Canon EF 85mm f1.2L II USM Lens for Canon DSLR Cameras

(I actually want to give it 4.5 stars)

As most of you arriving at this page and considering this lens are the more professional/advanced amateur photographers whom already own plenty of L glass, this review will be written from a more stringent perspective on its capability to own up to its expensive price tag and compare with other L's. (i.e. no "It's so much better than my kit lens! Wow, buy it! The end")

First up, it's uses. This lens is more obvious than others. Yep it's primarily a portrait lens. Anything that sits at 70mm focal length or higher and maintans wide apertures qualifies as such. L lenses tend to function well in two or sometimes more roles; this lens proves to function decently in one other role. Note that this lens's main advantage is it aperture. If the lens is stopped down, other L lenses start taking over with better image quality. With this in mind, let's look at a breakdown of all the other possible uses for this lens:

As a... Read more

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens is a very heavy (1025 grams or 2.25 lbs), very well built lens. It comes packaged with the appropriate hood, the Canon ES-7911. You get both a lens cap and a mount cap, all packed inside tight conformal foam to protect the lens during shipping. There's also a very brief manual and the usual warranty paperwork.

The 85mm specification is for a full-frame camera; with an APS-C size sensor like the one in my EOS 40D, this is multiplied by 1.6 to an effective 136mm.

The lens offers AF and manual focus. However, the manual focus is electronically driven from the focus ring to the AF motor system, which has several consequences. First, you can't focus when the camera is off. Second, the rate of focus is limited by the speed of the focus motor. Third, focus adjustments are extremely precise, essentially free of backlash and drift. The first two issues are negatives, but in my view, they are more than outweighed by the third. For... Read more

I used to have the previous generation 85mm f/1.2 L, and I found this a worthy upgrade.

Why get this over the f/1.8? For the extra stop of light, the extremely shallow depth of field, the bokeh, and the build.

This is no amateur lens, at least not when used wide open (which is one of the main reasons to buy this lens in the first place). With a depth of field measured in mere millimeters, the lens is unforgiving of both the camera it's attached to (the focus has to be dead on), and the photographer. The worse one's technique is, the fewer good shots will come out of the camera, and this at a much higher ratio than nearly all other lenses. However, the shots that are spot-on are some of the most rewarding possible with a modern camera, with amazing sharpness

So get it if you can afford it, and have the patience to learn to use it properly. Once you do, a lesser lens just won't do.