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.
This 85mm focal length is perfect for portraiture as labeled by Canon and practicing professionals, due to the focal length creating just the right perspective for both the subject and the background. The 85mm is most commonly used for head and shoulder type portraiture, upper torso portraiture and selective floral photography. It will commonly be found in the kits of photographers that shoot wedding, birthdays, and other events involving people. These photographers would also carry a 70-200mm for complementing the longer focal lengths, usually for shooting full body portraiture.
Three EF 85 mm lenses have been available. Two of these are L series lenses.
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When used with a Canon APS-C (1.6x crop) DSLR camera or APS-H (1.3x crop), the field of view of this lens is similar to a 136mm or 110.5mm on a 35mm film or full frame digital camera. There will be an apparent magnification of approximately 1.6x in the final image, since the "cropped" image will fill up the sensor. This is due to the crop factor inherent with APS-C or APS-H (crop) sensor digital SLR cameras.
An example would be taking an image of a rock using two cameras with the same lens. The first camera a 18mp full frame and the second a 18mp APS-C, both shooting the same composition in a stationary position. The first image will be more "wide" while the second image will be more "magnified". After bringing the results into an image editing program and enlarging the first image so that the rock is the same size in both images, one will see that the enlarged image is approximately 160% (1.6x) of the original.
The major advantage to this extra "reach" would be the utilizing of the full sensor space for a cropped image rather than having to crop afterwards, thus utilizing parts of the sensor that would have otherwise been wasted. The major disadvantage would be the lack of change in perspective, since the focal length has not actually changed it will be like shooting with the field of view of a 136mm lens on a full frame sensor while having the perspective of 85mm lens. The resulting image will appear to have a less pleasing background blur and unlike using an actual 136mm lens on a full frame sensor. Some users will find that the crop factor actually benefits this lens since it is hard to get a tight framing around the head without running into the 0.95m minimum focus distance.
Current Canon full-frame cameras are the EOS 5D Mark II and EOS-1Ds Mark III. The only current Canon APS-H camera is the EOS-1D Mark IV. The 1Ds Mark III and 1D Mark IV are soon to be replaced by the full-frame EOS-1D X. Current Canon APS-C cameras include the EOS 1100D/Rebel T3, EOS 550D/Rebel T2i, EOS 600D/Rebel T3i, EOS 60D and EOS 7D.
The EF 85mm f/1.2L USM is a professional L series lens. Canon calls it their "definitive portraiture lens", and it is often considered to be one of the best portrait lenses ever made. It is the longer of the only two f/1.2 lenses Canon makes, other being the 50mm f/1.2L USM. This lens is constructed with a metal body and mount, and with rubber gripping and plastic extremities. It features a wide rubber focusing ring and a distance window with infrared index.
Featuring a circular 8-blade diaphragm, and a maximum aperture of f/1.2. This lens is capable of maintaining sharpness and image quality at low apertures. The lens' depth of field allows distinct focus on the subject, while providing a beautiful bokeh. The optical construction of this lens contains 8 lens elements, including one ground and polished aspherical lens element, which makes this lens extremely sharp when stopped down to about f/2. This lens uses a floating front extension focusing system, powered by a ring type USM motor. Auto focus speed of this lens is on the slow side when compared to most ring USM lenses, and photographing fast moving targets can be quite challenging with this lens. Manual focusing is done by wire: this lens does not have a direct mechanical connection to the focusing ring, but instead detects the rotation of the focusing ring and uses the autofocus motor to drive the lens elements. While full-time manual focus is available, the lens can not be focused when the camera is off. The front of the lens does not rotate, but does extend when focusing.
The newer EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM version, which is aesthetically the same as the EF 85 mm f/1.2L USM, is updated with a newer CPU, 1.8 times faster autofocus, and upgraded anti-reflective lens coatings to reduce chromatic aberration, ghosting, and lens flare.
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.
In addition to portraiture, the lens is also suited for indoor sports photography, particularly on a cropped sensor, due to its focal length, fast autofocus, and fast aperture, and for photos in social situations, due to its fast aperture (thus usable in dark interiors) and quiet operation (hence minimizes disruption).
In terms of aberrations, the lens suffers from noticeable vignetting when used wide-open on full frame cameras, though this is significantly reduced when used on a cropped sensor or stopped down to f/2.8 or f/4. The lens also suffers from purple fringing in high-contrast lighting, such as chrome, water, and black-and-white.[1][2]
| Attribute | f/1.2L USM | f/1.2L II USM | f/1.8 USM |
|---|---|---|---|
| Image | |||
| Key features | |||
| Full-frame compatible | Yes | ||
| Image stabilizer | No | ||
| Ultrasonic Motor | Yes | ||
| L-series | Yes | No | |
| Diffractive Optics | No | ||
| Macro | No | ||
| Technical data | |||
| 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 | 3.1ft / 0.95m | 2.7ft / 0.85m | |
| Max. magnification | 0.11x (1:9.1) | 0.13x (1:7.7) | |
| Horizontal viewing angle | 24° | ||
| Diagonal viewing angle | 28°30' | ||
| Vertical viewing angle | 16° | ||
| Physical data | |||
| Weight | 2.25lb / 1025g | 0.93lb / 425g | |
| Maximum diameter | 3.6in / 91.5mm | 3.0in / 75.0mm | |
| Length | 3.3in / 84.0mm | 2.8in / 71.5mm | |
| Filter diameter | 72mm | 58mm | |
| Accessories | |||
| Lens hood | ES-79II | ET-65III | |
| Case | LP1219 | LP1014 | |
| Retail information | |||
| Release date | September 1989 | March 2006 | July 1992 |
| MSRP $ | $1500 | $2199 | $430 |
| Street Price $ | $1700 | $380 | |
The corresponding Nikon lenses at this focal length are the Nikon 85mm f/1.4D AF Nikkor and the Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor.
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