What is the sharpest Canon lens?

A

Airwolf

Active member
I'm trying to get the most detail out of a 5D Mark III, so I want to use the absolute sharpest lens possible. I understand that some of the Zeiss primes may be sharper, but they are just too expensive.

What i've heard so far: I've heard the new 24-70 II is the sharpest lens Canon has produced, i've also heard that the 100mm or 135mm, L and non L series are the sharpest.

So, your experience, testing, research, what is the absolute sharpest Canon EF mount lens? Does not matter what focal length.
 
..and you need this ..why?

i.e Asking...because you seem budget challenged..but "absolute sharpest with no focal length preference" is of curiosity to me. Why?
 
My plan is to use the Mark III for doing interviews. It's not the sharpest camera out of the box, so to minimize post-sharpening, i'd prefer to use the sharpest glass first in line. If it's a 50mm, or 100mm, I can just move the camera. I'm not planning on using it for run and gun work.
 
Try dpreview site for some thorough reviews / tests on lenses of your choice.

Suggest you pick a lens focal length that you feel suitable for your interviews first ...as opposed to "anything sharp will do".
 
The 85 f/1.8 is razor sharp stopped down to 2.8, and the 135 f/2 is obscenely sharp right from 2.0. The 50 f/1.4 is really sharp once you stop it down as well. The 24-70 II and 70-200 IS II are crazy sharp, but are at or beyond Zeiss territory price-wise.
 
I hope you realise that the focal length that you choose will have a much larger impact on how the interviews look than the sharpness of the lens. In fact the differences in lens sharpness really aren't going to be evident at all, the softness comes from the way the sensor is downsampled/the aa filters and the compression. If you were taking photos it would be a different story, but focal length is still a MUCH more important choice. Sharpness between different lenses of the same focal length, sure.
 
I prefer to use something in the 80mm or up range, if I have a choice. Otherwise their face looks a bit odd. I've used the 50mm 1.4 on my 7D before with good results, but that is a bit wide for the 5D.
I have the Sigma 70-200 2.8, and that has performed well for me, although I know it's not as sharp as the Canon, it's still pretty good. I'll check out the 135mm and see how that performs.
 
All Canon's lenses are plenty sharp enough for interviews in HD. Trust me, you are worrying about a non-issue.
 
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