85L II Questions

I currently own a 70-200 IS II that I have been using for portraits with my 5D3. I love it, but indoors it's tough to use due to F2.8, which is why I have been looking at 85L for a few weeks now but I'm really puzzled as to if I'm making the right decision. If the owners of the lens can kindly respond to these questions, that'd be great:

My main subjects are toddlers/kids.

1) Is it any useful indoors or is it too tight? I also have 35L that I can use if things get too tight.
2) Is the focus too slow to the point of being useless? Why I ask this is, as I work with toddlers and kids, I don't have the luxury to ask them to stand still or pose.
3) Is not having weather sealing a problem? Can you take this lens to the beach or use it under light rain?
4) Can the same level of subject isolation be achieved by FL usage in 70-200 (say using it at 200 @ F2.8) which makes 85L irrelevant?

I feel like I'm wasting money owning both lenses, but the pictures 85L produces look just so good. I also need 70-200, because I couldn't do without its fast AF outdoors (mostly in playgrounds, etc).

On the wide end, I have only 35L, so I can also use the money I have for 85L for the new 24-70 II, but that will have the same issue with F2.8, they are just not fast enough to be used indoors.

FastAndFurious wrote in post #15039639
I currently own a 70-200 IS II that I have been using for portraits with my 5D3. I love it, but indoors it's tough to use due to F2.8, which is why I have been looking at 85L for a few weeks now but I'm really puzzled as to if I'm making the right decision. If the owners of the lens can kindly respond to these questions, that'd be great:

My main subjects are toddlers/kids.

1) Is it any useful indoors or is it too tight? I also have 35L that I can use if things get too tight.
2) Is the focus too slow to the point of being useless? Why I ask this is, as I work with toddlers and kids, I don't have the luxury to ask them to stand still or pose.
3) Is not having weather sealing a problem? Can you take this lens to the beach or use it under light rain?
4) Can the same level of subject isolation be achieved by FL usage in 70-200 (say using it at 200 @ F2.8) which makes 85L irrelevant?

I feel like I'm wasting money owning both lenses, but the pictures 85L produces look just so good. I also need 70-200, because I couldn't do without its fast AF outdoors (mostly in playgrounds, etc).

On the wide end, I have only 35L, so I can also use the money I have for 85L for the new 24-70 II, but that will have the same issue with F2.8, they are just not fast enough to be used indoors.

1) It might be tight, but that really depends on the room you are in so that is hard to judge. But as you said, you have a 35mm to cover you if that case ever arises.

2) If the focus was so slow it would be useless, people wouldn't be buying this lens The focus is ONLY slow on the initial going-from-infinity. And even then its not really that slow, thats all based on different people's opinions. Some say its a snail, some shrug it off and it doesn't affect what they shoot. In my case, it hasn't affected my photos. Ive used it to shoot running puppies, horses, etc. Once it has its focus area, it makes the minor adjustments fine. It will be slow if you are shooting at one moment something close to you, and then swinging around and aiming at something in the distance, then it will be slower. Its not hunting, it just has a lot of glass to move.

3) I'm not 100% about this one. I rarely use my lenses in rain. But the other day I was taking photos of a puppy and it started to spit. I didn't stay out that long once it started, but the lens did get a bit wet. It was fine. I wouldn't push it though, but thats just me being my overprotective self.

4) I would say not at all. At 200 f/2.8 your lens produces very nice subject isolation to be sure, but the 85 lets you stand a lot closer to your subject, and with the wider apertures available to you, a 2.8 at 200 won't look like a 1.2 at 85mm. The 1.2 is magical and not magical as in "soft dreamy" as the lens is quite sharp wide open. But the bokeh is creamy and buttery smooth.

I haven't actually got one, but have been looking at the 85L for a couple of weeks now and would answer your questions as follows:-

1) Is it any useful indoors or is it too tight? I also have 35L that I can use if things get too tight.
=> How much room have you got indoors? I expect you'll be okay unless you live in a shoebox.

2) Is the focus too slow to the point of being useless? Why I ask this is, as I work with toddlers and kids, I don't have the luxury to ask them to stand still or pose.
=> It's fine for portraits and moving kids, but too slow for fast moving sports - at least that's the conclusion I've come to.

3) Is not having weather sealing a problem? Can you take this lens to the beach or use it under light rain?
=> Some debate about if adding a filter makes it weather-sealed. I take my lenses anywhere, but then I'm extra careful with them at beaches and in light rain.

4) Can the same level of subject isolation be achieved by FL usage in 70-200 (say using it at 200 @ F2.8) which makes 85L irrelevant?
=> I believe the 85L will give much better isolation - but as I said, I don;t own one so can't say for sure.

Take a look at the 85 1.8. It gets very very good reviews and is said to give same sharpness and IQ not far off the L...plus you save a shed load of cash!

I have never tried using 70-200, but here is an image at 85mm I took the other day @ f/1.2, compare it with a 200mm f/2.8 image and see if it looks different.

Domino1999 wrote in post #15039732
It's fine for portraits and moving kids, but too slow for fast moving sports - at least that's the conclusion I've come to.

If I was shooting sports, I would grab for my 70-300L first to be sure. BUT I have been out and only brought my 85L with me. I can't say how it would fare with motor sports or any ultra-high-speed sports, but I have used it for equestrian sports (dressage - not all that fast, but the AI Servo of the 5D3 and the 85L seem to be perfect together. No issues with AF speed or accurasy), and I have used it for running puppies. It can be trickier to handle, but its not impossible and when you nail the shot...its pretty awesome looking

I know of a few people who use it for dog agility and fly ball too. Thats fast moving. I'd love to try it myself sometime, but I'll wait for a day when Im not being paid for the shots I take, and just do it for practice haha

I made a video a while ago highlighting the focus speed as that seems to be the #1 concern with this lens:

http://vimeo.com/10568​546

1) Only you can tell if if the FL works for you or not. Its actually very easy to find out. Put your 70-200 at 85mm and then start shooting whatever subjects you want to shoot. If it works for you, then the 85 will work for you.

2) It's not useless but with moving kids you'll probably get a low keeper rate. The 85 1.8 will work better in this situation.

3) Don't know, I would not take my 85L into the rain.

4) The DOF at 1.2 of the 85L is very thin. I do not think you can reproduce that with the 70-200. But then again, the differences in output is purely academic (i.e. a normal non-photographer would never notice or care about the difference).

If I were you, I'd try the 85 1.8 first and see if it works for you. You might not need the L.

I looked through my files. I rarely use the 85 at 1.2. I also have the 85 1.8 and rarely used it wide open, even indoors with available light, I'm like to have it closed down slightly.

Inside shot at f4 with good window light. Outside shot open shade at f3.2. Both 85mm L. Note the nice bokeh for the outdoor shot. Indoors was a little close.

Happy baby and happy mom, lens was fast focusing enough to catch that.

I should add the 85L does appear to be weather sealed as some of the white L lenses are.

Action is OK if you are working in a limited zone. Below a test shot , then the product at a later shoot. Both at f6.3

Thanks for the responses, I truly appreciate it. I already tried my 70-200 @ 85mm and a lot of times I can take a head or shoulder shot. The difference between 70 and 85 is really tiny anyways. I am most likely going to buy this lens, in which case I wanted to ask if people think the current $1,999 is high. Is this the type of a lens that has price reductions from time to time? Should I wait till thanksgiving or christmas?

advaitin wrote in post #15040082
I should add the 85L does appear to be weather sealed as some of the white L lenses are.

Action is OK if you are working in a limited zone. Below a test shot , then the product at a later shoot. Both at f6.3

Does it have rubber gasket? I hear quite conflicting responses for weather sealing for 85L II, some say it is, some say it is not.

FastAndFurious wrote in post #15040100
Thanks for the responses, I truly appreciate it. I already tried my 70-200 @ 85mm and a lot of times I can take a head or shoulder shot. The difference between 70 and 85 is really tiny anyways. I am most likely going to buy this lens, in which case I wanted to ask if people think the current $1,999 is high. Is this the type of a lens that has price reductions from time to time? Should I wait till thanksgiving or christmas?

Thats how much I paid for mine new here in Canada. I havn't seen it go on sale here though.

FastAndFurious wrote in post #15040105
Does it have rubber gasket? I hear quite conflicting responses for weather sealing for 85L II, some say it is, some say it is not.

One of those typos--I intended to say does not appear but my fingers got ahead of me.

Neither the 85L or the 135L have a rubber seal. All my white lenses do, except the oldest, the original 400 L f2.8.

That tells me that the 85L does not have the same weather protection as the newer white L lenses. If you use proper precautions you can shoot in inclement weather. I have rain covers for lenses and cameras, but if I am caught by surprise, any piece of cloth will shelter the camera/lens enough for any but torrential downpour.

Does it make sense to wait a few months for price to drop? I wish there was a way to see the price of a particular lens in a given time in the past so that I could understand the price trends better

I have a 5DIII, 85L II and a fast moving 2-year old. I bought a 70-200 2.8 II as I was finding the 85L too slow for a fast moving kid outdoors.

Indoors without flash you are limited. I get an extremely low keeper rate between 1.2 and 1.8 with the 85L - the DOF is just too shallow if my kid is moving. The pics are 'OK' but keeping the eye in sharp focus is almost impossible. At higher apertures things are better but it is still a challenge - you need AI-SERVO and good tracking skills. But when you get one....

I tend to chase at a higher aperture and then if he sits still I can rapidly dial it down to get that narrow DOF look if I want it. The comment that the slow focus from near to infinity actually comes into play when chasing a moving kid - they come close, then run away. You miss a lot of shots due to that.

In summary - it works, sort of. Does it work $2000 worth? Probably not. Learning better flash skills may pay off more.