85mm prime for canon........

buzzlightweight

buzzlightweight

buzzlightweight

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I'm toying with the notion of getting an 85mm lens for my 6d, I'm starting to enjoy street and I'm planning on going to some gigs where I think it will shine.

I know about the canon 85mm f1.8 but I think I would rather put the £300 odd towards the 85mm f1.2 L?

My question is does anyone have any other recommendations? 3rd party?

Many thanks buzz
 
Wait for mrk comes in and shows us the Sigma. :p

In terms of deminishing returns the 85L is off the chart (not in a good way) and proportion for what it costs compare to the 85/1.8. Still, I got it because I like the DoF from it. For all its short comings - focus speed mainly, I love it, a lot.
 
I'd second what Ray has said the 85mm f1.8 is a brilliant lens for the money and while the 1.2L is a monster I'm not sure you get an awful lot for all that extra money and it's not like it doesn't have some issues of it's own!

mrk will be in to recomend the Sigma f1.4 any minute and will show you dozens of gorgeous images if you want! It is a great middle ground price wise and perfroms brilliantly from what I've seen.

So basically budget get the Canon 1.8 (might even be worth picking one up second hand as a trial to see if you like the length) money no object go for the 1.2L or if you want something that is quality in the middle of the price band get the sigma 1.4
 
Ty for the in depth responses, that is exactly what i was looking for. Is the sigma the new artline? If not will they be bringing one out?

Swaying towards the 1.8
 
The bokeh for the 1.8 is nice.

The lens is sharp.

The focus is fast.

The colours are lovely.

All for just around £300.

I have said this before, the Canon 85/1.8 is one of the bargain primes you can get. Unlike the 35/2.0 or the 24/1.8, the 85/1.8 has L like qualities the others don't have. The 85/1.8 is closer to the 85L than the 50/1.4 is to the 50L. In fact, there are a few aspects that the 85/1.8 is preferable to the 85L.

The Sigma is new but not new new. It has been out at least a year or two now but it is one of their newer range of lenses that is substantially better than yester-year. Some people say the Sigma 85/1.4 is just like the 85L but with the speed of focusing from the 85/1.8. Best of both worlds and at a price in between them. It would be where the wise money would go to.

I think if photography purely as a hobby, the 85/1.8 is where the money would go.
For someone who is a little more serious and in a business sense (where the profit margin speaks loudest), the Sigma is the smart money.
For pure indulgence and some bragging rights, get the 85L.
 
beautiful DOF in #3, i really think i am swaying to the F1.8, i found it on digitalrev for £270 which is a bargain :)

i would love to see some sigma shots...... MRK :D
 
I keep meaning to upgrade to the Sigma (or get the 35mm), but every time I get the money together it gets used elsewhere!
 
I've got the 85mm 1.8, and it is a lovely lens.

Truth be told, from buying it sometime last year, i've only ever used it two to three times tops.

Wish i could use it more, but it is a bit long for everyday use.
 
I've got a 5d mk2.

My everyday lens is either the 35L or the 28-70L, as I like to do street photography.

I would recommend getting it though, it's not too expensive, good to have it in your collection and great whenever you take it out.
 
I have it for my 5D2 and it takes lovely pictures for the £260 I paid. I don't use that focal length enough to spend the money on the 85mm 1.2 though. Unless you're sure you'd use it a lot I'd just get the 1.8.
 
I LOVE my 85L.

It's by far my favourite lens I own, as Ray says, due to the depth of field. The photos are sharp as hell and the effect you can get in detail is just unrivalled in any other lens I've owned or currently own.

The down sides are that it is very heavy and very slow to focus. That being said, when you get used to the lens, you kind of expect to know when certain things are going to happen so compensate or set up where you know something will happen. Occasionally if something instantaneous happens you can get caught out. I can honestly say though, I've only missed maybe 10 opportunities out of something silly like 1500; it all depends on what you're taking photos of really.

I can't recommend the lens enough!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/niallallen/8132010114/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/niallallen/8110536740/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/niallallen/8035796339/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/niallallen/8020865694/

Just some random samples. Oddly flickr seems to have lost my 85L tags. Hmm.
 
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I'm happy with my MKII, having tried both the later does address the slowness issues without any problems and what shots I have missed with the MKI and now possible.

[happy]
 
buzzlightweight said:
beautiful DOF in #3, i really think i am swaying to the F1.8, i found it on digitalrev for £270 which is a bargain :)

i would love to see some sigma shots...... MRK :D
Click to expand...

They come up quite often second hand on talk photography thats where I picked mine up from for a very good price.
 
Also have a look at MPB Photography, they usually have them for a similar price to TP but you get 6 months warranty. That's where I got mine from a while back.
 
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