should I sell my 85L for sigma 85 1.4?

So I love the 85L and it's 1.2 aperture. However, it's a bit slow like you all know and it's not so sharp wide open. Its a hit and miss kinda deal with very little keep rate. I don't shoot for a living but do love to shoot my family and kid. If you were me, would you sell it and pick up 85 1.4 and put the extra cash elsewhere? Need help deciding since I kind want to pick up a 70-200 2.8.

It does not sound like you have a love affair with the 85L (II). If that is the case, I would sell it and get the 70-200L 2.8 IS (II). Then after using that, see if you still want an 85mm prime. If you do, then try the Sigma.

Otherwise practice and perfect your technique with the 85L.

Don't get me wrong, I do LOVE it! When I use it on adult subjects, nothing i've seen could be better for portrait. But I take a lot of photos of my 16 months daughter who does not like to sit still. I wish it was zoomier like the 85 1.8. I just bought the sigma 70-200 2.8 os to see if I like the range. If I do, then i'll probably save up for the canon version.

the 70-200F2.8ii is a lot more practical, but just know what you're getting into, it's huge.

if you want a more simplified gear set, the 70-200 should be top of the list. Fantastic for portraits, good for sports, even incidental wildlife.

Totally agree. That's one thing I'm missing, the longer end of the telephoto. I love taking photos of sunset, but even with the 85, the sun itself is so tiny.

hoaindao wrote in post #17444503
So I love the 85L and it's 1.2 aperture. However, it's a bit slow like you all know and it's not so sharp wide open. Its a hit and miss kinda deal with very little keep rate. I don't shoot for a living but do love to shoot my family and kid. If you were me, would you sell it and pick up 85 1.4 and put the extra cash elsewhere? Need help deciding since I kind want to pick up a 70-200 2.8.

Hrm,

It's sharp wide open. Quite sharp.
If it's not, it's because you breathed and moved the depth of field and missed focus.
The 5D3 with the 85L produces probably the highest hit rate all things considered. But it's still very thin depth of field to work with and takes skill (and a wee bit of luck too).

Yes, it's not that fast. But the Sigma 85 F1.4 is not that fast to focus either. Neither are as fast to focus as the 85 F1.8 for example.

Since you've considered letting go of the 85L, that means you're not absolutely welded to it, and in that case, I'd let it go. The 85 F1.4 is an excellent lens. And frankly, the minor stoppage difference is really more novelty than anything. It's the quality at those apertures that swoons people. You will not want to shoot a kid and family with the 85L at F1.2, you'll get a bunch of one-eye focused images or miss completely if they're running around. Even with a 5D3. So yes, I would swap lenses. Or at least consider a totally different lens if you truly want to chase your family around with the camera. You'll want something fast to focus with a bit more depth of field so that you're getting them in focus and not just a piece of them.

I'd go to the Canon 85 F1.8 instead of the Sigma. That focus will keep up with anything really. So fast. And again. F1.8 is just not that different. Still a sharp lens and great quality. You get to pocket a lot of cash to put towards that 70-200 if you really want one of those, that way you're not just having an 85mm brick that sits on a shelf while you run around with the 70-200. Consider a Tamron 70-200 F2.8 VC to get a bit of everything for a more reasonable cost.

Very best,

In a similar vein, I sold my 85L; it used to be my favourite lens, but I stopped shooting fashion/portraits and it turned out to be a one-trick pony. Considering picking up the Samyang 85 1.4 instead. The price difference is ridiculous and I feel like I get more from the Samyang because it can be adapted to other systems. Not so with the 85L's focus by wire. The 85L is a glorious lens but if you don't adore it it's not worth the outlay.

I agree with MalVeaux on sharpness - it may not win all the chart-tests you see online but in practice my 85L was crazy sharp wide open.

Thank you everyone for your input. Still very undecided! Luckily, I was able to take it out this past weekend to do play with it. Gotta admit, I love this lens more and more.

These couple shot that I took at 1.2 really have convinced me to keep it. I think I could always sell it down the road. The background-blur rendering is so smooth!

1st shot, indoor at ISO 800 f1.2 with 1/1000 shutterspeed (definitely could drop the iso, but didn't think of it at the time) - did some skin softening in LR, otherwise, very sharp prior to processing.

2nd shot, outdoor at iso 50, f1.2 with 1/8000 shutterspeed. At 100%, it look very soft for 1/8000 for some reason that I'm not sure about. Can anyone tell me if its the lens or its just me? She was moving away from me and I was using AI Servo.

100% crop of photo 2

moving subject, your focus was not perfect.

strictly my opinion: the lens has too many flaws to command that price (same can be said about the 50 1.2L!)

the asking price for the 85L, it should deliver better performance, rather than living off of the infamous 1/3 stop advantage over F1.4 equivalents. For that price, I would expect something like sigma art optical performance, otherwise it's not worth it to me.

I've shot with both FD 50 1.2L and EF 50 1.2L... and I swear, I dont think optics has changed since. Very similar in optics.

Same with FD 85 1.2L and EF 85 1.2L ii..... I find more similarities than differences. Unfortunately, there arent many AF options and it comes down to the sigma 85 and canon 85. 70-200ii = top optics, no question. 85ii so so optics, lots of light.... but sigma has plenty of light as well......

I have the Sigma 85mm and I really like it. I could have afforded the 85L, but I'm pleased with the decision I made.