| Customer Reviews Collected from usa.canon.com |
Canon - EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens - Black
Average Customer Rating:
4.8
Rating breakdown 80 reviews
5 Stars
70
4 Stars
8
3 Stars
0
2 Stars
1
1 Star
1
99%of customers recommend this product.
(
66 out of
67)
Customer Reviews for Canon - EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens - Black
Customer Rating
5
A Great Lens - Mega Bang for Your Buck!
on February 6, 2012
Posted by: Daniel
from Medford, Oregon
This lens is a joy to use. Very rapid focus, tack-sharp images and decent build quality. At f1.8 image quality is very good with wonderful bokeh. I use this lens mostly indoors to shoot available light portraits. If you're torn between this lens and the Canon 50mm f1.4 I would choose this one for a couple of reasons. First, this lens uses a Ring Ultrasonic Motor, which simply stated is the best of the best. The 50mm f1.4 uses the extra-small Micro USM, and while that's a much better motor than what's in the 50mm f1.8 II, it's still not as durable as what's found in the 85mm f1.8. Second, this lens gives the photographer a comfortable working distance. I use a Rebel T3i and found that the 50mm is great for full body shots, but for portraits you have to get close, really close. If you shoot portraits close-up and tight then the 50mm may be a bit too short. My only complaint about the 85mm f1.8 is that a lens hood is not included.
Pros: fast tack-sharp affordable
Cons: lens hood not included
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Textbook definition of bang for the buck
on November 8, 2008
Posted by: Blake
from Washington, DC
Welcome to the world of Canon telephoto primes. Don't let the low price fool you - the only difference between this lens and professional L glass is the lack of weathersealing. Everything else is professional grade. Ring USM autofocus is faster than anything else on the market, period. Build quality is excellent and feels solid in your hands (it is in fact plastic but you'd be hard-pressed to tell without looking). Resolution is excellent. Like on almost any lens I stop down to f/2.0 or f/2.2 to sharpen up the corners a bit, but this is picking nits. This would be more necessary on a full-frame camera like the 5D2, but on crop cameras like the 40D I have no qualms about shooting wide-open at f/1.8 if I need maximum light-capturing ability. There is some purple-fringing in very high-contrast situations, but nothing that can't be cleaned up in 30 seconds in a RAW converter.
The 85 might not be a zoom, but it's still extremely versatile. It's not too big or heavy to put in a small bag & take with you anywhere. You'll get used to "zooming with your feet" very quickly, and you'll concentrate more on making a good photo instead of fiddling with a zoom ring as a result. I use this lens most for low-light work (clubs & concerts) where it's just long enough to get in close but not so long that you have to worry too much about blur from handheld shooting (if you're working in extremely low light, get an ST-E2 or small flash like the 220EX so that you can use the dedicated AF assist beam instead of strobing your built-in flash at your poor unsuspecting subjects).
It's also an excellent portrait lens, although on a crop body you may have to work a bit farther away from the model than you'd like if you're going for a "portrait Americain"; it's perfect for faces that fill the frame though. The wide aperture enables you to completely isolate the subject, and the bokeh (background blur) is quite pleasing.
One area in which this lens is often overlooked is macro. It's already not too bad as-is, but if you get a couple of cheap macro rings you can do some pretty amazing stuff. I've made a photo of the individual plant fibres in a bug-eaten leaf with this setup. Get ready to use a tripod or off-camera flash as you'll need to stop way down in order to get any useful depth of field with the macro rings on.
The one place where it falls short is the lens hood. It has to be bought separately and is not cheap, and the attachment system must have been designed in the '80s. It's hard to put on when you need it & it falls off when you don't want it to. Given the 85's other outstanding aspects though, I really don't care too much about these issues.
Given its low cost, the 85mm f/1.8 should be the first thing on any new Canon user's shopping list if you're serious about getting into photography. "It's a crime to go without a prime". If even the 85's budget is too rich for you, get the 50mm f/1.8 (about as sharp, but the AF & build of the 85 are in a different league). New SLR users are often put off by non-zoom lenses, but the whole point of having an interchangable-lens camera is being able to use the right tool for the job (if you're just going to stick with one lens, do yourself a favor & get a RAW-enabled compact instead!).
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, well balanced on all but the smallest cameras, great for macro with some rings, pleasing bokeh thanks to 8 diaphragm blades, fast aperture great for low light
Cons: lens hood not included & expensive, lens hood poorly designed
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Fine portrait and product lens
on August 7, 2009
Posted by: EOS4me
from Los Angeles, CA
Excellent image quality with good bokeh in a workhorse focal length for 3/4 portraits and product shots. Used in conjunction with an EF 135 2L USM makes a fantastic portrait setup for heads and enviromental portraits. Sharp and handy focal length reasonably priced fast quiet focusing. Not an "L" lens in terms of construction quality but "L" class image quality with very good solid build quality that will last a long time. I owned this lens for over 5 years and used it along side an EF 135 2L USM for portraits and products.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, good value
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Best I own?
on November 14, 2010
Posted by: Frsam
from MO
This may be the best lens I own. And that includes 3 'L' series lenses! While this may not have the largest aperture, smallest DOF, or the build-quality of an 'L', it is just as free from distortion and maybe better. I've been using this lens for nearly 3yrs now in a variety of situations: portrait in and out of studio, landscape, and 'nature' photography with wonderful results. The background blur is great and it is 'razor-sharp' . For the price, you cannot go wrong here. The only feature it lacks, is IS, but how many of us use it handheld as I do or at very small apertures?
Pros: supersharp, fast focus, distortion free
Cons: benefit from is
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Most-Bang-For-The-Buck
on October 21, 2009
Posted by: Funky_Tunes
from Jakarta, INDONESIA
It's a must for all Canon DSLR / EOS User.
For the past 4 years, this lens is the most brilliant tools in my lens line up. No matter what the occasion are, vacation or commercial shot, fashion or children, this lens pays it all. Almost all of my masterpiece session were involving the EF 85mm f/1.8....You don't have to pay L series bucks to get their quality, this is it, the alpha & the omega in matter of lightweight prime lens.
Amazingly sharp, even at maximum aperture ( I often selected 1 stop down from the max f available, about f/2 or f/2.8 to get maximum Image Quality )
It's light, it doesn't spread too much attention like the rest of the L series, & it gets the job done!
Amazingly sharp, even at maximum aperture ( I often selected 1 stop down from the max f available, about f/2 or f/2.8 to get maximum Image Quality )
It's light, it doesn't spread too much attention like the rest of the L series, & it gets the job done!
The only thing missing from this lens, is Image Stabilizer. But hey, it's light enough, I'm not too worry about it. If Canon decide to release the IS version of this lens, I'm the first person in line to order it.
Anyone starting a new hobby or pros searching for value solution in their lineup, I recommend you to buy the EF 85mm f/1.8.
Pros: Super-sharp images
Cons: no is
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Just what I was looking for
on March 4, 2011
Posted by: Linda
from Pennsylvania
I bought this lens for candid shots at dog shows. Even though it is a little long on a cropped camera, I just stand back a little further to shoot. The lens is very fast at f1.8, and it allows me to take a better photo in the not so ideal lighting of indoor dog shows. I can now use a faster shutter speed to stop the action. Thanks Canon.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images, great in low light
Cons: none
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Affordable Portrait Lens
on November 30, 2011
Posted by: undrgnd40
from Minnesota
I bought this lens solely for portraits, and I am very happy with the results. All the images are razor sharp with great control over background blur. Works great indoors and outdoors. It's lightweight and solidly built. This lens has a nice feel to the focus ring, and autofocus is quiet and fast. I only wish it came with a lens hood.
Pros: solid feel, sharp images, fast and accurate focus
Cons: no lens hood included
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
My Main Thang!
on April 26, 2014
Posted by: JPhotos
from Memphis,Tn
My first primes lens was the nifty fifty (50mm 1.8) . I absolutely loved it. My next lenses had to be the 85mm 1.8 lens. I read the reviews and decided to get it. Wow! This lens is so sharp and focuses very accurate and quickly. Now given... my 50mm 1.8 is very impressive, but this 85mm 1.8 takes the cake for me. My portraits have a smooth and creamy back ground at 1.8 and it's tack sharp. This lens was well worth the investment for me. Thanks Canon ...
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com