Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras - Fixed

This was my second prime lens, the first being the "I-am-prime-too-50/1.8" lens and I specifically bought this to shoot a badminton tournament (and more for the future). FYI, badminton tournaments are definitely 1.8 situations at ISO 1600 and no flash permitted. And what a lens! The focus is absolutely sharp, crisp with gorgeous bokeh to make the subjects stand out. I took photos of professional badminton players (USA rank 1-5) and emailed it to them. Even though I am a serious amateur, they replied back saying the photos were gorgeous and amazing, and loved it. I shot the complete tournament at 1.8 ISO 800/1600 and have absolutely pleasing results. On just one or two occasions, the focus was hunting, but I would put that down as a one off occasion as there was aboslutely very challenging situations - moving subjects in low light. The focus is quick and absolutely smooth, no noise at all. The lens is compact, not at all heavy and is perfect portrait lens. My only disappointment is that it comes without a hood, and even if I buy a Canon hood, it does not have the same look as other (say, Tamron 28-75 2.8 hood is a really good looking hood) hoods. The relationship between the background and the foreground is something that impressed me with this lens, especially for an 85mm focal length. The lens makes the subjects stand out and you dont need to stop down for sharpness. I know I am going to keep this baby at 1.8 at all times in future. This in concert with my 50 1.8 for wider angle situations like awards and group snaps, the photos are absolutely stunning. The reviews I received for my photos are pretty good, thanks to this lens with my 20D. I am sold on primes now and will probably end up buying more primes than zoom lenses. Go on Canon, put a red ring around it! Definitely 5 stars. Other lenses considered before this purchase - 85/1.8, 100/2, 135/2L and to a small extent, 200/2.8L. Finally chose the 85/1.8 due to the 1.8 and the effective focal length on 20D with 85mm. No buyer's regret, I am very pleased with my purchase now. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11 Mar 2009 This is a comparison of 85/1.8 and 135mm/2L. Ive had this lens for 3 yrs now and have taken so many portraits with this, simply put, amazing results every single time. Never been able to find fault with this lens or the images. Image quality has been consistently awesome, consistently 5 stars. The only lens that bests the images from this lens is my 135/2L, but that is of an entirely different league and shouldn't even be compared to this lens. Merely stating that for academic interest. Even then, the three places that the 135mm beats the 85 mm are 1. Sharpness - 85mm is very sharp, 135mm/2L is simply a notch above. 2. Saturation - 85mm is good, 135mm/2L is much better, image has a pop. But then again, 85mm has half a pop too! 3. Bokeh - Again, 85mm has a lovely bokeh, esp @1.8 and 2. However, the 135mm is in an entirely different league, one simply cannot, should not compare. Now, the $350mm lens compared to the much more expensive, much higher quality lens worth $925 is completely unfair. However, I would give the 85/1.8 4 stars assuming the 135mm is the gold standard with 5 stars. If this review second rates the 85mm, that is certainly not my intention. I have consistently enjoyed shooting with this lens and will continue to have a lot of fun.

I've been drooling so long for this lens's big brother, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L. After considering countless written reviews, comparisons and videos in YouTube, I decided to buy the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 Ultrasonic for a fraction of the price of the bigger and better lens. Just arrived a couple of days ago. Well packaged and immobilized inside a sturdy cardboard box used by Amazon for shipping and delivery. Its a question of money and timing. I know I'm going to upgrade my Canon EOS 6D body during later this year for either a new 6D Mark II (coming soon) or a 5D Mark IV. So by purchasing the f/1.8 I keep within my planned budget and can start to enjoy this lens. Another consideration is that I'm not a pro. I'm not making a living with my cameras. I've been a serious enthusiast photographer for over 4 decades which means I don't make but spend good money in photography gear within realistic limitations and great personal gratification. The consensus among photographers is that the smaller Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 is a good to excellent prime lens and a very good value for the price. Having the lens in my hand I can say this is a very decent prime glass, well built (not an "L" level), responsive, small and light. My preliminary evaluation is that the copy of the lens I received is focusing right and quick with my 6D. Its giving me crisp images with nice bokeh at f/2. So far so good. There are a number of other brands making good primes and maybe better lenses in this focal length. I'm giving this lens 5 stars not because it is the "best" 85mm. But for the high level of quality and the low price, Canon is giving us the option to buy a good solid lens with nice autofocus, crisp images and very good bokeh. I agree with the opinion that the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 Ultrasonic lens is one of the best values around so I gave it the 5th star. This doesn't mean that I'm not going to keep drooling for the bigger, heavier, brighter and special bokeh of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L II prime lens. Also the rumor is that later this year Canon is going to release a new EF85mm f/1.4 L IS lens. :-)

I have to say, I read the reviews and I fired on this thing. Oh man, I have been so incredibly happy with its performance. Through my test shots (I have not done a proper shoot yet) I have to say this lens is phenomenal with only one caveat and that might be the camera body I am using so I will go over that later. The pros: Its quiet. It is fast in both aperture rating and the fact that it is prime and focuses quickly. It is a solid metal piece. Color saturation is exquisite. Hi-lites are great. Your images almost appear 3 dimensional and you get tack sharp images. The con: I cannot call this a con simply because I am 95% sure it is because I am using this on a Canon T2i and I simply do no believe this lens is built for the cheap body (hey you gotta start somewhere) so I will describe the problem. Oftentimes while shooting with this lens especially if you have shifted from a low to high aperture or high to low etc you oftentimes can not get an accurate depiction of bokeh and any focusing area outside of your focus point. For example, if you set the aperture to say 2.2 and you focus in you will see in the viewfinder that your focus point is the only thing that is in focus, then you switch the aperture to say f 11, you will notice very little sharpness change on the object that is outside of your focus point, meaning it will look the same in the viewfinder as it does at f 2.2, you snap the photo and viola the image actually was focused as the f 11 aperture changed the focus range and got more of the background / foreground in focus. I played with this lens at a store on a Canon Mark II years ago and I did not notice this effect so it leads me to believe it is the Rebel T2i that is causing this "False focus" It is corrected for me by turning the camera off and restarting it in the aperture I am shooting or by switching the shooting mode then switching back which leads me to believe that this is strictly a limitation in the Rebel T2i innards. So do not freak out if that happens!

I have both the 50mm f/1.4 ($340) and the 28mm f/1.8 ($450), which isn't much popular but does it's job as a "normal lens" in a crop-sensor body. They are both pretty good lenses, and I use them a lot for their specific qualities. But this 85mm is by far the best piece of glass out of the three. There's still a bit of Chromatic Aberrration at f/1.8, but those guys at Canon had to let you know somehow it isn't an L lens, right? Pros: - Very, very sharp, even at f/1.8. For the price, is the sharpest lens you can buy. - A bargain! For what it can do, I would pay twice it's price and still be happy about it. - Compact size. It doesn't take much space in the bag. I would say it's 30% taller and wider than the 50mm f/1.4. - Focuses really fast... almost every time. - All time manual focus it's a great feature on this lens. You'll need it when the camera fails to focus because of the extremely thin focus plane. It happens when you go from a near object (3 ft or so) to a distant one or viceversa. - The bokeh is delicious, and you can definately isolete subjects! Cons: - A bit of Chromatic Aberration at f/1.8, but it's ok. We all know that's reserved for L glass. - Kind of plasticky. It kinds of worries me to se all that beatifull glass cased in thin plastic. But that's what meakes it light and cheap, so... - No Image Stabilization, so you'll need to work on your pulse. But again, all fast primes lack IS, and I think that's great about them. It's great for studio or street portraits, as it gives great perspective and proportions, and lets you keep your distance from the subject. Paired up with a camera that can manage low light, it's great for wedding photography, as it lets you shoot practically without a flash. I've used for theater plays and corporate events as well.

I hang out with friends a lot and up to this point, most of our photos together have been under flash conditions. Mostly because we hang out in the evenings, in someone's home. I bought this for my Rebel XT mainly for the great reviews and the impressive entry price! Although the reviews were already mostly positive, I took some time playing with the lens to get used to its characteristics. Since this forum is replete with technical reviews, I would like to share my impressions instead. I primarily rely on reviews, myself, to help me make purchasing decisions, so here are my thoughts on the EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens. PROS: 1)I'm a fan of Steven Soderbergh and love how he made it look like he shot Ocean's Eleven with natural light. I wanted the same effects for my get-together photographs and boy did I get them! I shoot mainly in RAW now and apply the Tungsten filter when I import them into CS2 and they look phenomenal! 2)After correction, skin tones look very natural and the lighting makes the captured moment look like a captured moment. Not a forced moment like when a blazingly bright flash is involved. (Sorry I don't know how else to illustrate it...) 3)The bokeh on this lens is dramatic, not distracting. My friends love the photos I take with this lens but the just can't put their finger on why... 4)The 85mm is solid. Compared to my XT kit lens, the 85mm feels like a 'real' lens with solid movement and loads of glass inside (which you can see when you peer into its very large front lens). 5)The shooting distance is very comfortable for your subjects, as they do not feel like you're crowding them with your camera. (More on this below in Con). CON(just one!): 1)Sorry, this is not really a con, but more of a warning mostly to other amateurs out there who may be looking at this for the price. It may be pretty obvious to most, but this lens does not feature a zoom range. Meaning if you want your subject's head to look bigger in your viewfinder, you must walk towards them or have them come closer to you. Conversely, if you want them smaller in the VF, you must walk away from them etc...since this was my first fixed lens, I had to get used to it a bit. This is not the lens for you if you want to take group photos in low light situations in small room. ALL-IN-ALL: I love this lens. I love how dramatic my pictures come out in their natural settings. The bokeh adds so much more emotion to each photo. And since you can shoot with such a wide open aperture, you'll catch the moments when they happen without it blurring away from a too-slow shutter speed or a bright flash of blinding light! (Please buy an inexpensive UV filter for this since the front lens is so big, it will easily get scratched and damaged.)

I've owned a few copies of this lens, mostly due to switching between camera systems multiple times. I've used all of them on the Canon 5D but have not tried them on a crop sensor body. My take on the pros and cons of the lens is as follows: Pros: + In terms of sharpness/resolution there is little to complain about. As long as the lens is properly focused, the lens is sharp enough in the center, even at f/1.8. + Bokeh/out-of-focus transitions are surprisingly smooth considering this doesn't have any fancy aspherical/ED elements or rounded aperture blades. Very well-suited for portrait work. + Fast autofocus - goes from MFD to infinity (or vice versa) in a fraction of a second. Also the USM focus motor is fairly quiet, and is the ring-type which is a step above the micromotor AF of the EF 50 f/1.4. Works for shooting action as well. + When stopped down the lens is quite sharp across the frame, which makes this suitable for landscape shots as well if you use this focal length for that. + Internal and FTM focusing - no extending/retracting parts when focusing, and it has full-time manual focus so you don't have to switch to MF to use the focus ring. + Inexpensive for what it is. I actually prefer this lens over Nikon's new 85mm f/1.8G, which is significantly more expensive but doesn't have as fast AF and is made in China. This lens has been around for 20 years so its R&D costs have probably been paid off by now, but it's still excellent for digital. Cons: - I'd read reviews saying this lens has very reliable AF, but my experience has been that several copies I owned required sending to Canon for AF adjustment to correct front/back focus issues. Once adjusted to match the camera, it is pretty reliable even in low light. The DOF being as shallow as it is at 85mm and f/1.8, I imagine there are quite a few that will need adjustment to be spot-on. - Bokeh fringing at wide apertures. If shooting in high contrast scenes (lights or specular highlights), this lens has a strong tendency to show green/purple/magenta outlining on the edges. Luckily if you have the latest version of Adobe Lightroom, this issue can be corrected with the chromatic aberration tool, but it does take some time. - Tendency to attract internal dust. You would think that an internally focusing prime lens would not have many dust problems, but it turns out that the rear element has gaps that allows dust to get in quite easily but not come out. Dust in this lens is more visible than most because of the large aperture. I would avoid cleaning the rear element unless necessary, and if necessary use a bulb blower or a wet solution like a Pec Pad and Elipse solution. I would not use a LensPen on the rear because the carbon dust from the pen can easily get into the lens. The good news is that dust has very little/no impact on the pictures taken, but it will probably affect resale value. In total, this is not a perfect lens but it is still one of Canon's best values for lenses. I would consider it Canon's best sub-$500 lens.

Hello everyone. I bought this lens earlier in 2009 and had it for a couple of months. I bought this lens solely because I tend to shoot a lot of portrait for my friends on my cropped-sensor Canon 30D . I was using Tamron AF 17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di-II LD SP ZL Aspherical (IF) Zoom Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras as an all-around lens and it was a great lens for portraits. However, I have heard and read a lot of great reviews about this lens and it was reasonably priced so I bought it when I had the money. I was blown away by the quality of the photo it took. It is good for low light shoots and for portrait in general. The focusing is smooth and silent but I wish it had better build quality (I still use film camera and old lenses from the 70's-80's so you will understand why). The camera also gives a great bokeh (background blur). Now, I thought I'd write this review after I lent the lens to a friend for use with his 450D. He called me after a week and said that all his friends liked the quality of the pictures. One of the guys took the camera and shot random shots and said this lens always takes good shots, it just can't take any bad ones! Coming from someone who is not very enthusiastic about photography, I think for us Amateurs/Enthusiast/Professionals would find it even more convenient. You can read a lot of professional reviews for this lens and also view sample of pictures taken by the lens. Go check out video reviews of this lens as well as example photos on Flickr. You wouldn't be able to wait to get this masterpiece. I recommend this lens for anyone who wants to take quality portrait for family and friends and even on a professional level. You will not be disappointed. If I had extra money, I would consider 135mm f/2.0L or 70-200mm f/2.8L.

I bought this lens right before an overseas vacation to supplement the kit zoom lens Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras that came with my Canon D50. I thought the zoom lens would be my primary lens, but I ended up leaving the zoom lens in the bag more often than I had thought and used this one the most. I bought this primarily as a portrait lens but it performed so well at a variety of tasks and turned out to be much more versatile than I had expected. Our trip was for a month. I did have to shoot a wedding, but the rest of the time was purely personal. Don't get me wrong - the 28-135 did good, but after a few hundred shots I noticed a pattern of overall better color under natural light conditions AND better auto-focus on the subjects with the EF 85. Of course, fixed focal length lenses such as the EF 85 typically have fewer elements in fewer groups than zoom lenses, which as a rule of thumb should produce better images. While reviewing the wedding photos, I noticed that the EF 85 was more likely to focus on the subject's face than the 28-135, which tended to focus on who knows what - the clothing maybe? I was using auto-focus with both lenses, but was sometimes getting slightly blurry shots when using the zoom lens. I discarded more photos taken with the 28-135 zoom, and had I know this prior to the wedding I would have used the EF 85 more often. Once the wedding was over and I was just shooting for fun, there were a couple of times that I noticed a "busy" message on my camera that temporarily prevented me from shooting. I was both perplexed and upset. It said my battery still had plenty of power, I wasn't using the flash, and my memory card is fast and was far from full, so I couldn't determine what the problem was. The second time this happened I realized I had been using the zoom lens both times, so I switched over to the EF 85, and the problem went away. After a lot of research I learned that the IS system on certain IS lenses can cause temporary delays while compensating for low light or motion, but since the EF 85 does not have IS, there are no IS-compensaton delays. That being said, this lens performs just fine even without a tripod (unlike longer teles). Towards the end of our trip I was visiting the United Nations' Joint Security Area in the middle of the DMZ between North and South Korea, and they have a strict lens length limit of 90mm, no exceptions. A couple of people only had longer zoom lenses or teles, and they ended up having to leave their cameras behind - what a disappointment! By this time I was quite comfortable with the EF 85, and once again it exceeded my expectations. I always shoot in the highest quality mode (full "L" + RAW), and I was getting crystal-clear photos even when shooting from a slow-moving vehicle, and I was able to shoot at a rate of several photos per second. Again, great clarity, color, and the auto-focus was always spot-on. Keep in mind that in the days of film cameras, the best portrait lens length was somewhere above 80mm. For Canon APS-C cameras (non full-frame) like the EOS 50D, 7D, and Rebel models, this 85mm lens length would be the equivalent of a 136mm lens if it were on a film camera. For full-frame models such as the EOS 1D and 5D, this lens is the equivalent of 111mm. This translates into perfect portrait depth-of-field and produces awesome boke in the f/1.8 - f/2.0 range, and even a decent amount of boke up to f/4.5. But this lens can do so much more than just portraits - the fast f/1.8 aperture is much wider than most zoom lenses, yet the cost, weight, and length are relatively small. In short, an indispensable, very convenient lens. I couldn't be happier with this lens. The Ultra-Sonic motor works silently and flawlessly. As with all lenses, I would recommend using a lens hood and/or a QUALITY filter (think B+W UV MRC series B+W 58mm UVA (Ultra Violet) Haze MRC Filter #010 ) to protect the lens and limit unwanted light. L-series lenses come with their own hood, but for this lens you must purchase it separately Canon ET65III Lens Hood for Canon SLR Lens . *** UPDATE *** I recently added the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras AND the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras to my lineup. I mothballed the 28-135 kit lens (planning on selling it) and am using the 24-70mm f/2.8 L in its place. Still using the EF 85mm as my primary portrait lens with no regrets. I can't say it's exactly the same level as L-series glass, but it's pretty damn close.

I originally purchased the Nifty50 1.8, it was pretty good but it's nothing compared with this lens. It focuses nicely, creates beautiful bokeh almost effortlessly and makes all my models look like goddess. If you are starting your journey with portrait pathography and are aiming for that dreamy look this lens is for you. Great built quality and it feels professional too. 100% happy with the purchase and would recommend to anyone looking for images with creamy bokeh on a tight budget.

Todo genial, llegó en la fecha estimada y estoy super contenta con este objetivo

Un lente excelente que no requiere de mucha presentación, es el que más uso

L'obiettivo e' ottimo per uso professionale per ritratti e still life. Amazon impeccabile! Peccato non c'e' il paraluce. Con l af della mk3 raggiunge risultati incredibili

Didnt know this lens would work perfectly with my Canon R6. Super fast auto focus in both photo as well as video mode. Great investment!