85mm f1.2L on a 1.6 crop camera

[jimlp]

Has anyone here who has used/uses this lens on a 1.6x camera? I am curious if the extra distance caused by the longer FOV causes this lens to lose anything, I would be buying this lens for wide open performance and I am wondering if it is compromised DOF wise particularly for 3/4 or full length shots. Does anyone who shoots this lens have an example of a 3/4 body type shot they could post? Thanks in advance for your replys.

[cmM]

85 mm is way too long for full length shots IMO. I use the 1.8 on a 1.6X camera, but for headshots/portraits

[tim]

It's not a magnification factor, and you don't lose quality - it's a crop factor. You get the centre part of the picture, you just lose what would be the edges you'd get on a full frame camera. The image size is the same as having 1.6X more magnification, but since it's a crop factor not a magnification factor you don't have the finer detail at the distance that the longer lens would have.

[jimlp]

85 mm is way too long for full length shots IMO. I use the 1.8 on a 1.6X camera, but for headshots/portraits

If shooting people outside (portfolio work, engagement photos, etc.) and you don't want to see a busy background you have to drop it out with shallow DOF, I do not thik a short lens will get what I want. I have seen the Patriots Cheerleaders having some shots done locally and the photographer was shooting a 70-200 f2.8 wide open between 150mm-200mm, I didn't read his mind or anything I talked to him after he was done. I realize that different people have different methods but I have always shot a longer lens outdoors for people so I thought the 85mm was on the short end for the Bokeh I was after. Thanks for the responses.

[pcasciola]

There are a lot of examples of the 85 f/1.2L and 135 f/2L on this FM thread, many with the 1.6x 20D and 1.3x 1D Mk II:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic2/163308

[cmM]

I had to walk back to the middle of the street to take this shot (it's the 85mm 1.8 though)
http://www.cmuntean.net/files/dec18wedd69.jpg

[jimlp]

There are a lot of examples of the 85 f/1.2L and 135 f/2L on this FM thread, many with the 1.6x 20D and 1.3x 1D Mk II:

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic2/163308

Cool thread, thanks

[CyberDyneSystems]

It all depends on your distance.. I shoot indoor performances in a large theatre quite often.. and my focal range is anywahere from 70-200mm (yes I use the f/2.8 Zoom a lot)

But I also use the 200mm prime.. and it is not too long. Most fo the shots taken with the Zoom are between 135mm and 200mm.

You did not tell us wht your working distance is from yor subject.. so it is really not practical for us to judge what focal length you need.

As to your original question.. the 85mm f/1.2 will offer WONDERFULL out of focus background for you wide open .. the 1.6X-Factor will not effect the image quality in any way that van be noticed. You will ose nothing. :)

[jimlp]

It all depends on your distance.. I shoot indoor performances in a large theatre quite often.. and my focal range is anywahere from 70-200mm (yes I use the f/2.8 Zoom a lot)

But I also use the 200mm prime.. and it is not too long. Most fo the shots taken with the Zoom are between 135mm and 200mm.

You did not tell us wht your working distance is from yor subject.. so it is really not practical for us to judge what focal length you need.

As to your original question.. the 85mm f/1.2 will offer WONDERFULL out of focus background for you wide open .. the 1.6X-Factor will not effect the image quality in any way that van be noticed. You will ose nothing. :)

Sorry for the lack of info. Generally I will shoot people and mostly outdoors and I usually can pick the location so I can shoot longer lenses if I want. I am bouncing between the 85mm f1.2 and the 70-200 f2.8L IS, I have the 70-200 f4L and I have used it for the people stuff and to get the good compression/bokeh I need (around 200mm) it gets way to long on a 20D and I have to back up into the next county.

[DaveG]

Has anyone here who has used/uses this lens on a 1.6x camera? I am curious if the extra distance caused by the longer FOV causes this lens to lose anything, I would be buying this lens for wide open performance and I am wondering if it is compromised DOF wise particularly for 3/4 or full length shots. Does anyone who shoots this lens have an example of a 3/4 body type shot they could post? Thanks in advance for your replys.


The depth of field with this lens on a 1:1 or a 1: 1.6 camera would be exactly the same. Now in spite of all the "sweet spot" myths out there a lens with a larger than needed image circle can not be as sharp as one designed for the smaller image circle. But in practice there is no visable difference in quality.

The 85 with a full frame camera was one of my favorite focal lengths, but it converts to 135mm or so with 1.6 and that focal length is one of my least favorites. It's really too long to do portraits and a little too short for most sports.

I shoot a lot of weddings and that includes a portrait of the bride at her home/hotel. I've found that for these shots I can't get away with lenses longer than 85mm (on a 1:1 camera) since the living room is just too small. A Canon 50mm lens would and is my choice for this shot with my 20D.

The other thing about the 85 f1.2 is that it autofocuses realy slowly. If I was spending that kind of money on a lens like that I would expect a very fast AF and I'd want it to be fully E-TTL 2 compatible which it is not. I almost expect Canon to update (or discontinue) this lens soon.

[Mike Panic]

ive shot the 85mm f/1.2 lens on an eos 1d, 10d and 1ds - the cropping factor is only a problem if you don't have that much working distance to move, thats all (speaking mainly of the 10d) - other then that steallar performance

most portrait photographers will tell you that between 100-135 is ideally where they like to be for most shots - w/ a 1.6x crop your on the tail end of that @ 136mm effective - and it works very very well - but like most L lenses (or almost any lens for that matter) - they are not their sharpest wide open, usually 2 stops closed from wide open is where they show their best

[jimlp]

ive shot the 85mm f/1.2 lens on an eos 1d, 10d and 1ds - the cropping factor is only a problem if you don't have that much working distance to move, thats all (speaking mainly of the 10d) - other then that steallar performance

most portrait photographers will tell you that between 100-135 is ideally where they like to be for most shots - w/ a 1.6x crop your on the tail end of that @ 136mm effective - and it works very very well - but like most L lenses (or almost any lens for that matter) - they are not their sharpest wide open, usually 2 stops closed from wide open is where they show their best

The fact that the lens shows it's best closed down 2 stops is discourging as the only reason I would buy this lens would be for the performance/bokeh wide open.

[DaveG]

The fact that the lens shows it's best closed down 2 stops is discourging as the only reason I would buy this lens would be for the performance/bokeh wide open.

ALL lenses are better when they are stopped down to their middle apertures. The reason that the lens is a f1.2 isn't to match the sharpness of an 85 f1.8 @ f8 but to let you get those extra shutterpeeds (or lower ISO) when you shoot at f1.2. Some optical inferiority may be present at f1.2 but does 1/125 @ f1.2 give you a better image than 1/30 @ f1.8?

[Pekka]

The fact that the lens shows it's best closed down 2 stops is discourging as the only reason I would buy this lens would be for the performance/bokeh wide open.

Trust me, it is as sharp as you need at 1.2.