| 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
just right
on March 5, 2010
Posted by: Bob
from Central Illinois
I bought this lens for my granddaughters volleyball games and couldn't be happier. I can stop the motion or blur it if I wish. The dim lighting in the gym was giving me fits before I purchased this lens. Thank you Canon for a great lens. The fast and amazingly quiet auto-focus is the greatest.
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
Customer Rating
5
L Quality paying less money
on November 6, 2010
Posted by: Lalo
from Colombia
I've been using the EF85mm for more than two years. More recently attached to a Mark II 5D and all I can say is that is like having a L quality lens for less money. Pictures are sharp, the auto focus is very fast, and it's excellent under low light situations (it's a f1.8!!). I bought this lens when my daughter was born and portraits are really really good. It's my new workabout lens and when I see the results in Lightroom the majority of pcs have at least one or two stars, so hard to delete the bad ones. Canon should work on having a good hood for this lens. Image Stabilization is not necessary.
It's like having a "L" lens, but paying less money.
It's like having a "L" lens, but paying less money.
Pros: sharp, fast auto focus, image quality, build quality
Cons: lens hood, no is
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
1
Lots of visible dust!
on September 12, 2017
Posted by: Norm
from Oregon, United States
I have many older lenses with no visible dust! I ordered this "Refurbished" lens, they must have been BLIND!!!!!!!!!!!! I have NEVER seen so much viable dust! 1 large piece right in the center of the lens! I have always thoiut of Canon of top notch, but now.... wow so disipointed!
No, I would not recommend this to a friend.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Excellent lens!
on April 23, 2009
Posted by: Ang
from Anaheim Hills, CA
Pros: excellent portrait lens--particularly nice blur if the background is not a single color flat wall. I use it when the background has many things in it and pictures become very artistic.
Cons: no hood. I wish it came with one, particularly since in order to get the wonderful distorted backgrounds, it is best to photograph outdoors.
In general: I bought this lens about a week ago and have used it since for about 600 pictures. If I tell you that of the 600 I kept 590 as "very good," those of you with some photo experience will think I am out of my mind... but it is true. The background blur is so artsy that even a slightly missed picture can become beautiful if approximately designed (cropped) afterwards.
I find that this lens really works best when the subject of thing you photograph is in front of a very busy background. This way the element there create a colorful blur that is very pleasing to look at and increases the 3D quality of the person/object of focus.
I found that aperture variations make a very big difference if a mixed background is used but little if the background is one-color flat texture. This does not mean that this lens does not take nice pictures in a flat color room or in front of a flat color something, but the best thing about this lens is how it blurs things in the background. So to get full advantage, make sure you try and busy up everything behind the object you photograph.
I was also able to capture excellent shots of subjects from quite far--over 20 feet--with my 5D with great detail and depth and still with sufficient blur for the art effects in the background. I used a circular polarizing for pool-shots and the water and the person (from a little over 20 feet) comes through beautifully.
And finally, when two or more subjects are in the picture, this lens only allows the clear focus on one face or the other. Thus I found it best to deliberately choose one face to be very sharp and all others blurred in steps! In this way i was also able to capture one solid sharp face and the other in motion! this is a wonderful affect!
Summary: if you can afford it, buy it!!!
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, Fast auto-focus, artsy pictures, incredibly beautiful background blur
Cons: no hood
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
great lens
on March 27, 2015
Posted by: train driver
from Myrtle Beach,, S.C.
I have wanted this lens for almost two years, it was worth the wait. I am not a professional by any means but this lens is great. I use it for street photography and have taken the best photos of my life
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
on August 5, 2013
Posted by: Beyond Boudoir
from Portland, OR
If you have a Canon DSLR with an accurate autofocus system, I recommend this as your first prime lens. Even before you by a 50mm prime. It is delightful to use at large apertures to create lovely bokeh. It really excels as a portrait/people lens. The focus system is lighting fast, quiet and very accurate. It spends a lot of time on my 5D Mark 3.
You don't always need big, heavy "L" lenses to do the job. This little lens frees you to be more creative and it is just plain fun to use.
You may see reviews referring to chromatic abberation wide open. Yes it is there, but it is minimal and doesn't show up in normal photography. You really have to set up a special shot just to find it. It is completely absent if you stop down one F-stop, but why bother?
I wish Canon would make this with IS, then it would be the perfect prime lens for me.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, small and light
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Great Price/Value
on February 28, 2011
Posted by: sy
from colorado
This lens is super sharp. F1.8 is very thin. It's compact and light weight. USM is quiet and fast. 58mm filter size. Minimum focus distance is a bit too long. I wouldn't say it's L quality built but it's absolutely much cheaper than EF 85mm L.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Super-sharp images, light weight
Cons: minimum focus distance
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Finally came into its own
on May 8, 2012
Posted by: mtnredhed
I bought the lens years ago, and to be honest, never really found it's niche until recently. Too long for landscape and a little too short for wildlife. I just recently started portrait work, and dang, this is THE H&S lens. I can dial in DoF to pretty much whatever I want. Its plenty fast for existing light. If I set the focus point on my 7D to be the person's leading eye, and stop down just a little, it's perfect. Even better yet, its a steal, price wise. AF is fast too.
Pros: fast, sharp, great value
Cons: doesn't buy me coffee
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com