Street Hunting with the Canon 85mm f/1.2
Last week I was lucky enough to receive the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II USM on a week loan from Canon. I had always heard that this lens is absolutely fantastic, but that it is very slow in focussing, so I decided to put it under pressure, bring it with me on the streets of London.
One of the things you can notice of the three photos in this article is that they are all of static subjects. Guess why?
The 85mm is an incredible lens: amazingly fast and with a lovely depth of field, nevertheless it is not a lens you can use for everything. The narrow DoF must be kept into consideration while shooting moving subjects, and when your focus range is just few centimeters long you should be insanely fast between focussing and triggering the camera. I tend to focus on the centre point, recompose and then release the shutter: this takes some time and for how fast I can be, there is no way I can use it f/1.2 for moving subjects.
I have to say, though, that I expected the lens to be slower in focussing, but I have been surprised by the speed of it.
So, this lens clearly cannot be used for my usual street stuff, especially because being 85mm it is not as wide as I like to use nowadays. Nevertheless in the occasions I had to shoot relatively still subjects I had amazing results. In these three photos I had the time to stop, focus and trigger, and the result are fantastic.
This is not the "Street Photography" I am generally used to, but still I will not have this lens for long, and I want to test it thoroughly.
Without any doubts the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II USM is THE best portrait lens I have ever used. Shooting still subjects (especially while being able to direct them a little bit) can bring some incredibly good results: the very selective focus, the shallow Depth of Field and the crispness of the image are amazing. This is not a lens for everyone, you have to be very careful while focussing while at f/1.2, as this glass do not forgive few inch of error: if the eye of your subject is on focus, his or her ear may not be.
I will try to stick with it as long as I can, as the almost £1.800 to buy one do not allow me to even think about it. One year ago the same lens was on the market for MUCH less (last time I checked it was £1.200).
Prices apart I need to underline the quality of this lens and, as for many Canon L lenses, a lens to be chosen carefully as it does not suit every need. In my case it would be one of the lenses in my gear, but for the moment (this week apart) it will remain in the dream list.
A big Thanks to Canon to let me try it and for tempting me so much!
Comments
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called The Inspiring Photograph, and we’d love to have this added to the group!
super set of shots
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Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
Have you tried the 135mm 2.0? It took my quite a while to hopefully understand the camera has a backward focusing issue, I thought it was my focus/shutter release process. But when testing with a stationary subject, the focus was clearly behind the focal point. Now my gear is with Canon.
You have captured three wonderful scenes and subjects, each one portraying some form of romanticism, at least to this romantic. At 85, it was testing you to move in closer I am sure!
So you would say that speed is less the issue than a tolerance at 1.2 in the streets?
If you look at my New Orleans stream you will see wider views of the street at 2.0. This takes the stress off the backward focusing issue and by knowing it, some chance to compensate.
The difference from 2.0 to 1.2 must be incredible! Cheers Carlo!
Stunning shots Love them! especially the b&w.
Interesting to read your blog. Id heard the same thing about the focussing speed and at its current price would be scared to take it out on the street!!
great job and great lens!
Un portait magnifique, cet objectif est un réel bijoux !
BRAVO !
All beautiful shots Carlo!
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Seen in my contacts’ photos. (?)
Forti !!!
Hi, I’m an admin for a group called Callejeando, foto urbana (post1.award2), and we’d love to have this added to the group!
Maravillosas Carlo
ypu achived quite good result but i can see that you are struggling. It is a shame that physics does not allow to make 1.2 and 24 mm;-) But i am sure it is superb lens for portratuire when you can go so shallow.
I like your blog very much – very stylish and informative!
I’ve no word to describe these fabulous serie, woooooow, i’m really in love
I love this hot Carlo, IMO one of your best
Fantastic !!
Wonderful bokeh with this lens!
Great work!
Woooooot Wooooo!
Very tasty!
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Seen in my contacts’ photos. (?)
Nice street portrait ! She’s got a great hat !
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Seen on your photo stream. (?)
excellent shots ! i rented it a few months ago, its actually kind of funny how "fast" the Autofocus works, but the shot that hit are real hits
The one thing you didn’t mention was how the lens itself looks and feels
– watching you in action with it, I was struck by how much glass there is! It looks amazing, and although it is quite heavy, it felt really nice to hold – and that focus ring is something else – very smooth!
Great shots by the way!
con questa lente sei legittimato a cacciare ogni tipo di selvaggina!
three super catches – like you I tend to centre spot focus then compose – I’ve got the 85/1.8 which is excellent – certainly never had an issue with speed, but haven’t used it much wide open on the street