Gear Talk > Lenses

Seeking lens in the 85-100mm range

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Act444:
Hi all,

Currently considering a prime/fixed focal length lens in the 85-100mm range and would appreciate thoughts, impressions, recommendations.

Amateur shooter here (not pro). I have a 60D- I mostly use zoom lenses, the only fixed-FL lens I have is the 35 1.4, which is great (starting to use it a bit more after ignoring it for a while). I used to have the 85 1.8 but traded it in towards a 70-200 2.8 (totally the right decision, love that lens), but now I'm starting to look for a possible alternative when I don't necessarily want to carry around the extra weight and/or gather attention.

Mainly this lens I might use for occasional sporting events (when 70-200 isn't practical due to weight, etc.), taking shots of flowers/foliage, and for shots when I want the background as blurred as possible. I'm not much of a portrait photographer- there are times where I've been asked to take someone's picture, but that is not really what I do (or have experience with).

Lenses I've been looking at:

I was considering buying the 85 1.8 again. Great lens, but from my usage the 70-200 2.8 is just as sharp at 85mm/2.8, and has better focus too. Too much purple fringing at 1.8 in my opinion.

85 1.2- tried it in store today. Amazed at the quality but was taken aback by how slow the focusing is. It's pretty bulky too. But I was wowed at the test photos I took with it- especially the test portrait shot which looked professional with almost no effort on my part...my concern here would be for the times I substitute the 70-200. I feel this lens would struggle to keep up with even moderately-paced action. I did run a quick test (took a burst of shots of someone walking away from camera), seemed ok but hard to tell. Expensive, too, but not completely out of range (better be a solid reason to drop 2K on a specialty lens!)

100 2 - also played around with this in store. Fast focusing, which is great...light weight, which is both good and bad (good being easier on the neck, bad being harder to steady since there is no IS). However, I found myself somewhat displeased with the purple fringing at f2 and the image quality (seemed a bit soft). Still, it is being considered mainly because of its inconspicuousness.

135 2 - tried this out as well. Excellent quality and light weight (same points as above). Quick focusing. However, I feel that because of its longer focal length, its usefulness is somewhat reduced. I can see this being a great substitute for the 70-200 though as far as sports go (mainly shooting in dimmer indoor environments).

Any others? I'd like to stick with Canon lenses if possible (I had a Tamron 17-50- it served my needs for about a year, then I traded it in for the 17-55 2.8 and afterwards, wondered what took me so long to do it). What are your recommendations, experiences, etc.? Any help would be appreciated

helpful:
There is only one choice for you in my opinion, given the prime lens consideration and the focal length range. That is the Sigma f/1.4 85mm. It is astonishing, really--more useful than the Canon f/1.2L. I actually ordered a second copy today. It's fast enough to shoot basketball, and by fast, I mean both the f-number and the focusing speed and accuracy. My first copy did need considerable microfocus adjustment, however. Afterwards it is super sharp across the board; er., I mean, across the frame.

elflord:
If you want something in the 85-100mm range, faster than f/2.8 and a step up from the 85mm f/1.8, your only choices are the Sigma 85mm f/1.4, the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 and the Canon 85mm f/1.2.

I'd recommend taking a good hard look at the Sigma 85mm f/1.4. It's one of the best lenses that nobody knows about.

tdp compares it with the 85mm f/1.2, the Zeiss 85mm f/1.4 and the Canon 85mm f/1.8. The Sigma is close to the 85mm f/1.2 and blows away the Zeiss and the f/1.8 in this test.

http://thedigitalpicture.com/Reviews/Sigma-85mm-f-1.4-EX-DG-HSM-Lens-Review.aspx

Lenstip sing its praises, recommending it over the brand lenses from Sony and Nikon:

 http://www.lenstip.com/index.html?test=obiektywu&test_ob=277

Definitely a contender if you're looking in the 85-100mm range and want something that is a step up from the 85mm f/1.8

Act444:
Thanks, guys. I'll take a look at this one as well. Although- I do have reservations about going 3rd party again after my experience with that Tamron lens mentioned earlier.

Something in TDP's review of the Sigma 85mm had me a little nervous:


--- Quote ---I have been using the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens a lot over the last few months with a frame count in the thousands. I find this to be a very useful lens - and one I really like to use. When I get an accurately-focused image, I really like the image quality from the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens - it is really nice. But accurate focusing is this lens' definite weakness - getting accurate focus has been an issue.
 
As of Sigma 85mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM Lens review time, I have purchased (retail) three and returned two of these lenses. The first lens was consistently front focusing. The second lens was focusing so inconsistently that I wished for the first one back. The third lens is focusing very inconsistently, but does seem to average to the correct focus distance. I cut my losses and kept this copy of the lens.
--- End quote ---

Yet, the other review claimed there were no major focusing issues with the lens. I guess they were using the Nikon version though.


I like the price, though. Half that of the Canon 1.2...

Also, any owners of the 85 1.2, 100 2 or 135 2 that can vouch for their performance?

Mt Spokane Photography:
I'd vote for the 85mm f/1.8 plus Lightroom.  That Purple fringing can now be removed in most cases, its a thing of the past!
 
Here is a before and after 100% crop of some nasty pupple fringing from my 85mm f/1.8.  The new defringe feature in LR4.1 RC2 seems to work well.
 
Before:
 

 
After
 

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