A New 85L is on the Way [CR2]

[Sabaki]

What my bag needs is a bokeh monster and a new 85mm f1.2 will fit that bill perfectly!

No experience with the f/1.2 versions but I had mucked about with the f/1.8 version and I reeeeally liked it lots.

My ear is to the ground now

 

[sanj]

It will be f1.2 (Yes!)
It will not have IS (I wish it did)

 

[GMCPhotographics]

Going to f/1.4 is sensible. At f/1.2 on 85mm, how thin is the DoF? You're almost forced to stop down just to get more than just the tip of someone's nose in focus.

The 85mm f1.2 II L is a precision tool (almost surgical) for a precise photographer. It took me years to master and I rarely get a misplaced focus spot with it. For "head and shoulders" portraiture, there is nothing quite like it. But yes, the 135L or 70-200 f2.8 LIS is a much easier tool to use. But I prefer the lower telephoto compression with the 85mm lens. But it's not an easy lens to use and as a skill, it needs to be regularly sharpened.
With the 5DII or 6D...swap out the view finder screen for a fine focus screen. That way you can see exactly where the point of focus is and how reliable it is. With a 5DIII...use spot focus and be VERY careful where that point lands.

 

[StudentOfLight]

We’re told that Canon is actively working on a new 85L, and we should see a replacement some time before 2016 is over, and possibly for Photokina in September of 2016.</p>
<p>The new 85L will incorporate the blue spectrum refractive element of the recently announced <a href="http://www.canonrumors.com/preorder-the-new-canon-ef-35mm-f1-4l-ii/">EF 35mm f/1.4L II</a>.</p>
<p>The new lens will be weather sealed, have a new manual focus system, a faster autofocus system as well as being lighter.</p>
<p>Could the new 85L be f/1.4 instead of f/1.2? It’s possible, they went slower moving from the EF 50 f/1.0L to the 50 f/1.2L. Although, having the lens at f/1.2 does give Canon some bragging rights for DSLR lenses.</p>

Just a vagueness in the title:
"85L IS (Image Stabilized) on the way" or "New 85L on the way?"

 

[Sabaki]

The 85mm f1.2 II L is a precision tool (almost surgical) for a precise photographer. It took me years to master and I rarely get a misplaced focus spot with it. For "head and shoulders" portraiture, there is nothing quite like it. But yes, the 135L or 70-200 f2.8 LIS is a much easier tool to use. But I prefer the lower telephoto compression with the 85mm lens. But it's not an easy lens to use and as a skill, it needs to be regularly sharpened.
With the 5DII or 6D...swap out the view finder screen for a fine focus screen. That way you can see exactly where the point of focus is and how reliable it is. With a 5DIII...use spot focus and be VERY careful where that point lands.

Hey GMC

When shooting macro, I go hand held, whilst 'walking into' my subject. As the DOF is razor thin at macro levels, I have developed muscle memory of sorts using this technique.

Would my macro technique stand me in good stead if I were to shoot with an 85mm at f1/.2?

 

[dolina]

Canon should these lenses first

Primes
1993 EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
1996 EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM
1996 EF 135mm f/2L USM
1996 EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
1997 EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Zooms
1995 EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
1999 EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
2004 EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM

 

[Maximilian]

Edit: I don't know how much one would miss the 1.2 instead of an 1.4 there. That's about others to tell.

I am currently shooting with the 85/1.4 Otus, having had a number of 85 1.2L, both vI and vII, before that. 85mm is probably my favourite focal length. Personally I find 1.2 on an 85mm focal length to give too shallow DOF in almost all cases though. The Otus is a fantastic lens, but it is big, heavy and manual. So, if Canon fix weight, AF speed, manual focus and CA, but go for f1.4 on the new 85, I´ll preorder on day 1.

Thanks, Eldar for your impressions.
As I said, I am more the 85/1.8 type. But sharp and without CA, please.

 

[infared]

This seems like the perfect "next choice" to incorporate the blue glass on. Yum!!!! Canon...stop all other production and work on this only!!!
(Although...I do like the dreamy quality of my current f/1.2L II...It's quite special just the way it is!
Also, I can always close it down to f/1.4 or f/1.8 if I need more DOF).

 

[Maximilian]

[quote author=Maximilian]
Personally I find 1.2 on an 85mm focal length to give too shallow DOF in almost all cases though.

I don't understand this common view.
...
[/quote]
Just for the records:
ford0180 didn't quote me but Eldars opinion. Just some copy/erase error.
I do not own and never used a lens faster than F1.4, so I cannot tell.
But I'd like to

 

[Hector1970]

A new 85L sounds interesting. The 85L II is maybe my favorite lens, but the CA and LoCa (or what ever) are extremely annoying. The 85L II also isn't that sharp. It feels like the 5D3 has too many megapixels for that lens.

Having 1.2 allows subject-background separation when the subject is far away, and you can include their surroundings in the portrait. The effect can be simply fantastic.

I don't really agree. Besides, if the 85L II is set up to focus well when distances are "normal" it will not focus on distant targets.

I found this an interesting comment. Is it you find the 85L II not that sharp at F1.2 or in general.
My own thoughts on the old 85MM 1.2L was that it is a great portrait lens. Very flattering at F1.2
Under studio lights I took many session of portraits at F8 and I have been stunned at how sharp it is.
If so sharp that every skin and teeth flaw shows up.
I couldn't questions it's sharpness stepped down at all.
At F1.2 I might see that point of view. It's tricky but worth the effort.
I guess each copy can be different and at its current price it's not like you'd be trying too many copies.
I expect a new version of this to be very expensive.
If it's 1.2 they have to solve the focusing.
The focusing in studio is fine where you have an opportunity to be precise.
Handheld out and about its very hard to lock focus on an object even with the slightest movement.
The focusing is the slowest by far of any lens I own.

 

[Chapman Baxter]

Canon should these lenses first

Primes
1993 EF 400mm f/5.6L USM
1996 EF 180mm f/3.5L Macro USM
1996 EF 135mm f/2L USM
1996 EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
1997 EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Zooms
1995 EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM
1999 EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
2004 EF 28-300mm f/3.5-5.6L IS USM

I very much doubt we'll ever see a new 200mm f/2.8L (unless it's a macro with IS to replace the 180mm), nor replacements for the non-stabilised 70-200mm pair. I guess the others are more plausible, though I wonder how many would choose a new 400mm f/5.6 IS over the 100-400mm II.

(Apologies for being off-topic. Carry on).

 

[GMCPhotographics]

Anything that gets rid of focus-by-wire would be welcome. Whilst I haven't had any serious interest in the 35L MkII (the 35 f2 IS is just too good) a decent 85mm f1.2 portrait lens would work well for me.

There is nothing indecent about the current one bud.

 

[kubelik]

I very much doubt we'll ever see a new 200mm f/2.8L (unless it's a macro with IS to replace the 180mm), nor replacements for the non-stabilised 70-200mm pair. I guess the others are more plausible, though I wonder how many would choose a new 400mm f/5.6 IS over the 100-400mm II.

(Apologies for being off-topic. Carry on).

yeah, which is why Canon should make it a 500mm f/5.6 IS instead. come on, you gotta admit, a reasonably-priced 500 f/5.6 IS ... you'd get one

back on topic... if my choices were a slow-focusing, heavy 85mm f/1.2 versus a quicker-focusing, lighter 85mm f/1.4 ... I'd get the f/1.4, for sure. I know there's an incredible quality that you get from the extra f/0.2, but I don't think I'd trade all the other important functional aspects of a lens for it.

makes you wonder though, if Canon made a price-no-object weight-no-object 85mm f/1.0 ... how much would it cost, and how many people would buy it anyway? no matter what, it couldn't possibly be as large as or weigh as much as a 70-200 f/2.8, so it'd have some modicum of usability. if they made it, I'd rent one to play with, but it sounds like plenty of other folks would actually use it on a regular basis.

 

[infared]

Anything that gets rid of focus-by-wire would be welcome. Whilst I haven't had any serious interest in the 35L MkII (the 35 f2 IS is just too good) a decent 85mm f1.2 portrait lens would work well for me.

There is nothing indecent about the current one bud.

+1 It is unique and a quite wonderful arrow to have in your quiver!!!!

 

[mb66energy]

Waiting for an 85mm F1.8 IS USM (or STM, it doesn't matter as long as there's IS). Hopefully, this will be next.

This is a very interesting proposal that I like a lot

I think Tamron will deliver a lens with these general specs, a 60 or 65 mm lens between the 45mm and that 85mm.

 

[riker]

I want to see new verions of these:
EF 28/1.8
EF 50/1.4 (small and light version like the current one, not like stupid Sigma and Otus!!!)
EF 85/1.8

It's very important to have fast primes even when price/weight/size matter.
If they make a 85/1.4L, then 85/1.8 will never get updated or will become an f/2 (

Btw I would have already bought the 35/2 IS if it would be an f/1.8.

 

[moreorless]

The issue I'm sure is the different target market, an 85mm F/1.2 is going to be aimed mostly at pros who will pay a hefty premium for the best possible performance. A lot of the other lenses being mentioned at aimed at users on a tighter budget and Canon probably thinks that the advantage of the old lenses is that there cheap.

The old EF 50mm F/1.4 right now for example only costs $350, almost a 1/3rd the price of the Sigma 50mm F/1.4 ART, if a new version costs say $600 is a bit better but still not as good as the Sigma are people going to be interested?

 

[Dick]

A new 85L sounds interesting. The 85L II is maybe my favorite lens, but the CA and LoCa (or what ever) are extremely annoying. The 85L II also isn't that sharp. It feels like the 5D3 has too many megapixels for that lens.

I found this an interesting comment. Is it you find the 85L II not that sharp at F1.2 or in general.
My own thoughts on the old 85MM 1.2L was that it is a great portrait lens. Very flattering at F1.2
Under studio lights I took many session of portraits at F8 and I have been stunned at how sharp it is.
If so sharp that every skin and teeth flaw shows up.
I couldn't questions it's sharpness stepped down at all.
At F1.2 I might see that point of view. It's tricky but worth the effort.
I guess each copy can be different and at its current price it's not like you'd be trying too many copies.

I mainly use it wide open. Maybe I get the impression of it not being sharp from that. Either, like said, it's likely still my favorite lens. Sharp enough especially after some PP sharpening. Definitely not my sharpest lens, but it still produces the best shots.

 

[chromophore]

Everyone has a different standard of what constitutes "sharp," and different photographers have different shooting styles and subjects of interest. The EF 85/1.2L II is "sharp" to some, and not sharp to others because of this.

Another aspect of this lens that makes it interesting is that it performs well in the middle of the visible spectrum, but relatively poorly in the red portion (in terms of the resolving power off axis). Should its design be updated with BR technology, it could very well mean a lens that is dramatically sharper.

I personally find it to be an acceptably sharp lens wide open, but only in certain use cases. Of course, stopped down to f/2.8 or slower, it is very sharp. But I don't even remember the last time I used it stopped down.

For portraiture, I find that it is not helpful to use macro shooting techniques to achieve precise focus. In macrophotography, the depth of field is very small, but you are typically focusing wide open and then the shot is taken stopped down. With the 85L, the shot is taken wide open, and critical focus is too hard to observe through the viewfinder due to the fact that the focusing screen is not sensitive to f/1.2 marginal rays. What you see in the viewfinder has more depth of field than the resulting image. Live View focusing results in the loss of postural stability by having to hold the camera at a distance.

 

[YuengLinger]

A new 85L sounds interesting. The 85L II is maybe my favorite lens, but the CA and LoCa (or what ever) are extremely annoying. The 85L II also isn't that sharp. It feels like the 5D3 has too many megapixels for that lens.

Having 1.2 allows subject-background separation when the subject is far away, and you can include their surroundings in the portrait. The effect can be simply fantastic.

I don't really agree. Besides, if the 85L II is set up to focus well when distances are "normal" it will not focus on distant targets.

Dick, not one statement you've made regarding this lens is true in my copy of it. Other than focusing speed and MFD being a bit longer than I like, this is a flawless portrait lens.