Build Quality

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM at f/1.2. Click image to see it in different sizes.

There is no doubt that the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L (purchase from B&H Photo Video here) is built solid like a tank; and weighs nearly as much at 36.2 oz. (1025 grams). If you used any Canon L lenses before, then the 85mm is nothing new, but if this is your first L lens, be in for a real treat. Everything is solidly built with no rattles. The focus ring moves a little too easily because unlike the other L lenses, the 85mm f/1.2 uses a electronic focus manual meaning that the camera must be turned on to be manually focused. I find that it rotates a bit too easily and doesn’t have the same solid feedback feel of the other full-time manual focus lenses. I’ve also noticed something interesting about the electronic focus manual on the 85mm. If you have the default AF/AE Lock setting set for your shutter button, you have to half depress the shutter button to manual focus. But if you switch the setting to AE Lock, AF (or AF-ON), you can use manual focus at anytime the camera is on. It’s a bit odd how that works out, but it does.

While the 85mm is a very well built lens, you do have to be careful as to not damage any of the expensive components such as the front and rear elements. Unlike any of the other lenses, the rear element is very exposed and incorrect mounting can result in costly repair bills. It’s also worth noting that during focusing, the front element extends a tiny bit from the barrel, so care has to be placed when removing and mounting the lens. I would highly recommend that you do not store the lens on the front element when the front element is extended or on the rear element without a rear lens cap locked securely on.

Because of such a large maximum aperture, the minimum aperture of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens is f/16.

Usage

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM at f/1.8. Click image to see it in different sizes.

In my personal opinion, I don’t find the 85mm f/1.2L as useful on a 1.6x crop body lens, I’m sure many would disagree, but having 136mm (85mm x 1.6) is a little too telephoto when I’m looking for 85mm. If you have a 1.6x crop body, the 50mm might be a bit more useful as it will be 80mm (50mm x 1.6). Another problem I’ve ran into a number of times is the minimum focusing distance of 37.4 inches (3.1 feet), there are times where I find I have to step back further just to acquire focus on my Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II. Fortunately you can use both the Canon 12mm and 25mm extension tubes.

On a full frame sensor, the 85mm is a wonderful portrait lens and with a maximum aperture of 1.2, subject isolation is very easily attained, but getting what you want in focus is a whole other thing. At the maximum aperture of 1.2, you are working with very razor thin depth-of-field (DOF) [sample picture]. Having 45 auto focus points to select from really helps with large aperture lenses such as the 85mm as the focus-and-recompose technique may lead to some unexpected results due to the DOF.

It’s certainly not a small lens. On a Canon EOS 1D/1Ds body, it’s weight is well balanced, but on a smaller body such as Canon EOS 50D or Canon EOS Rebel XSi, it is very front heavy. As a comparison, the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L non-IS USM lens weighs 42.2 oz, or 1210 grams, which is only 6 ounces heavier given the versatility! The 70-200mm IS version weighs 51.9 oz.

One of the biggest things I love about this lens is its large aperture. Shooting at f/1.2 lets me handhold shots at lower ISO settings that I would normally be able to with slower lenses such as f/2.8. Shooting at lower ISO settings mean lower noise especially when shooting in challenging low lighting conditions (see this COBA meeting album which was all shot with the 85mm f/1.2, link). You can also see another example of what you can do with the 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens by checking out this link. This lens excels for wedding photography, low light shooting, and portraits. Because of it’s relatively slow auto focus, I certainly wouldn’t use it for sports shooting.

The colors and contrast of the images taken by lens are very, very nice. I find I have to do very little post processing.

Conclusion

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM is a very specialize lens and may not see daily usage given it’s weight, size, minimum focusing distance, somewhat awkward focal length on a 1.6x crop body and price, it never-

© plastereddragon/Found on Flickr.com

the-less is a very valuable lens to have in any collection. The images produced with this lens are nothing less than stunning and the ability to use it in very challenging lighting conditions is nothing short of amazing.

It’s younger brother, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM (purchase from B&H Photo Video here), is a more affordable alternative (approximately 1/5th of the price of the f/1.2L version) with image quality that is very similar to the f/1.2L version and is a great alternative for those on a budget. One thing I’ve noticed, but haven’t had much opportunity to test this more thoroughly, but  I’ve noticed that with the 85mm f/1.2L set to f/1.8 and the 85mm f/1.8 at f/1.8, the f/1.2L version had a faster shutter speed despite being at the same aperture. I’ve read in a few places that this is due to the fact that the f/1.2L has larger glass allowing for more light transmission. This same phenomenon has been reported with the Canon EF 200mm f/1.8L USM and Canon EF 200mm f/2L IS USM lenses (I’ll post the links once I find it).

The 85mm f/1.2L II USM is very sharp, even at f/1.2 but it is more prone to chromatic aberrations, which is not entirely unexpected given the large aperture. At f/1.8, it’s super sharp and doesn’t get any sharper even when stepped down.

So is this lens worth the $1,800 price tag? I definitely think so. The 85mm f/1.8 USM comes very close and does auto focus much faster, so why the f/1.2L version? The f/1.2L is the sharpest of the two, is faster, and the colors & contrast are better. This lens is certainly on my list of next lenses to acquire for good reason.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Sample Images

You can see other images taken with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM at these links:

• 2008-12-10 – Camera Owners of the Bay Area meeting
• 2008-12-06 – Bay Area Car Meet (Images taken with 85mm are scattered throughout)
• 2008-11-28 – Random Photography

• 24.5 megapixel in a 35.9 x 24 mm CMOS sensor
• 16-bit EXPEED system
• 5.0 frames-per-second in it’s full size mode, and 7 frames-per-second in a cropped 10 megapixel mode (I guess they want to encourage people who need the extra 2 frames-per-second to purchase the D3)
• ISO 50-6400, which I’m guessing means that, like the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III (highest ISO is 3200), this dSLR is not intended for low light situations as with the D3 is. There doesn’t seem to be any mention of any higher ISO range such as 12,800 or 25,600.
• Same 3 inch 922,000 LCD
• Live View
• 12ms startup time with a 41ms shutter lag
• Dual Compact Flash slots capable of 35MB/second write times

For pictures of the Nikon Pro magazine and how the D3x stacks up against the Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, click in to read more.

Comparison of Nikon D3x and Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III

As always, this comparison is only a comparison based on specifications. Colors, performance, ergonomics, and other features are subjective and can’t quite be measured without bias.

Conclusion

Nikon definitely doesn’t disappoint with their high resolution D3x. The D3 was aimed at photojournalist, wedding photographers and sports photographer, much like the D2h and D2hs was. The D3x is aimed at those who need higher resolution such as studio and landscape photographers. This is not to say the D3x can’t be used for photojournalism, wedding photography, and/or sports photography. I’m pretty sure a number of wedding photographers will pick up a D3x to complement their D3.

Canon has certainly fell a bit further behind with their 1Ds Mark III compared to the (yet-to-be-released) D3x. Things such as the outdated, crappy 3.0 LCD screen with a laughable 230,000 pixel and maximum ISO of 3200. The D3x has the same ISO levels (performance will be another thing to be seen) as the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, a 10 megapixel dSLR. I certainly like the D3/D3x’s dual Compact Flash slots, but I can see the advantages of having a Compact Flash slot and a SD/SDHC slot as a) if you are shooting in situations where your memory card can be confiscated, at least with the SD/SDHC, it’s not as easily noticed; b) SD/SDHC has attained (and in some cases surpassed) Compact Flash speeds; and c) more laptops are more likely to have a SD/SDHC built in reader than a built-in Compact Flash reader.

I’ve always liked how Nikon has offered a “cropped” mode, first introduced in the D2x, and has remained in the D3, and now also seen in the D3x. By allowing the photographer to switch to a lower megapixel selection, they can attain extra frames-per-second.

One thing of interest is that the HD video feature first introduced in the D90 does not appear in the new D3x. Does Nikon not feel it’s ready for the pros? So us Canon shooters will now continue to wait and see what is in store with the Canon EOS 1D/1Ds Mark IV. Kudos Nikon, you certainly are listening to your users.

© Engadget.com

© Engadget.com

Silver

• Welcome Kit
• CPS phone hot line
• 20% discount on repairs

Gold

• Access to loan equipment for two weeks
• 30% discount on repairs
• 2 free check & clean services
• 3 day expedited turn around on repairs
• $100 annual fee

Platinum

• Priority access to loan equipment for two weeks
• 60% discount on repairs
• 2 day expedited turn around on repairs with equipment loan if repairs are longer than 2 days
• $500 annual fee

Dammit, I just recently sent in my CPS packet with a pre-approval signature from one of Canon’s Field Managers. I wonder how this will affect my membership packet as CPS is not accepting any new members. My Canon EOS 5D is in desperate need of repairs and I don’t want to just send it to Canon Irvine Repair Center and have to wait 4-5 weeks for it to be repaired.

In other good news, CPS and Canon Professional Network (the worldwide CPS) are now merging. This means if you are a traveling professional photographer and have CPS membership and your camera/lens breaks, you won’t have as much issues getting service from CPN as it has been in the past.

Well if I have join again, then I’ll most likely go with the Gold membership to start out with. One of the benefits is that we’ll be able to join via the website (they actually have a website now…LOL!) now, which should be quicker turn around time. It’s a pain to have to get all the documents together and send it out to Lake Success, New York.

The class was quite informative with quite a bit of hands-on tuition from Jennifer. We met at Keeble & Shuchat Photography at 11:00 AM and had a one hour introduction by Jennifer including some information from Jim Rose. Afterward, the group of fifteen broke up and had lunch at Mollie Stone nearby. The plan was meet at Pescadero (Half Moon Bay) at 3:00 PM.

Most of us commuted with each other as a precaution because parking can be some what difficult on a weekend. Jim Rose (Senior Professional Market Specialist for Field Market Support), David Carlson (newly promoted National Manager for the Canon Field Market Support), and Adam I-can’t-spell-his-last name (Canon’s Liaison Rep to stores like Keeble & Shuchat) from Canon brought out thirty something Canon L lenses for us to use and try. I had an excellent opportunity to try many lenses including Canon’s new $12,000 800mm f/5.6L IS USM lens, 500mm f/4L IS USM, 400mm f/4 DO IS USM, 300mm f/2.8L IS USM, and a bunch of other telephoto lenses. Jim also brought a pre-production Canon EOS 50D with the new Canon EF 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS lens. They both garnered good comments. I think the 50D will do well. I had also an opportunity to use Adam’s personal work camera, the 1D Mark 3, which was great. The entire event lasted for some five hours. The weather wasn’t great, but I’m sure a lot of people still got some great shots. Me, being the “people” photographer, spent most of my time shooting people. The cost for this very informative class was $49.

• Full frame with 21.1 MP, certainly quite a bit of megapixels
• EOS Integrated Cleaning System
• Digic 4 with 14 bit A/D conversion
• Max JPEG sizes of 5616 x 3744
• 9-point TTL CMOS AF sensor with 6 “Invisible Assist points” (a bit disappointing that they didn’t roll the 45 point AF sensor into the new 5D Mark II)
• ISO 100-6400 with 50, 12800, and 25,600 with expansion (YES!)
• 3.0″ TFT LCD with 920,000 pixels
• Live View with 30 fps
• Movie recording capabilities of 1920 x 1080 at 30 fps
• No built in flash (I’m sure a lot of people are disappointed given that Nikon did it in the D700)
• 3.9 frames-per-second continuous burst for 78 frames (310 with UDMA card)

So Canon has certainly heard Nikon’s challenge (but not apparently heard it loud enough), but is this enough to win back some of the pro who switched? I’m not sure. Some of the biggest draw back for photographers who shoot in low light (wedding photography) and/or sports (and the likes) is the weak auto focus (seems like the same exact AF as the 5D) and weak frame rate (3.9). Certainly for landscape photography, 9 auto focus points is usually fine. Also being able to shoot at ISO 25,600 is certainly very, very appealing. I’m not as impressed as I thought I would be and at this point, I don’t think I would purchase the new 5D Mark II. But once we start seeing some actual production model images, who knows. A lot of us are still waiting for a 1D series that actually works right, perhaps this is one of the reasons why it has the older generation auto focus? Read more about the 5D Mark II with sample videos and specs at DPReview.com. You can also read Canon’s press release here.

Also a new Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM lens was released.

Comparison Chart

Looking at the side-by-side comparison, the 5D Mark II certainly looks promising, but can it compete or even beat the Nikon D700? It’s got more megapixels, which isn’t always a good thing. The viewfinder is bigger, which is always nice, but it’s still not quite like the 1Ds Mark III and D3. It can do video, which I’m not sure is a good thing. Only time will tell.