| Customer Reviews Collected from usa.canon.com |
Canon - EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Medium Telephoto Lens - Black
Average Customer Rating:
4.8
Rating breakdown 36 reviews
5 Stars
31
4 Stars
4
3 Stars
1
2 Stars
0
1 Star
0
97%of customers recommend this product.
(
33 out of
34)
Customer Reviews for Canon - EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Medium Telephoto Lens - Black
Customer Rating
5
One of the best lenses out there!!!
on January 30, 2009
Posted by: Matty B
from New York, NY
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.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
PERFECT
on March 27, 2011
Posted by: JR
from PA
Now more than one year later, this is portrait lens of record for 15,000 images. The glass is heavy and the autofocus has to struggle a bit with all the mass to move, but when the beep goes off you are razor thin focused at full open aperature. I leave my flash in my bags and just love to grab portraits in deep shadows for the most dramatic lighting effects available. If it weren't for the required f5.6 tripod group shots at the weddings I'd only use this one wide open for nearly everything. People think I am a decent photographer, it is really THIS lens. Thanks Canon, a fan for life
Pros: Super-sharp images
Cons: hefty to carry all day
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
The very cool but also difficult lens
on January 28, 2009
Posted by: scjurgen
from New York, NY
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.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, extreme shallow dof
Cons: learning curve is as slow as this lens is fast
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
best stationary lens ever
on January 18, 2009
Posted by: vpnd
from North Dakota
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.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Beautiful lens
on August 5, 2014
Posted by: Tabchap
from Lake Charles , La
So worth every penny !! The focusing is slower than others.
Pros: Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
Cons: Slow auto-focus
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Best Portrait Lens-EVER
on October 10, 2011
Posted by: Dave
from Chicago, IL
Since buying the Canon 85mm f1.2L II USM lens, I have shot portraits that are sharp, dreamy and out of the world bokey. All my subjects are extremely happy with the results and this lens is everything that Canon promises it to be. Lot of people complains about its slow auto focus but that has never been an issue with me. It has delivered for me every time. I use f 1.2 pretty much all the time.. be careful about camera shake there. No scope for error at that depth of field.
Thank you Canon for delivering such professional optics.
Thank you Canon for delivering such professional optics.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images, excellent feel
Cons: none
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
4
very fast but at a cost.
on October 25, 2013
Posted by: mallorie
from Las Vegas, NV
I love this lens, the DOF is extremely low as one would expect. I can shoot in near total darkness as long as I have a light for focus assist. Ambient light looks true and beautiful!
With that said however this lens is the worst of all I own for backlit subjects. The chromatic aberration is awful, and it is nearly impossible to focus. Keeping in mind manual focus only works to around 4.0 I find myself constantly using auto, which is fast and fine most of the time, but very time consuming and annoying with an even slightly backlit subject.
I wouldn't trade this lens for anything, but for variable light situations, I would always carry a backup.
With that said however this lens is the worst of all I own for backlit subjects. The chromatic aberration is awful, and it is nearly impossible to focus. Keeping in mind manual focus only works to around 4.0 I find myself constantly using auto, which is fast and fine most of the time, but very time consuming and annoying with an even slightly backlit subject.
I wouldn't trade this lens for anything, but for variable light situations, I would always carry a backup.
Pros: Superior build quality
Cons: Semi-sharp images, chromatic aberration
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
BEST LENS SO FAR
on April 22, 2009
Posted by: 68NOVA
from ORLAND PARK, IL
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.
Pros: Super-sharp images, Superior build quality, great bokeh
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com