Canon 85mm f1.8

Did some test with this and it looks great !

Have to stand way back though because of the crop factor .... in some cases that's
a good thing .

I love the look of the canon's 28mm f1.8 Not that expensive either.
 
Ken Rockwell is Really into the 85 1.8 and the 28 1.8 (also the 50 1.8). Seems like a no brainer if you want AF for stills. I bet they have the standard short focus throw of new lenses though.
 
saneproductions said:
Ken Rockwell is Really into the 85 1.8 and the 28 1.8 (also the 50 1.8). Seems like a no brainer if you want AF for stills. I bet they have the standard short focus throw of new lenses though.
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I went and had a look at the 85mm 1.8. It's very compact. I had been thinking of picking up the 70-200 f4, but in the long run I'd rather carry around the fast 85mm and add on something like a 180mm 2.8 Nikon. Both for about the same money as the 70-200 f4. I don't do much zooming and can always move my camera, but I have less control over how much natural light I will have and want to keep the ISO as low as possible. I also think for shooting Interviews the 85mm may produce the best image up there with any premium lens.
 
It seems like a great option if you can get back far enough. I wishe there were more fast lenses in the 60-75 range with 9 aperture blades. That would be a perfect portrait lens on aps-c.. Oh well the 85 will be perfect when we get the 5diii :)

it is funny that I am on the fence between these two lenses as well :)
 
I'm starting to think this crop factor business is bogus. Yes, on APS-C you lose image on all 4 sides, but the depth perception does not change. 35mm on a FF sensor has the same depth as a 35mm on a crop sensor. Am I correct? If so, then we would simply have to adjust our framing. The only time this would be an issue is if you need super wide for an interior.
 
FF DSLR's give a shallower depth of field and more light sensitivity at the same apertures as crop cameras. They also have better lens selections. So it's not completely bogus...

TeresofBlood said:
35mm on a FF sensor has the same depth as a 35mm on a crop sensor. Am I correct?
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No, 35mm on a FF is about equivalent in field of view to 50mm on a crop camera. Try it and you'll see.
 
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That's true, I forgot about the difference in depth of field between full frame and crop (resulting from sensor size). Brain fart!

ADDED: By that rationale, wouldn't a 50mm 1.8 be a better portrait/CU lens?
 
Yes the difference in dof is actually an advantage when following focus on a moving actor

ie when 35mm/aps-c and 50mm/full frame are equivalent field of view the deeper dof of 35mm helps

with full frame you often need to stop down the lens to keep the actor in focus and there goes your low light advantage


TeresofBlood said:
ADDED: By that rationale, wouldn't a 50mm 1.8 be a better portrait/CU lens?
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I like 65mm for my portraits on aps-c
 
TeresofBlood said:
I'm starting to think this crop factor business is bogus.
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I definitely think it's bogus. This is a filmmaking forum, not a photography forum so why does anyone care about photo crop factor? When you pick up a Red One does anyone think of the crop? What about when shooting 35mm motion picture film? Exactly. That's the field of view the 7D and T2i are delivering. If anything 5D users should be the ones worry about crop, they're the anomaly. When we're talking about still images it's fair but once we start talking about moving images this crop junk just confuses people unnecessarily. 18mm on the 7D looks pretty much like 18mm on the Red which looks pretty much like 18mm on motion picture film. It's 5D users that gotta pick up an 11mm if they want to see what we see FOV wise. That should be all that matters.
 
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ecking said:
It's 5D users that gotta pick up an 11mm if they want to see what we see FOV wise. That should be all that matters.
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The 5Dii would only need a 28mm lens to get that 18mm FOV on S35, you have it backwards! :)

The reason we are discussing this is because J Davis, Rockmore and I also shoot stills and are looking for an appropriate portrait lens but have few options due to crop factor and the fact that most great portrait lenses are made for full frame.
 
I have the 85mm and I love it. I've been using it a lot lately. Great for portraits and a semi-telephoto on the 7D. I really like the super compressed look it gives. I also have the 70-200, but the 85 is kind of nice because it's so much easier to deal with when you need a bit of telephoto.

I got one of those Canon extension tubes and it makes to 85mm into a decent (albeit poor man's) macro.

The only thing I don't like about it is, is that it's a bit more susceptible to purple fringing on high contrast images.
 
gene_can_sing said:
I have the 85mm and I love it. I've been using it a lot lately. Great for portraits and a semi-telephoto on the 7D. I really like the super compressed look it gives. I also have the 70-200, but the 85 is kind of nice because it's so much easier to deal with when you need a bit of telephoto.

I got one of those Canon extension tubes and it makes to 85mm into a decent (albeit poor man's) macro.

The only thing I don't like about it is, is that it's a bit more susceptible to purple fringing on high contrast images.
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I'm really between the 85mm 1.8 and the 70-200 f4 non is. The 85mm is really fast and compact but the 70-200 f4 will buy me a lot more in daylight and can also double as an 85mm portrait lens in the right situation. Maybe the 70-200 f4 along with an emergency 50mm 1.8 would cover my need for speed on my budget right now.

If you had to choose one, would it be the 85mm 1.8, or the 70-200mm
 
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Both are great lenses. The 70-200 f4 is my favorite for beauty shots. The 85 f1.8 was my 2nd favorite for portraits (favorite was Leica 90mm F2). This is on a 5D.

I guess it depends on what you need more, the faster lens for more light gathering capabilities or the telephoto capabilities of the zoom? It will also depend on what other lenses you have to complement it.
 
saneproductions said:
The 5Dii would only need a 28mm lens to get that 18mm FOV on S35, you have it backwards! :)

The reason we are discussing this is because J Davis, Rockmore and I also shoot stills and are looking for an appropriate portrait lens but have few options due to crop factor and the fact that most great portrait lenses are made for full frame.
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Sorry I did do it backwards. But back to the original point, this is the 7D board so I assume he's using a crop body.
 
pianoboy said:
Both are great lenses. The 70-200 f4 is my favorite for beauty shots. The 85 f1.8 was my 2nd favorite for portraits (favorite was Leica 90mm F2). This is on a 5D.

I guess it depends on what you need more, the faster lens for more light gathering capabilities or the telephoto capabilities of the zoom? It will also depend on what other lenses you have to complement it.
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I'm shooting with a 550D, but will add a 5D body when the next generation arrives so the lens will be for both formats. I have the 18-55mm kit lens and a Century 0.7 wide adapter so I have a field view from about 12.5mm to 55mm, but really only useful on the wide end. I really need a long zoom and the 70-200 should cover the range. Then I figure for some mid range speed the 50mm 1.8 will do the job for a hundred bucks extra. I shoot HD video mostly so the 18-55mm resolution has been OK. Not really a bad lens for an 18mm F3.5.
These DSLR cameras are amazing in general. I can't wait to see what's next and add on a few more bodies.
 
saneproductions said:
The reason we are discussing this is because J Davis, Rockmore and I also shoot stills
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Who said I shoot stills? Well I do but its just family & friends or when I'm scouting locations, or for continuity. Other than that I leave stills for the pros!

I wouldn't know the first thing about shooting with a strobe! Maybe one day.
 
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