially free of backlash and drift. The first two issues are negatives, but in my view, they are more than outweighed by the third. For instance, I often take images of the night sky; in order to do this, the lens can be AF-focused on something in the sky (I've been using Mars recently for this), and then it can be put into manual focus where the focus will remain correct and constant as long as the camera and lens temperatures do not change significantly. This is the only lens I own that has stable enough focus hardware to be able to do this. The focus ring is broad and well-textured, and a pleasure to use. There is a second textured area on the lens barrel, closer to the camera, that you can mistake for the focus ring - this area is meant to assist you in mounting and unmounting the lens. I've learned to avoid it. Manual focus is precise and moving the ring results in a fine enough focus change that when you blow a shot, you can be absolutely certain the lens wasn't to blame.
The AF/Manual switch is in a reasonable location, close to the camera body. There is a range indication on the barrel of the lens behind a transparent window which serves to keep debris out of the workings of the lens.
I have found that after you focus, if you change the f-stop, the lens does move a little off-focus; it is slight but definite. So take care to re-focus if you change f-stops.
While I'm thinking about how AF acts with this lens, one thing I definitely noticed was that at f/1.2, the camera can AF in almost any situation. I can AF on single stars, faint skin detail, all kinds of things that were impossible with my f/1.8 wide open, which all in all is a very pleasant experience.
The lens lacks any form of image stabilization. On the one hand, looking at the sheer size of the optical components used to construct this lens, one is tempted to sympathize with Canon - IS would be quite a technical challenge if we want to keep all that great light gathering capability. On the other, IS is showing up in more and more places, and for the price... well, let's just say that perhaps this is one of the justifications for building IS into the camera body i
