Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM - DSLR Lens with IS Capability

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Ive been shooting as my full-time job for about 7 years now and professionally for over 10. One thing that always evaded me was a dependable 85mm lens. I first owned the 85mm f/1.8 USM lens and found it to be very sharp, but in a multitude of lighting conditions, the lens wasnt usable from 1.8-2.2 at all due to extreme chromatic aberration. When I rented the 85mm 1.2L a handful of times, I wasnt walking away with a lens I could see myself owning because of the price of entry versus how much use I would get out of it. If I was primarily a portrait photographer, I could see that being a great lens when you work in slowed down situations - I dont. Plus, the chromatic aberrations/purple fringe was somehow WORSE than the 1.8! After my purchase of the Sigma 50mm Art lens and hearing rumors of an 85mm lens down the road, I decided to wait things out and use my 135L. I bought the 85mm Art lens the day it was released to retailers and was very happy with that lens. Its simply unrivaled in image quality in the 85mm focal length...with autofocus (which is very important, lets face it.) But the AF performance would slowly deteriorate over the course of a few weeks of use. I would notice less keepers after 3-5 weeks of heavy use (at least twice a week). This frustration lead to it sitting on the Sigma dock a lot and coming home with too many missed shots to consider the lens "dependable". I elected to buy the Canon immediately this year as well because of the issues I was having with the Sigma. This lens has beautiful bokeh. I have provided several images I took that show the quality of this lens. Anyone that says "lack of 3D pop" should be popped in the mouth for being a fool. Entirely not true and the only explanation I have would be flat lighting. Its super sharp on the 5D Mark IV. It DOES have some slight chromatic aberration and a bit more lateral aberrations. The image stabilizer is extremely effective at helping images remain sharp at all shutter speeds as well as helping with autofocus on smaller subjects. Autofocus is about the same maybe a little faster than the Art series lens, but it has been incredibly accurate in both One-Shot and AI-Servo shooting. So, for me and my uses, its a big winner. Its my new favorite lens in the bag. If I shot test charts professionally I would have kept the Art, but I shoot things that move around...and this lens wins in the real world versus any of the f/1.4 or faster 85mm lenses available for the Canon mount.

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Typical of Canon products, well made and precise. Focus hits well even at 1.4 and close range. Quick also. The IS in testing does indeed help. As cameras continue to add megapixels this should help as any little shake is more noticeable. The 77mm filter is also a common size which is helpful. Some say it lacks the "magic" of the 1.2. I only see that in portraits taken from a further distance where the 1.2 is smoother. Using both Id say youll get more keepers with this, but on "some" shots the 1.2 just has that it factor. Also if sharpness matters this is the one compared to the 1.2. With that said...., Becareful in portraits where too much sharpness can be had (Sigma, Ziess). It really depends on the subject, texture, makeup etc. So its hard to compare exactly having shot with the Sigma it does have a sharpness edge, but I dont shoot architecture so that didnt put it over the top. Because if the Sigma is a 10 on sharpness this is a 9. The 1.2 is a 7-7.5. (its not too soft, its just not as sharp) Though, again sharpness can be overated in certain scenarios. Update after a few months: Im still a fan. Its still quiet and fast and provides enough keepers even at 1.4-1.6. The look is close to the 1.2 but not quite the same. But Id still choose this because only those that have shot both might be the only ones to be able to see the difference. Its not the sharpest but its sharp enough. There is some fringing depending on the backlighting so be aware of that if youre shooting that way. Its not terrible but its a bit more than Id hoped. The IS is the real deal, maybe the most effective IS on any lens Ive used. Though that could partly be because IS on an 85 has less to deal with than IS on say a 200. Looking forward to how this continues to render as cameras seem to keep increasing the MP count. If I had a 1.2 I wouldnt upgrade unless you need the speed, because the fringing upgrades and sharpness arent probably worth it. The reason to upgrade would be the keeper rate if you shoot quickly and are missing with the 1.2 AF. If I had a choice to buy either I would buy this. The 1.2 while somewhat magical in its rendering (if one can work it properly) has optics that are aging and Id worry about that as newer cameras may demand more recent glass. Not that some old lenses are still usable, but the 1.2 maybe not be one of them since its already a bit finicky on todays cameras. But if you dont mind the extra work the 1.2 is a legend.

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After owing and shooting with Canon 85L 1.2 and 135L, the new 85IS is a step above. The overall rendering and bokeh closely match those of 1.2 lens but the sharpness, colors, AF, fringing, and microcontrast straight from f1.4 are much improved. This is especially noticeable if you like to place your subjects off center. IS is one of the most effective implementations I’ve seen. Easily full 4 stops can be achieved. More importantly, IS is optimized for video including panning, I can easily achieve tripos like reaults with this lens on my 5div, this is even better than 35IS (shorter FL!). I highly recommend this lens for hybrid shooters - photo/video. For strictly stills, if you buy used, 85 1.2 can be found quite a bit cheaper and will give you very simar results. Otherwise, without a shadow of the doubt, Canon 85IS is the new king of portrait lenses sucessfully overthrowning 85 1.2 which I beleive will be discountinued.

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This is my favorite lens bar none! from my professional photography work to video, this lens can literally do it all.

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Love it. I have used f/1.2 and f/1.4 and the 1.4 is fast and delivers very sharp images with great depth of field. Great for portraits and shooting on low light conditions.

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Went through alot to get this lens. But once it arrived totally worth it. Very pricey but worth it still

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I am overwhelmed by how fast and smooth this lens focuses. A great investment for anyone trying to up their picture game. I have a simple starter Canon 80D and this lens upgrades the quality of every picture I take.

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Images are sharp. Bokeh is nice. IS is nice. But boy is it heavy! Oh, and thick! The lens is so heavy and thick, in fact, that it gets uncomfortable to hold fairly quickly. Makes one wonder whether the 135 f/2 would not, in fact, be a better choice, despite the lack of IS and the need to move back a bit.

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Great lens, perfect for video because of the stabilizer.

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This is a game changer Bokeh BEAST! I used it for all my B-Roll video and portraits and I am blown away all the time. I use it on my Canon 5D4 and it never disappoints. Built solid and commands respect!

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