My Mini-Review of the 85mm 1.2L II.

[RLPhoto]

Just my Little mini-review of this sweet lens. Feel free to critique it if you like, I don't do many reviews.

http://ramonlperez.tumblr.com/post/33253428138/fast-prime-shoot-out-pt-1-85mm-1-2l-ii-mini-review

[SPL]

Hey, great review!
I have lusted over that lens for a long time! It's images are amazing! There is just something about it! Also,... Great dog!

[Joseph M]

Nice review!

Now how about a mini-review on the 135L and the 50L 

Also, can you tell me how far you need to be to shoot a person from their head to their waist kinda shot with the 135L on a fullframe camera?
I've got the ultrawide side of my kit covered but my telephoto ends at 105mm, so I thought that the 135L would be a great addition as my first bokehlicious prime as well as getting my telephoto side covered

[mirekti]

Very nice.
This will be my first purchase once I get 5d III.

[drjlo]

I love my 85L, but the focus-by-wire thing has got to go 

[robbymack]

RL great review, but since you asked for some critique here it is. Be careful of common grammatical errors as in the first sentence of your review.  You used "your on the canon system". Should be "you're". There are a few other errors in spelling and grammar throughout. I don't want to be the grammar police, but if at the outset I already see a common mistake I'm not going to take the rest of what you say very seriously.

[Viggo]

I bought them all and love them all. I sold the 85 once, and bought it back. And on the 1d x, I wouldn't say the focus is slow anymore. My goto lens will always be the 50 along with the 35, they're actually very different.

[ookkerpak]

Thanks for the review.

What's your opinion on 100mm 2.8L? Or other lenses with Macro capabilities? 

[Menace]

85 1.2L is still on my wish list - during my last lens purchase it was between this lens and the 70-200 2.8 IS II...

The zoom won on that occasion but it was a close call. Love the dreamy quality of images produced by the 85!

 

[RLPhoto]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I simply type what thoughts are coming into my head about a particular piece of gear and If they're are typos, so be it.

I will work on 50L and 135L reviews sometime later. I will also review the Winglight sometime too.

[bchernicoff]

You mention excellent build quality...can you post a picture or comment on the gap between the focusing barrel and the outer lens body? I'm taking about the barrel that houses the front element and moves in and out to focus. On the copy of this lens that I owned, I found the gap to very large and I quickly got dust inside the lens. It settled on the inside of the rear element, where it is actually a problem. Fortunately, the rear element is easily cleaned by taking the lens mount loose (which houses the rear element) and puffing some air on it.

I cleaned mine, verified it still functioned perfectly and then sold it.

[RLPhoto]

You mention excellent build quality...can you post a picture or comment on the gap between the focusing barrel and the outer lens body? I'm taking about the barrel that houses the front element and moves in and out to focus. On the copy of this lens that I owned, I found the gap to very large and I quickly got dust inside the lens. It settled on the inside of the rear element, where it is actually a problem. Fortunately, the rear element is easily cleaned by taking the lens mount loose (which houses the rear element) and puffing some air on it.

I cleaned mine, verified it still functioned perfectly and then sold it.

Its not a sealed lens, but It's built to withstand the bumps and knocks of professional use.

[bchernicoff]

Its not a sealed lens, but It's built to withstand the bumps and knocks of professional use.

I understand that it's not sealed, but I found it to be alarmingly not-sealed. Fine for indoor use.

I just feel like a review should mention that it's a lens you need to be careful with.

I found the build quality of the Sigma 85mm 1.4 to be much better in this regard. With a 77mm filter on the front the focusing barrel is enclosed like with the Canon 50 1.2L.
AF is much faster on the Sigma as well, though that's not related to build quality.

[RLPhoto]

Its not a sealed lens, but It's built to withstand the bumps and knocks of professional use.

I understand that it's not sealed, but I found it to be alarmingly not-sealed. Fine for indoor use.

I just feel like a review should mention that it's a lens you need to be careful with.

I found the build quality of the Sigma 85mm 1.4 to be much better in this regard. With a 77mm filter on the front the focusing barrel is enclosed like with the Canon 50 1.2L.
AF is much faster on the Sigma as well, though that's not related to build quality.

I wouldn't take the lens into a rainstorm but the 85L is built to last.

Yes, its AF is pitiful but its accurate. It has alot of glass to move around.

I still prefer my 135L.

[drmikeinpdx]

I'm probably not typical among photographers, but I find the extremely shallow depth of field created by the F1.2 aperture kind of disturbing.  When working with people, I love blurring the background with my prime lenses, but I don't normally go any wider than 2.0

Thanks for the nice review.  My favorite shot was the one of the chicken.  The depth of field was just right for me.     I actually did a shoot for a woman who had pet chickens like that a few weeks ago.  We were in a small back yard and I used my Sigma 50mm 1.4 wide open a lot to really blur the background.  Must be something about chickens that needs a wide aperture. LOL!

I'm enjoying my prime lenses a lot more now that I have a 5D Mark III that will focus them accurately.  Looking forward to using them more, but it is hard to give up the zoom.