Canon EF 85mm lens

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The EF 85mm lenses are a group of medium telephoto prime lenses made by Canon Inc. that share the same focal length.

These lenses have an EF type mount, that fits the Canon EOS line of cameras.

Focal lengths of 70mm to 200mm are usually used for taking portraits. So the focal length of these lenses are at the wide end of the portraiture range. This focal length is used mostly for head and shoulder type portraits, and some floral photography. This makes these lenses popular for photographers who do weddings, birthdays, and other group events.

When used on a digital EOS body with a field of view compensation factor of 1.6x, such as the Canon EOS 400D, it provides a narrower field of view, with a 35 mm equivalent focal length of 136mm. With a 1.3x body such as the Canon EOS-1D Mark III It provides a less narrower field of view, with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 110mm.

Three EF 85mm lenses have been available. Two of these are L series lenses.

  • f/1.2L USM
  • f/1.2L II USM
  • f/1.8 USM

Contents

[edit] EF 85mm f/1.2L USM

The EF 85mm f/1.2L USM is a professional L series lens. It is the longer of the only two f/1.2 lenses Canon makes, other being the 50mm f//1.2L USM. It is constructed with a metal body and mount, and with rubber gripping and plastic extremities. This lens features a wide rubber focusing ring, and a distance window with infrared index. A circular 8 blade, maximum aperture of f/1.2, gives this lens the ability to create very shallow depth of field effects. The optical construction of this lens contains 8 lens elements, including one ground and polished aspherical lens element, which makes this lens extremely sharp. This lens uses a floating front extension focusing system, powered by a ring type USM motor. Auto focus speed of this lens is moderate, it's not as fast as most ring USM lenses. Because of that, photographing fast moving targets can be somewhat challenging with this lens. Manual focusing is rendered by wire, this lens does not have a direct mechanical connection to the focusing ring, therefore this lens does not have FTM (full time manual) focusing mode. The front of the lens does not rotate, but does extend when focusing.

[edit] EF85 mm f/1.2L II USM

The newer EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM version, which is the same opticly and aesthetically to the EF 85 mm f/1.2L USM, is updated with new faster CPU, faster auto focus speed, and coated optics to reduce ghost/flare problems when used with digital EOS bodies.

[edit] EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

Photo showing the wide aperture of the Canon EF 85mmf/1.8 USM
Photo showing the wide aperture of the Canon EF 85mmf/1.8 USM

The EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is a consumer level lens. It is the shorter sister to the EF 100mm f/2.0 USM, and is designed very similarly. It is constructed with a plastic body and a metal mount. This lens features a distance window with infrared index. An 8 blade, maximum aperture of f/1.8, gives this lens the ability to create depth of field effects. The optical construction of this lens contains 9 lens elements, without any special lens elements. It uses an internal focusing system (meaning that the front of the lens neither rotates nor extends when focusing), powered by a ring type USM motor. Auto focus speed of this lens is very fast.

[edit] Specifications

Attribute f/1.2L USM f/1.2L II USM f/1.8 USM
Image
Image stabilizer No No
Ultrasonic Motor Yes Yes
L-series Yes Yes No No
Diffractive Optics No No
Macro No No
Aperture (max/min) f/1.2-f/16 f/1.8-f/22
Construction 7 groups / 8 elements 7 groups / 9 elements
# of diaphragm blades 8
Closest focusing distance 3.1 ft/0.95 m 2.7 ft/0.85 m
Maximum diameter 3.6 in/91.5 mm 3.0 in/75.0 mm
Length 3.3 in/84.0 mm 2.8 in/71.5 mm
Weight 2.25 lb/1025 g 0.93 lb/425 g
Filter diameter 72 mm 58 mm
Lens hood ES-79II ET-65III
Case LP1219 LP1014
Horizontal viewing angle 24°
Diagonal viewing angle 28°30'
Vertical viewing angle 16°
Release date September 1989 March 2006 July 1992
MSRP $ $1500 $1700 $350
Street Price $ $1600 $330

[edit] External links

[edit] References

[edit] Reviews

[edit] f/1.2 II

[edit] f/1.2

[edit] f/1.8

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