50mm 1.2 Vs 85mm 1.2 (The longest battle known to DSLRS)

50mm vs. 85mm

• In part, the question is if you want/need to be closer to your subject or 70% farther away, for the same subject framing.

  By being closer, you may create undesireable perspective distortion of your subject.
  By being farther you may need to stand too far away for the available shooting space!

• As for 'blur' there are TWO things to consider separately:
  

At the same relative subject size in the frame, the DOF is identical!


At the same relative subject size in the frame, the amount of background blur is less in 50mm f/1.2 vs. with the 85mm f/1.2

Thank you everybody for the great feedback! I feel like I want to pick the 50mm because I've always shot with a 50 1.8, so I like the idea of everything about it. When I look at a photo from the 85mm 1.2 I'm always just like wow that looks awesome!

I don't think I would ever buy both of these lenses,
Maybe a 50L + 135L or 100L Macro combo or
a 85L + 35L or 24L combo.

50 and 135 make a great combo

It's not really a question of which one to buy, but which one to buy first.

The 50L is certainly less heavy and focuses faster.

absplastic wrote in post #17888247
It's not really a question of which one to buy, but which one to buy first.

^^^this^^^

I have the 24,50,85 combo.

I prefer the 50 for moving subjects, but prefer the 85 for the sharpness and bokeh.

it all depends on what you are expecting from each.

Having shot with the 50mm 1.2 a lot in the past, I have to confess I hate it. The autofocus is less deliberate than the 85mm f/1.2L II (can't speak for the mark I version), even with speedlite af assist light. I'm waiting on it to get replaced, hopefully within this year or the next. I have high hopes after the 35mm f/1.4L mark II update was released a few months ago. I actually preordered the lens anticipating it would be a Zeiss Otus killer. My prediction paid off. I think Canon's 1.2 50 is great...for when it was released. I'm ready for the mark II to bring down (or replace for the most part except for discerning cinematographers) the Otus 55mm f/1.4. I can't stand Sigma Art autofocus, so hopefully this happens soon. I have the 24-70mm f/2.8L II to cover the focal length if I need it, but for now, the 35/85 is my to go combo until Canon updates the 50 and 24 (I'm not a big fan of the bokeh or corner sharpness / ca on the 24mm f/1.4L II, call me crazy). The 85L II I caved in on recently last year. Its focus is slow but deliberate; it's not quite as sharp as my 35, but I had to have the focal length for full body portraits.

The 85 and 35 sounds like a very appealing combo. Would you say you like your 35 or 85 more? Any sample pictures of both? Now I'm interested in the 35 1.4 ii!

35L ii's on my list, after I've picked up my 5D4

gabe212 wrote in post #17889132
The 85 and 35 sounds like a very appealing combo. Would you say you like your 35 or 85 more? Any sample pictures of both? Now I'm interested in the 35 1.4 ii!

I'd have to dig around for sample images because I've only got to use the 35 on a couple of trips so far, and it's been just other work since then. Once we ramp up marketing, I'll prob have more photos, but for now we've been working almost exclusively on revamping infrastructure.

It depends on what you shoot. The 35LII is better suited environmental / detail shots and environmental portraits (I imagine these are better for your kids and "I was here" shots). The 85LII is better suited for tighter female portraits without rain.

Just talking about them purely as optical tools:
35LII
+ fast and deliberate focusing, even in lower light levels where the 85LII stops focusing with focus assist
+ almost no chromatic aberration
+ extremely sharpness across the frame; I haven't done lens chart tests or anything, but I believe it does extremely well here too
+ decent bokeh for a wide angle
+ weather sealing
+ built like a tank - roger cicala took this apart and saw it shared construction technique with the version II superteles
+/- price; but I thought it was worth it for the autofocus accuracy, and to me, it's a bargain because I consider it a discount Zeiss Otus
+ nice post-2012 pebbled lens hood that doesn't get scratched easily and locking tab
+ rear focusing lens means it doesn't change length when focusing

85LII
-/+ slow but deliberate autofocus, requires af assist light as the light goes down, but once that's used, it's remarkable in low-light; still better focus accuracy than any third party lens that I've owned and more deliberate autofocus than older samples of the 85mm f/1.8 (my experience with mine is that it gets decentered over time) in my opinion; requires ONE SHOT autofocusing because of the AF assist light
+ class-leading bokeh and blur amount because of focal length and design objectives; the zeiss milvus and otus might be better, but they're manual focusing lenses that are only available through zeiss dealers and not on amazon where I got promotional credit from the 85LII purchase
- glossy lens hood gets scratched easily
- no weather sealing
- lens changes length when focusing, so I pretty much keep the lens hood on all the time; focusing is drive-by wire, so I have to turn the wheel to reset the length for storage (if I were to remove the lens hood) before I turn off or detach the camera
+ it's 1.2, so it's pretty unique for that across brands
+/- it's not the absolute sharpest lens across the frame, but honestly for portraits, I don't mind where my subject is closer to my autofocus points because you can't really focus and recompose with these f/1.2 and f/1.4 lenses in reality

If the 85LII gets replaced sometime in the next two years with BR tech, weather sealing, and faster focusing, I don't mind and will probably upgrade at that point since it's not terribly expensive in the grand scheme of things for me. This can be subjective.

soooo I ordered the 85mm 1.2! super excited to get it. Now I'm wondering what would be a good pair with it? I shoot a lot of video so i need a wider lens to go with this! i was thinking the cheaper 50mm 1.4 or maybe a 35? 24?

what would you guys recommend? What would make good combo with the 85?

Hey, cool! Probably a 35mm makes sense for video, esp since you went with the 85mm. I tried out a used 50mm f/1.4 and it was nice but I've read some concerns about their durability long term. Enjoy!

I have the 50mm, 85L and just sold the 85/1.8 last week.

You made a great choice picking up the 85L. I find it superb. I grab the 50L when I want a bit more background in the shot. What I am still uncertain about is whether I will keep the 35L in the long run. It has its uses, but it's not my go to focal length.

gabe212 wrote in post #17891459
soooo I ordered the 85mm 1.2! super excited to get it. Now I'm wondering what would be a good pair with it? I shoot a lot of video so i need a wider lens to go with this! i was thinking the cheaper 50mm 1.4 or maybe a 35? 24?

what would you guys recommend? What would make good combo with the 85?

Enjoy the lens. That's the choice I would have made.

I think the 35mm f2 with the IS would be a great pairing.