Canon ef85mm f 1.2l ii usm đánh giá

EF 85mm f/1.2 in 2021: still worth using (and better than ever) on the R5

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This is a short review of the EF 85mm f/1.2, Mark I, which was Canon's flagship 85mm portrait workhorse lens from 1989 to 2006. Since 2006, it has been succeeded by a Mark II EF lens, which, although applying a new coating and including a newer, faster motor, maintained the same optical composition (thanks to the kind members of this forum for pointing this out to me).

That lens has now been succeeded in turn by the RF 85mm f/1.2. Based on comparisons (such as DPReview's and Christopher Frost's), it seems clear that the RF version has achieved a significant improvement over its predecessors in pretty much every way. It's sharper, especially wide open. It has less chromatic aberration and fringing. It has the fastest and quietest AF motor on an 85mm f/1.2. If money is no object, go buy that one.

However, the RF lens will cost you (in the US) $2799 plus tax - when it's in stock, that is. I bought my EF 85/1.2 lens used for about (US) $700 all in. I'll admit (and, to be honest, brag) that was a bargain (and it's in great working - and good-looking - condition too!), but you can find these lenses for considerably less than the RF version. You can find EF 85/1.2s for somewhere between $800 and $1500 used online. Even new, the EF Mark II sells for $1999 plus tax - which is still cheaper than the RF version, but I'd advise buying this lens used.

That's a huge difference from the RF lens. So how does it stand up on the merits today?

First, I want to address that this review is mostly meant to touch on what is particular to using this older lens on the newer body. For more thorough samples than I could give you here, I would recommend checking out Christopher Frost's video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hc-VafhLu6M. I would also recommend checking out his video comparing the EF and RF lenses (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3NhhtHaI50), as well as DPReview's (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdt7uAyGCJw), both of which I mentioned above. The Digital Picture also has reviews of all the generations.

It’s not a massively sharp lens but that’s not really the point. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II is famous for its beautiful bokeh and its ability to isolate the main subject within a scene. Coupled with an ideal focal length, this makes it a long-standing favorite with some of the world’s greatest portrait photographers. There’s sufficient sharpness on tap to give full detail to the eyes, while the roll-off makes for smooth, beautiful skin tones. However, the ultra-shallow depth of field demands very precise focusing, which can be a struggle for DSLRs.

Pros

• + Great for portraiture
• + Super-tight depth of field at f/1.2
• + High-precision focus ring

Cons

• - Axial chromatic aberration
• - No weather-seals
• - Pretty weighty and pricey

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The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II is a favorite of the most demanding professional portrait and wedding photographers worldwide. It’s ideal if you want to literally focus all of the attention on the eye, thanks to its incredibly tight depth of field. The quality of bokeh is especially alluring and the lens has the ability to beautify skin tones giving them a sublime softness without drawing attention to every tiny blemish.

Read more: The best portrait lenses The best lenses for wedding photography

Specifications

Mount: Canon EF Full-frame: Yes Autofocus: Yes Image stabilisation: No Lens construction: 8 elements in 7 groups Angle of view: 28.5 degrees Diaphragm blades: 8 Minimum aperture: f/16 Minimum focusing distance: 0.95m Maximum magnification ratio: 0.11x Filter size: 72mm Dimensions: 92x84mm Weight: 1,025g

Key features

(Image credit: Canon)

Naturally, to let in more light and enable the ultra-fast f/1.2 aperture rating, the front group of elements need to have a wide diameter. Since these large and weighty elements also move forwards and backwards for focusing, autofocus is pretty sluggish. Even so, autofocus speed is improved in this Mark II edition, compared with the original lens.

Unusually for a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus system, the manual focus ring is coupled electronically rather than mechanically. It’s a clever design flourish, because accurate focusing is highly critical with such a tight depth of field at f/1.2. The focus ring’s electronic encoder enables much greater precision for manual focusing than in the vast majority of autofocus lenses.

Although build quality is of a fully pro-grade standard, this lens lacks the weather-seals that usually adorn L-series optics. Tipping the scales at 1,025g, it’s certainly no lightweight.

Performance

Sharpness is pretty mediocre when shooting wide-open, even at the centre of the frame, but that’s good news for smooth skin tones and you can pick out plenty of detail in the eyes for portraiture. Either way, sharpness picks up well when reducing the aperture by small amounts to f/1.4 and f/1.8. Overall image quality is very pleasing with beautiful bokeh but axial chromatic aberration can be noticeable when shooting wide-open, around high-contrast edges that are just in front of or behind the point of focus. When stopping down a little, the 8-blade diaphragm gives a pronounced octagonal shape to defocused points of light - wide-open shooting is its strong point. And while manual focusing offers excellent precision, DSLRs can struggle to nail autofocus and it’s common to only capture a few keepers in a large series of shots when using this lens.

Lab results

We run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions, using the Imatest Master testing suite. Photos of test charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms (where available), then analyzed for sharpness, distortion and chromatic aberrations.

We use Imatest SFR (spatial frequency response) charts and analysis software to plot lens resolution at the center of the image frame, corners and mid-point distances, across the range of aperture settings and, with zoom lenses, at four different focal lengths. The tests also measure distortion and color fringing (chromatic aberration).

Sharpness:

(Image credit: Future)

Levels of sharpness drop off substantially when shooting wide-open but that’s not really a problem for soft and dreamy portraiture, which is this lens’s strong point.

Fringing:

(Image credit: Future)

Lateral chromatic aberration is quite minimal but axial (or longitudinal) color fringing can be quite noticeable, occurring anywhere across the entire image frame.

Distortion: -0.96

Our lab tests revealed a hint of barrel distortion but not it’s enough to be noticeable in the vast majority of real-world images.

Verdict

A classic lens, it’s really made its mark in the realms of top-end portrait and wedding photography. It’s still a great choice for DSLRs but, in terms of build quality, image quality, consistently accurate autofocus and ease of use, it’s been comprehensively overtaken by Canon’s newer RF edition of the lens for its EOS R-series cameras.

Read more:

Best wide-angle lenses for Canon

Best Canon telephoto lenses

Best Canon lenses

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Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners!

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related.