Regarding 85L

Just got my 85L and wanted to post my thoughts so far. The AF is definitely not as slow as people make it out to be, at least not with my 5D3. I have taken several shots of my daughter playing around in action, and they were all keepers. It's extremely sharp and color/contrast is just amazing. Well worth every single penny and definitely an ideal lens for indoor/low light portrait photography. My only grief is the extremely ugly hood, I don't see myself using it.

The AF is fine for still work and weddings IMO, but I wouldn't want to shoot sports or street photography with it.

ZachOly wrote in post #15050489
The AF is fine for still work and weddings IMO, but I wouldn't want to shoot sports or street photography with it.

For that I have the 70-200 IS II

TheLensGuy wrote in post #15050497
For that I have the 70-200 IS II

I think people expect that level of AF in the 85L, but in my experience, the 85L is similar to the 50 1.8, maybe a bit faster.

TheLensGuy wrote in post #15050419
My only grief is the extremely ugly hood, I don't see myself using it.

Seems silly to omit something so useful over such a superficial reason.

Congrats on getting the 85L! I hear it's an amazing lens. Just my two cents, but I never shoot without a hood, regardless of how they look. Of course, other folks' milage does vary.

Bryan

TheLensGuy wrote in post #15050419
Just got my 85L and wanted to post my thoughts so far. The AF is definitely not as slow as people make it out to be, at least not with my 5D3.

Speculation here but 5D2 AF probably doesn't do the 85L any favours...

joeblack2022 wrote in post #15050838
Speculation here but 5D2 AF probably doesn't do the 85L any favours...

My 85L works just fine on my 5D2 centre point. Outer points miss occasionally, but that's not new news!

Sir_Loin wrote in post #15050918
My 85L works just fine on my 5D2 centre point. Outer points miss occasionally, but that's not new news!

Now someone needs to buy a 6D and report back!

I had the opportunityto use a 85LII a few months ago when CPS lent me one.. it was really hard to give it back!

I have now managed to acquire one for myself just this week but haven't used it on a real shoot - this weekend at a wedding will be the first time.

I don't use the hood as much on any of my lenses, but I was surprised that the hood rotates with the front focus ring..

joeblack2022 wrote in post #15050973
Now someone needs to buy a 6D and report back!

better use an 72mm ND filter if your planning to purchase a 6D with a slow crippling 1/4000 shutter speed. f/1.2 can force fast shutter speeds easily :O

Can someone explain to me how a 5dmk3 can focus faster with and 85L?

Outer focus points are lame on the 5dmk2 but center point is as fast as any dlsr. I guess the 5dmk3 ramps up current much more quickly reducing the propagation delay of the electric motor that moves the massive chunk of glass.........(ummmm doubt it LOL).

85L is slow. lensguy when you miss focus and wait for the glass to go from infinity to appropriate location in the lens to get proper focus you'll say oh oh I just missed that shot!!!

85L is pig slow. I love it for what I need to use if for.

The 85L is getting a lot of attention in the forum this week it seems haha
I'm glad you got one though, and that you find the AF is not as bad as everyone says That was my first impression too when I got it.

As for the lens hood, its big, but trust me its USEFUL with a lens that lets in this much light wide-open, you're going to want a hood to reduce any extra amount of light possible. In bright sunlight I can easily get stuck at 1/8000th at 1.2, and still be +1 or +2 over exposed. But hey, the hood clips on really nicely. Its much less of a pain than the twist-on hoods that can get stuck or mounted incorrectly if you arn't paying attention.

AlanU wrote in post #15051029
Can someone explain to me how a 5dmk3 can focus faster with and 85L?

Outer focus points are lame on the 5dmk2 but center point is as fast as any dlsr. I guess the 5dmk3 ramps up current much more quickly reducing the propagation delay of the electric motor that moves the massive chunk of glass.........(ummmm doubt it LOL).

85L is slow. lensguy when you miss focus and wait for the glass to go from infinity to appropriate location in the lens to get proper focus you'll say oh oh I just missed that shot!!!

85L is pig slow. I love it for what I need to use if for.

Alan,

If I understand things correctly, lenses auto-focus by detecting contrast in the image. An image that is well focused (sharp) has more contrast than an out-of-focus image (blurred). The camera's microprocessor processes huge amounts of data very quickly to find data which identifies the highest contrast while the focus lens group shifts around in the lens barrel. That said, the faster the camera's ability to sort through the data to find high-contrast, the quicker it can tell the focus group where to shift to. The 5D3's processors are quick enough to sort through this data faster than older models, theoretically making any lens faster than when in use on older models. That said, a lens does have a mechanical limit to how quickly it can focus due to its build, drive system, mass of glass, etc.

AlanU wrote in post #15051029
Can someone explain to me how a 5dmk3 can focus faster with and 85L?

Outer focus points are lame on the 5dmk2 but center point is as fast as any dlsr. I guess the 5dmk3 ramps up current much more quickly reducing the propagation delay of the electric motor that moves the massive chunk of glass.........(ummmm doubt it LOL).

85L is slow. lensguy when you miss focus and wait for the glass to go from infinity to appropriate location in the lens to get proper focus you'll say oh oh I just missed that shot!!!

85L is pig slow. I love it for what I need to use if for.

It has got nothing to do with 5d3 running the AF motor faster, it has to do with AF algorithm and more importantly focus sensors being improved. It also has to do with 5d3 getting more keepers and having a more consistent focus process.