My new 85 f/1.8 - First impressions

I just got my new (to me) 85 f/1.8 yesterday. First impressions: I'm going to enjoy using it indoors, where it performs well. Outdoors, however, I've been getting bad CA in bright light; we have a lot of snow and this lens doesn't perform nearly as well wide-open in sun-on-snow conditions as my 60 mm macro. When stopped down, it's fine. I really like the 85 mm focal length on my XTi - I enjoy photographing animals and kids, and 85 mm allows a bit more working distance. And it's going to be fun exploring the creative possibilities of the narrow DOF.

Here's one of my first shots, taken in our kitchen last night in very poor ambient light.

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ceegee wrote in post #7162208
I just got my new (to me) 85 f/1.8 yesterday. First impressions: I'm going to enjoy using it indoors, where it performs well. Outdoors, however, I've been getting bad CA in bright light; we have a lot of snow and this lens doesn't perform nearly as well wide-open in sun-on-snow conditions as my 60 mm macro. When stopped down, it's fine. I really like the 85 mm focal length on my XTi - I enjoy photographing animals and kids, and 85 mm allows a bit more working distance. And it's going to be fun exploring the creative possibilities of the narrow DOF.

Here's one of my first shots, taken in our kitchen last night in very poor ambient light.

Great pic! I had the exact same thoughts as you did. CA is mostly reduced by f/2.8, but don't be shy using it at f/1.8 - it's a lot of fun out that wide!

I'm definitely getting this lens when I get my tax return

Yup, the 85mm is an awesome lens. I use mine most of the time at f/2 so that some of the CA is toned down (or less obvious, for the lack of a better description / word) and there is better sharpness.

Nice lookin' dog, too =)

Do you have the lens hood for it? That might help a bit with the CA.

But, virtually any lens will produce some CA in very high contrast situations.

I have both the 85 and 60 lenses, and the CA is worse on the 85 f1.8 especially in high contrast outdoor scenes at a large aperture. I usually use my 85 for indoor sports and the 60 for outdoor portraits. Both are great lenses but for different purposes.

amfoto1 wrote in post #7166789
Do you have the lens hood for it? That might help a bit with the CA.

But, virtually any lens will produce some CA in very high contrast situations.

Does the hood help with purple fringing? I don't see how stray light causes this from happening.

mrkgoo wrote in post #7167106
Does the hood help with purple fringing? I don't see how stray light causes this from happening.

Indeed, a lens hood will not help with purple-fringing.

jrscls wrote in post #7166989
I have both the 85 and 60 lenses, and the CA is worse on the 85 f1.8 especially in high contrast outdoor scenes at a large aperture. I usually use my 85 for indoor sports and the 60 for outdoor portraits. Both are great lenses but for different purposes.

I tried out both these lenses (60 macro and 85) in the same conditions today (sun on snow), and the 60 wide-open produced much less fringing. Like you, I bought the 85 mainly for indoor sports, though, and wouldn't normally use it in conditions where it's likely to have CA. It's an awesome portrait lens. Here's another shot from earlier today, taken outdoors this time. The 85 focal length seems perfect for animal portraits; that extra working distance makes all the difference.

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ceegee wrote in post #7167739
I tried out both these lenses (60 macro and 85) in the same conditions today (sun on snow), and the 60 wide-open produced much less fringing. Like you, I bought the 85 mainly for indoor sports, though, and wouldn't normally use it in conditions where it's likely to have CA. It's an awesome portrait lens. Here's another shot from earlier today, taken outdoors this time. The 85 focal length seems perfect for animal portraits; that extra working distance makes all the difference.

The 60mm Macro, as I assume of all macro lenses, has really tight tolerances for IQ. I don't EVER recall seeing ANY fringing on my 60mm. It would be the one reason I wouldn't want to move from crop sensor. And I have the 17-55 - I'd give that up in a heartbeat to get an 'L'. Still ... the 17-55 has really low fringing too...

edit: Actually, I lie. I went back through some of my shots, and the 60mm does have some fringing. But not noticeable in most situations. You need some real high specularity on a dark background to get it.

I don't use the 85 in circumstances where fringing may show itself very often but when I do, I found DPP does a very good job of removing it.