Regarding 85L

Christina.DazzleByDesi​gn wrote in post #15051438
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.

You are actually right. I was just outside and I kept getting overexposed shots until I put the hood on. It looks ugly, but it does help.

TheLensGuy wrote in post #15051492
You are actually right. I was just outside and I kept getting overexposed shots until I put the hood on. It looks ugly, but it does help.

haha I don't find it ugly. It actually helps to hold sometimes considering the weight of this lens. But another thing, just look at all that glass! Its so large, the hood does a good job of protecting it. I was in the backyard with my dogs once. I had made a last minute decision of throwing the hood on. I was glad I did, because I was on my stomach taking a picture of my dog chewing a stick, and one of the twigs flew off and smacked dead into the face of the lens, but the hood stopped it and it bounced off.

Christina.DazzleByDesi​gn wrote in post #15051504
haha I don't find it ugly. It actually helps to hold sometimes considering the weight of this lens. But another thing, just look at all that glass! Its so large, the hood does a good job of protecting it. I was in the backyard with my dogs once. I had made a last minute decision of throwing the hood on. I was glad I did, because I was on my stomach taking a picture of my dog chewing a stick, and one of the twigs flew off and smacked dead into the face of the lens, but the hood stopped it and it bounced off.

Wow! Close call I'd probably have a heart attack.

Yah I babied this lens for the first couple months I had it. Now Im finally letting it sit in my bag without being in its pouch....lol

Plus, its fun for shots like this!

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/78434343@N05/8​028428482/

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.

A large DSLR and a big lens are not the best tool for street photography. A small quiet range finder with a small wide angle or normal lens, manual focus with good DoF scales is a much better choice. No auto focus is faster than pre focused.

Congrats on the 85 OP.... Great glass....

My 85L focus is definately faster on the 5D Mark III than it was on my Mark II. The focus now works as it should work. I almost sent the lens back after first buying thinking there was something wrong with it when it was on the Mark II.

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. 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.

You don't find changing focus on something within a few feet to something focused at infinity to be slow? I do. I don't complain though, it's not a flaw, just the nature of the beast.

bdillon wrote in post #15052007
You don't find changing focus on something within a few feet to something focused at infinity to be slow? I do. I don't complain though, it's not a flaw, just the nature of the beast.

That is definitely slow compared to say 70-200, but the question is, why should I ever do that? I use this lens for headshots indoors, and body shots outdoors, in both cases, its not that hard to follow the subject and to make sure the focus point is where it should be. If it does end up missing the subject while tracking which causes it to hunt back and forth to and from infinity, that's sort of my fault not the lens'.

85L is obviously no 70-200, and vice versa. There is a reason why a lot of people who own one also owns the other one.

man after reading this I better buy a 5dmk3. I just cant keep up with the joneses.

TheLensGuy wrote in post #15052115
That is definitely slow compared to say 70-200, but the question is, why should I ever do that? I use this lens for headshots indoors, and body shots outdoors, in both cases, its not that hard to follow the subject and to make sure the focus point is where it should be. If it does end up missing the subject while tracking which causes it to hunt back and forth to and from infinity, that's sort of my fault not the lens'.

85L is obviously no 70-200, and vice versa. There is a reason why a lot of people who own one also owns the other one.

Right, and I agree.....just pointing out where the slow comments come from.
People not understanding the physics/mechanics involved.

To answer your question of why you should ever do that.....you probably shouldn't, thus the limitation of the lens people complain about. I think people buy it thinking its going to be a miracle lens and its not, then kick themselves for spending so much on pretty much a single purpose lens. It sucks for action. One second it's here, next it's over there. Unless you're in servo mode with the camera to your eye 100 percent of the time tracking the same thing, it's going to happen. A lot.

bdillon wrote in post #15054284
Right, and I agree.....just pointing out where the slow comments come from.
People not understanding the physics/mechanics involved.

To answer your question of why you should ever do that.....you probably shouldn't, thus the limitation of the lens people complain about. I think people buy it thinking its going to be a miracle lens and its not, then kick themselves for spending so much on pretty much a single purpose lens. It sucks for action. One second it's here, next it's over there. Unless you're in servo mode with the camera to your eye 100 percent of the time tracking the same thing, it's going to happen. A lot.

well, thats how I typically shoot sports or action So I'm good!

I just wanted post again after using this lens for another day. My god, this thing is just amazing. Its absolutely perfect for indoor closeups, and I would like to say it again, the AF speed is a non-issue, at least in 5D3. This camera has such AF tracking algorithms that the lens never ends up hunting to infinity which is why it focuses as fast as 50L at that instant. 70-200 IS II is still more useful, but outdoors. Indoors, the 2 1/3 stop difference (thats ISO 1600 vs 12800!) is huge and this lens allows you to take picture where there is pretty much very little light. I have owned many primes, including 35L, but the ability to take such closeups in low light is something else.

Ah the same feeling i had when purchasing my 135L, enjoy it.

TheLensGuy wrote in post #15055644
I just wanted post again after using this lens for another day. My god, this thing is just amazing. Its absolutely perfect for indoor closeups, and I would like to say it again, the AF speed is a non-issue, at least in 5D3. This camera has such AF tracking algorithms that the lens never ends up hunting to infinity which is why it focuses as fast as 50L at that instant. 70-200 IS II is still more useful, but outdoors. Indoors, the 2 1/3 stop difference (thats ISO 1600 vs 12800!) is huge and this lens allows you to take picture where there is pretty much very little light. I have owned many primes, including 35L, but the ability to take such closeups in low light is something else.

Enjoy it Its a beautiful beast of a lens

The lens costs $2000.00. I could give a rats butt what the hood looks like. Thats a huge piece of glass and target....i never shoot w/o it on the lens...and ive also purchased the best B&W filetr i could get...love this lens and dont want anything to nick tha front element....ive heard all the arguments and ive never used filters in the past..... except this baby