Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM - The Keg

got a few questions for you 85 owners...

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these.

does the filter threads on this lense mount the same as say my 24-70.. it seems the motor drive and focusing system is a bit different from a standard lense...?

also if i would want to shoot near wide open in outside daylight situations @ 1.4-1.6, what type of ND filters would you recommend for this? i see there is a VARI-ND available.

and lastly, i own a 5dmk2 and was wondering whats the big difference with this lense on a FF vs crop, other than the distance factor.. will i be missing out on anything if this was put on a crop body?

thanks,
Aaron Woodall

Mani-aX wrote in post #12106343
got a few questions for you 85 owners...

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these.

does the filter threads on this lense mount the same as say my 24-70.. it seems the motor drive and focusing system is a bit different from a standard lense...?

also if i would want to shoot near wide open in outside daylight situations @ 1.4-1.6, what type of ND filters would you recommend for this? i see there is a VARI-ND available.

and lastly, i own a 5dmk2 and was wondering whats the big difference with this lense on a FF vs crop, other than the distance factor.. will i be missing out on anything if this was put on a crop body?

thanks,
Aaron Woodall

The threads are the same gauge, though the filter is a different diameter. The 24-70 is 77mm wheras the 85L is 72mm. So you're looking at a new filter anyway.

If you like spending a lot of money on ND filters, check out Singh-ray. If not, just use a polariser (you might one already, and they serve double purpose).

I shoot full frame basically all the time, so I find the 85L a bit tight on a crop. It really shines on a full frame, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed with its quality on a crop (if you don't mind the tightness)

mikewinburn wrote in post #12106322
actually looks a bit front focused to me? his hand was almost perfect... nice composition, and i like the colors as well!

Thanks for the feedback. It is appreciated. Yeah, looks like it focused on his hand and even he is in focus more than the others.


About filters I would get the singh-ray vari-ND. Just get a step up ring for the 85. The thing is so sick. It's .3 .6 .9 all in one. It's pricey, but the way I look at it, it covers most stops and those filters would cost as much anyway.

Can anyone recommend a focusing screen for the 5DMkII for use with the 85mm 1.2 and other fast lenses?
Or, would you advise against them completely?
What are the real advantages? If I understand correctly, you still have to center the point of required focus, which then means reframing anyway just as with auto-focus?
Thanks
Bren

The precision focus screen is very good for this lens and all your fast glass. There's no downsides if all of your glass is fast.

The main difference is that with the 85L, you can't see the area of focus clearly. The DOF preview button is all but useless with the default focus screen. With the precision, you can actually see the focal areas pop in and out of focus.

Once you get used to it, it's hard to give up too....

BODImages wrote in post #12106836
Can anyone recommend a focusing screen for the 5DMkII for use with the 85mm 1.2 and other fast lenses?
Or, would you advise against them completely?
What are the real advantages? If I understand correctly, you still have to center the point of required focus, which then means reframing anyway just as with auto-focus?
Thanks
Bren

I would highly recommend the EG-S precision focus screen for the 5D Mark II for lenses such as the 85mm 1.2 or any lens that's faster than F/2.8.

The standard focus screen doesn't really allow you to see DOF shallower than F2.8. In fact, F1.2 will look exactly like F2.8 on the standard screen. If you are using the standard screen with a 85L wide open, the viewfinder may tell you that you have your subject in focus, but you may find that you've miss the focus because the margin of error for F1.2 is that small. The main advantage of the EG-S screen is that it will allow you to see your point of focus for apertures as wide as the 85L. You can see if you have the eyes in focus or not before you actually press the shutter. You can then fine tune the focus if the AF missed. You do not have to use the center focus point to focus/recompose. In fact, you don't even have to use AF at all with the EG-S screen. This screen was meant to be a tool for manual focus lenses that require high precision accuracy.

The disadvantage of the EG-S screen is that the viewfinder is pretty dark for lenses that are slower than F2.8.

Mani-aX wrote in post #12106343
got a few questions for you 85 owners...

I am thinking about pulling the trigger on one of these.

does the filter threads on this lense mount the same as say my 24-70.. it seems the motor drive and focusing system is a bit different from a standard lense...?

also if i would want to shoot near wide open in outside daylight situations @ 1.4-1.6, what type of ND filters would you recommend for this? i see there is a VARI-ND available.

and lastly, i own a 5dmk2 and was wondering whats the big difference with this lense on a FF vs crop, other than the distance factor.. will i be missing out on anything if this was put on a crop body?

thanks,
Aaron Woodall

I haven't had a 1.6x crop for a long time, but I do have a 135L, and the 85L is just about equivalent to that on a crop camera. I love the 135L, but find it a bit long, esp. on the 1D3, and that's partly what drove me to get the 85L. Sometimes the 85L is a bit long on the 1.3 crop of the 1D3, but I use it anyway, b/c it's awesome!

You may find that the crop bodies--1.3 or 1.6--actually help you with DOF a bit--I miss more shots shooting the 85L at f/1.2 on my 5D because the DOF is shallower than when I shoot at f/1.2 on the 1D3.

s2kennyc wrote in post #12106887
I would highly recommend the EG-S precision focus screen for the 5D Mark II for lenses such as the 85mm 1.2 or any lens that's faster than F/2.8.

The standard focus screen doesn't really allow you to see DOF shallower than F2.8. In fact, F1.2 will look exactly like F2.8 on the standard screen. If you are using the standard screen with a 85L wide open, the viewfinder may tell you that you have your subject in focus, but you may find that you've miss the focus because the margin of error for F1.2 is that small. The main advantage of the EG-S screen is that it will allow you to see your point of focus for apertures as wide as the 85L. You can see if you have the eyes in focus or not before you actually press the shutter. You can then fine tune the focus if the AF missed. You do not have to use the center focus point to focus/recompose. In fact, you don't even have to use AF at all with the EG-S screen. This screen was meant to be a tool for manual focus lenses that require high precision accuracy.

The disadvantage of the EG-S screen is that the viewfinder is pretty dark for lenses that are slower than F2.8.

Thanks for the replies..
That is one of my concerns, a lot of my lenses are faster than 2.8 (35 1.4, 50 1.4, 85 1.2, 70-200 2.8) but I do have some that are not, i.e. my MPE 65mm macro (while it 'technically' is 2.8, obviously its not bright at all). And then there's my old faithful 25-105 F4 and ulta-wide zoom which I would be concerned would suffer greatly from the screen, and the 24-105 does stay on the camera quite a lot.
So, how dark would the EG-S get for these last few lenses and would it make it difficult to use them effectively?
Thanks
Bren

In low light, an ƒ4 lens might be tough to use. In daylight, it shouldn’t be any issue at all.

Todd Lambert wrote in post #12108661
In low light, an ƒ4 lens might be tough to use. In daylight, it shouldn’t be any issue at all.

OK, thats probably not a problem then.. as I most likely wouldn't be using that lens in low light.
Any recommendations for the screen itself? Canon or Maxwell etc?
Bren

I'd only go with the Canon EG-S personally, as it has no issues with AF, etc... not saying that the other do, but the Canon version is like $40 - hard to beat that really. I bought a G and S and an extra back up, just in case.

Organic Treats wrote in post #12106417
Thanks for the feedback. It is appreciated. Yeah, looks like it focused on his hand and even he is in focus more than the others.

About filters I would get the singh-ray vari-ND. Just get a step up ring for the 85. The thing is so sick. It's .3 .6 .9 all in one. It's pricey, but the way I look at it, it covers most stops and those filters would cost as much anyway.

why do you recommend the Singh ray filter ?

Organic Treats wrote in post #12106417
About filters I would get the singh-ray vari-ND. Just get a step up ring for the 85.

where can i find the step up ring?


is this it?

One of my first contributions to this thread, hopefully there will be more to come

Eeek! I just ordered mine from B&H. I can't wait til it gets here. I can't wait for the challenge of figuring out how to make it make the rest of my glass look like poo, ha ha.