Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS

Full-Frame Stabilized EF USM
World's Best 85mm Lens

Sample Images   Intro   Format

Compatibility   Specifications

USA Version   Unboxing   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations

 

Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM (77mm filters, 33.2 oz./941g, 2.8'/0.85m close focus, about $1,599) bigger. I got mine at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to my personally-approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Canon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used lens. Get yours only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection. Thanks for helping me help you! Ken.

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March 2023, April 2018   Canon Reviews   Canon Lenses   Canon Flash   All Reviews

Why Fixed Lenses Take Better Pictures

 

Sample Images

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Compared   Usage   Recommendations

These images and everything throughout this review are from NORMAL JPGs; no RAW CR2 files or FINE JPGs were used.

Mercedes SL500

Mercedes SL500, 23 April 2018, 5:32 PM. Canon 5DSR, Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS at f/8 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

 

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Desert Fountain, 23 April 2018, 7:55 PM. Canon 5DSR, Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS at f/1.4, 1/3 second at ISO 100. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Desert Fountain, 23 April 2018, 7:56 PM. Canon 5DSR, Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS at f/8, 10 seconds at ISO 100. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Introduction

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Compared   Usage   Recommendations

Adorama Pays Top Dollar for Used Gear

Amazon

B&H Photo - Video - Pro Audio

Crutchfield

I buy only from these approved sources. I can't vouch for ads below.

This is the world's best 85mm lens. It is insanely sharp at every aperture from corner to corner, has great bokeh, gives magnificent sunstars and is the world's first and only stabilized professional 85mm lens.

It adds image stabilization (IS) and fast autofocus, something not in any other 85mm f/1.4 or f/1.2. The old 85mm f/1.2 L II has no stabilization and very slow autofocus.

This lens is designed for 35mm EOS and DSLRs. It works great on mirrorless with an EF to RF adapter.

This new 85 1.4 has a large-diameter high-precision glass molded aspherical element and has an ASC "Air Sphere" coating mostly for marketing, but reduces ghosts even further.

Just grab the focus ring at any time for instant manual-focus override.

As with all L lenses, it's dust and moisture resistant.

The original Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 remains as a superb lens for everything at a bargain price with magnificent optics and fast autofocus, but lacks the faster f/1.4 speed, 9-blade diaphragm and image stabilization of this new lens.

The 85mm f/1.2 L II is optimized for astronomy and similarly crazy tasks; it's not for general photography. The f/1.2 version's autofocus has always been deliberately slow to allow its huge optics to focus precisely enough at f/1.2. While the f/1.2 lens is also optically superb, it lacks stabilization and has very slow autofocus. This 85/1.4 has fast AF and is a very practical lens for every day shooting, unlike the f/1.2.

I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Format

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Compared   Usage   Recommendations

I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This is a full frame lens and I'm reviewing it as such.

It also works spectacularly on APS-C cameras, on which you may make the usual inferences.

 

Compatibility

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Compatibility   Specifications

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Compared   Usage   Recommendations

 

I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

This lens works flawlessly on every Canon DSLR and SLR made since 1987.

It work flawlessly on every Canon full-frame and every Canon APS-C DSLR.

It also works flawlessly on every 35mm EOS camera, like my Canon EOS 1V, introduced in 2000, and yes, I tried it on my original 1987 Canon EOS 620 and autofocus is fast and stabilization works brilliantly.

This isn't Nikon; with Canon, everything just works, even if the camera is over thirty years old.

Use the EOS-M adapter to use this on Canon's EOS-M mirrorless cameras.

 

Specifications

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Compared   Usage   Recommendations

 

I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Name

Canon calls this the Canon Lens EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM.

    EF: Electronic Focus, as all Canon's lenses have been since 1987.

    L: Expensive as L.

    IS: Image Stabilization.

    USM: Ultrasonic Autofocus Motor.

 

Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

 

Optics

Canon 85/1.4 construction

Canon 85/1.4 internal construction. Aspherical element.

14 elements in 10 groups.

1 glass-molded aspherical element.

Air Sphere (ASC) nano multicoating.

Fluorine coatings to resist dirt and smudges.

 

Diaphragm

Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS (EF diaphragm not visible). bigger.

9 rounded blades.

Stops down to f/22.

 

Focal Length

85mm.

When used on Canon's APS-C cameras, it sees the same angle of view as a 135mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera.

See also Crop Factor.

 

Angle of View on Full-Frame

28.5º diagonal.

24º horizontal.

16º vertical.

 

Autofocus

Internal focus.

Ring Ultrasonic motor.

No external movement as focused, so no air or dust is sucked in.

 

Focus Scale

Yes.

 

Depth of Field Scale

Yes, abbreviated.

 

Infrared Focus Index

No.

 

Close Focus

2.8 feet (0.85 meters).

 

Maximum Reproduction Ratio

1:8.3 (0.12×).

 

Image Stabilizer

Rated 4 stops improvement.

 

Filters

77mm filter thread.

 

Hood

Canon RT-83E hood for 85mm f/1.4

Canon ET-83E hood for 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

ET-83E plastic bayonet hood included.

 

Case

Canon LP1219 sack

Canon LP1219 Lens Sack. bigger.

Nice LP1219 sack included.

 

Size

3.49" maximum diameter × 4.15" extension from flange.

88.6 mm maximum diameter × 105.4 mm extension from flange.

 

Weight

33.195 oz. (941.0g), actual measured weight.

Canon rates it as 33.5 oz. (950g).

 

Announced

29 August 2017.

 

Promised for

17 November 2017.

 

Canon Model Number

EF8514LIS.

 

Canon Product Code

2271C002 in USA, 2271C001 in Japan.

 

JAN

4549292-091656.

 

Price, USA

March 2023

$1,599 at B&H, at Adorama, at Amazon and at Crutchfield

About $1,000 used if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

August 2017 ~ April 2018

$1,599.

 

Getting a Legal USA Version

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USA Version   Unboxing   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations

This section applies in the USA only, where I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

In the USA, be sure there's a USA warranty card inside your box, and that the serial number on the bottom of your lens matches the serial number on the warranty card and on the sticker on the box.

Canon 85mm f/1.4 USA warranty paperwork

Canon USA warranty card. bigger.

If you don't have this card or the serial number doesn't match, you got ripped off with a gray market version from another country. (The serial number on the box doesn't have to match, but if it doesn't it means you bought from a shady dealer who took lenses out of boxes and then resold them as new.) This is why I never buy anyplace other than from my personally approved sources. You just can't take the chance of buying elsewhere, especially at any retail store, because non-USA versions have no warranty in the USA, and you won't even be able to get firmware or service for it — even if you're willing to pay out-of-pocket for it when you need it!

If a gray market version saves you $400 it may be worth it, but for $200 or less I wouldn't risk having no warranty or support.

Always be sure to check your box while you can still return it, or just don't buy from unapproved sources or at retail so you'll be able to have your camera serviced and get free updated firmware as needed.

Get yours from the same places I do and you won't have a problem, but if you take the risk of getting yours elsewhere, be sure to check everything while you still can return it.

 

Unboxing

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I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

Box for Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

The box and lens are completely unsealed. There is no way to know if anyone else has been fiddling with your lens, swapping parts and accessories, or even if it's a used lens.

That's why it's critical only to buy from an approved online source, since they ship from automated warehouses where no shifty salesmen or customers ever get to touch your new exotic 85/1.4 before it ships. While new $5 CDs, DVDs, Blu-Rays and bottles of milk and drinking water are sealed and quite obvious if anyone's opened them, paradoxically Canon doesn't bother sealing anything, so your only insurance is to buy only from a trusted online dealer.

Open the unsealed microcorrugated cardboard box, and you should see the USA warranty paperwork and instructions sheet on top of the folded LP1219 lens sack:

Canon 85mm f/1.4 USA warranty paperwork

Canon USA warranty card. bigger.

Take out the paperwork and LP1219 sack and lift out a cardboard tray and you'll see the top white foam that holds the lens. Lift out the white foam and you now can lift out your new lens.

 

Canon 85mm f/1.4 box contents

What's included, Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

Your new lens is wrapped in plastic, and the hood is also wrapped in plastic and put over the lens. There is another white foam piece on the bottom of the box.

Unlike cheap lenses that just use folded cardboard inside their boxes, these white foam spacers will absorb enough shock to protect your lens from just about any kind of abuse in shipping.

 

Performance

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USA Version   Unboxing   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations

 

Overall   Autofocus   Manual Focus

Breathing   Bokeh  Distortion   Ergonomics

Falloff   Filters   Flare & Ghosts

Lateral Color Fringes   Macro   Mechanics

Sharpness   Spherochromatism   Sunstars

 

I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

Overall

Performance          top

The Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM is incredible: it's ultrasharp, especially corner-to-corner wide-open at f/1.4, and offers super fast autofocus as well as the world's first image stabilization in this sort of lens. Bravo Canon!

 

Autofocus

Performance          top

Autofocus is fast and sure. No problems here.

 

Manual Focus

performance          top

Manual focus is just as easy: grab the focus ring at any time for instant manual-focus override.

 

Focus Breathing

Performance          top

Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.

The image from this 85 1.4 lens gets bigger as focused more closely.

 

Bokeh

Performance          top

Bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is beautiful. That's one of the main reasons people shoot 85mm f/1.4 lenses. Here's a sample from headshot distance:

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Davis 6250 weather station, 23 April 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.

As always, if you want to throw the background as far out of focus as possible, shoot at f/1.4 and get as close as possible.

Here are shots of a fountain at dusk. Exposures ranged from ⅓ to 20 seconds. Click any for the camera-original © files:

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Bokeh

 

Distortion

Performance          top

The 85/1.4 has no visible distortion, except some pincushion at the closest focus distances. There is no distortion at far distances.

For more critical use it's easy to correct fully with Photoshop's lens correction filter with these correction factors. These aren't facts or specifications, they are the results of my research that requires hours of photography and calculations on the resulting data:

 
30' (10m)
±0.00
10' (3m)
-1.00
6' (2m)
-1.00
3' (1m)
-1.90

© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Ergonomics

Performance          top

Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

Other than this being a big, fat, heavy lens, ergonomics are perfect.

The focus ring works great, and the two slide switches fall right under my thumb and are easy to move, but impossible to knock by accident.

 

Falloff

Performance          top

Falloff on Full Frame is invisible, with Peripheral Illumination Correction ON.

With correction OFF or on 35mm film, it's visible at f/1.4, and goes away by f/2.

I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background:

Falloff on Full-Frame at infinity, Peripheral Illumination Correction ON.

f/1.4
f/2
Laowa 105mm falloff
Laowa 105mm falloff
Laowa 105mm falloff
Laowa 105mm falloff
f/2.8
f/4

© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Falloff on Full-Frame and 35mm at infinity, Peripheral Illumination Correction OFF.

f/1.4
f/2
Laowa 105mm falloff
Laowa 105mm falloff
Laowa 105mm falloff
Laowa 105mm falloff
f/2.8
f/4

© 2018 KenRockwell.com. All rights reserved.

 

Filters, use with

performance          top

There's no need for thin filters.

I tried three stacked regular 77mm filters and had no vignetting. I didn't bother trying more, it's obvious you can use all your standard rotating polarizers and grad filters.

 

Flare & Ghosts

Performance          top

The Canon 85/1.4 L IS is very resistant to ghosts. You won't see any unless you deliberately go out of your way to do something foolish like put the open sun in one corner of your picture and put a tree in shade to fill the rest of the image like this.

If you do this, you'll see that you'll get more ghosts if you use a filter. If you're getting ghosts in your images, pull off your filter. Remember that you'll see more ghosts in your finder than you'll see in your final images because viewfinder optics usually have more ghosts than this lens!

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Ghosts

Canon 85mm f/1.4 Ghosts

See Sunstars for more samples.

 

Lateral Color Fringes

Performance          top

There are no color fringes as shot on Canon cameras, which by default usually correct for any that may be there.

There is spherochromatism on out-of-focus areas; that's a completely different aberration.

 

Macro

Performance          top

This Canon 85 1.4 focuses exactly as close as every other 85mm lens made since the 1960s. It's sad that this advanced lens' close-focus is exactly the same 0.85 meters as every other 85mm manual focus lens.

What this lens does better than other 85mm lenses is that it's super-sharp even at f/1.4 at its close-focus distance. Of course spherochromatism means that at f/1.4 you'll get magenta or green color fringes on anything not in perfect focus, which means almost everything in a macro shot, but when in perfect focus this lens is remarkably sharp at every focused distance even wide-open at f/1.4.

Canon 85 1.4 Macro performance

Kienzle Flieger Automat 800/2843 at close-focus distance at f/1.4, 07 April 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Canon 85 1.4 Macro performance

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.

If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 29 × 43" (2.4 × 3.6 feet or 0.75 × 1.1 meters).

If this crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 58 × 87" (4.8 × 7.2 feet or 1.5 × 2.2 meters).

 

Mechanical Quality

Performance          top

Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

This is well made lens, with a plastic outside and metal insides.

 

Hood

Plastic bayonet.

 

Front Bumper

None.

 

Filter Threads

Plastic.

 

Hood Bayonet Mount

Plastic.

 

Front Barrel Exterior

Plastic.

 

Focus Ring

Rubber-covered plastic.

 

Main Barrel Exterior

Plastic.

 

Identity

Printed around front top of lens barrel.

 

Internals

Seem like all metal!

 

Dirt Seal at Mount

Yes.

 

Mount

Dull chromed metal.

 

Markings

Paint.

 

Serial Number

Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

Laser engraved in black-on-black on bottom of barrel.

 

Date Code

None found.

 

Noises When Shaken

Minor clunking.

 

Made in

Japan.

 

Sharpness

Performance          top

This lens is essentially optically perfect. The only limitation to picture sharpness is your skill as a photographer.

All these images are from NORMAL JPGs; no RAW CR2 files or FINE JPGs were used.

What's insanely good about this lens is that, if you can get everything in perfect focus on a flat subject, it's ultrasharp even at f/1.4:

Trek Emonda SLR 8 Made in USA

Trek Émonda SLR 8 H2 58cm (Made in USA!!) at f/1.4, 25 April 2018, 10:34 AM. Canon 5DSR, Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS at f/1.4 at 1/6,300 at ISO 50. bigger or camera-original © file.

What makes the photo above standout is how perfectly sharp the parts in perfect focus are — even though I shot it wide-open at f/1.4 in broad daylight, where most f/1.4 lenses aren't as sharp as when they're shot at normal apertures. Also what you should realize is that the depth-of-field is only about ¼″ (6mm) at this distance. If something is ⅛″ (3mm) closer it will be softer and magenta-fringed due to spherochromatism, and things ⅛″ (3mm) behind the point of perfect focus will have slight green fringes due to spherochromatism. If you look at the camera-original © file you will see how different parts of the bicycle are or are not in perfect focus. Look very carefully and you'll see that what's in perfect focus is perfect, while others things slightly closer or farther away have slight color fringes because they are out of focus (that's spherochromatism).

Of course in normal use at normal apertures this 85mm is as ultra-sharp as every other 85mm lens, and spherochromatism goes away as well:

Trek Emonda SLR 8 Made in USA

Trek Émonda SLR 8 H2 58cm (Made in USA!), 25 April 2018, 10:34 AM. Canon 5DSR, Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS at f/5.6 at 1/400 at ISO 50. bigger or camera-original © file.

The reason the camera-original © file looks so much sharper here is that all of the bicycle is now in focus. At f/1.4 the depth of field was so shallow that not even all the gears in the custom narrow-ratio 11-speed 28~14T rear cluster were in focus.

 

Canon 85 1.4 Sharpness

Grass growing at f/1.4 shot on a 5DSR, April 2018. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Goodness, you can see every detail on every blade of grass in the camera-original © file, and this is shot at f/1.4, where almost nothing is in focus, and it's ultrasharp out to the corners.

Ditto for this shot of concrete curing. Only an idiot would shoot this daylight photo at f/1.4, but even if you do as I did here to make a point, it's ultra-sharp even at f/1.4 corner to corner:

Canon 85 1.4 Sharpness

Concrete curing at f/1.4 shot on a 5DSR, April 2018. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Of course in actual use you wouldn't shoot at f/1.4 for the sharpest real-world shots; you'd shoot between f/4 and f/8 for the best results.

 

Canon 85 1.4 MTF

Canon's MTF curves.

 

Spherochromatism

Performance          top

Spherochromatism, also called "color bokeh" by laymen, can cause colored fringes on out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes on backgrounds and magenta fringes on foregrounds.

Spherochromatism is very common with fast, long lenses like this when shot wide open.

It is an advanced form of chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral color.

Spherochromatism goes away as stopped down.

This 85 1.4 has lots of spherochromatism, like all other 85mm f/1.4 lenses. Stop it down to f/2 or f/2.8 and it goes away.

Canon 85 1.4 Spherochromatism

Kienzle Flieger Automat 800/2843 at close-focus distance at f/1.4, 07 April 2018. bigger or camera-original © file.

 

Canon 85 1.4 Spherochromatism

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above. bigger or camera-original © file.

If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 29 × 43" (2.4 × 3.6 feet or 0.75 × 1.1 meters).

If this crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 58 × 87" (4.8 × 7.2 feet or 1.5 × 2.2 meters).

 

Sunstars

Performance          top

While its diaphragm is rounded at large apertures, the blades become straight at moderate apertures and give exquisite 18-pointed sunstars. Here's a shot at f/4.5 with perfect, sharp sunstars:

Mercedes SL500

Mercedes SL500, 23 April 2018, 5:32 PM. Canon 5DSR, Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS at f/4.5 at 1/250 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Mercedes SL500

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above 50MP image. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 29 × 43" (2.4 × 3.6 feet or 0.75 × 1.1 meters).

If this crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 58 × 87" (4.8 × 7.2 feet or 1.5 × 2.2 meters).

Here's the same scene at f/8:

Mercedes SL500

Mercedes SL500, 23 April 2018, 5:32 PM. Canon 5DSR, Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS at f/8 at 1/80 at Auto ISO 100, Perfectly Clear. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

Mercedes SL500

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from above 50MP image. bigger, full-resolution or camera-original © file.

If this crop is about 6" (15cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 29 × 43" (2.4 × 3.6 feet or 0.75 × 1.1 meters).

If this crop is about 12" (30cm) wide on your screen, then the complete image printed at this same extreme magnification would be about 58 × 87" (4.8 × 7.2 feet or 1.5 × 2.2 meters).

 

Here's a series of shots of the sun peeking through palm fronds. Click any to enlarge:

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

Canon 85 1.4 Sunstars

click any to enlarge.

 

Compared

Top   Sample Images   Intro   Format

Compatibility   Specifications

USA Version   Unboxing   Performance

Compared   Usage   Recommendations

 

Versus the World

This is the world's best 85mm lens. No other 85mm is sharper, and no other professional 85mm lens is stabilized.

All 85mm lenses have the same 2.8'/0.85 meter close focus distance, strong spherochromatism and super-sharp optics; no differences here.

 

Versus the 85mm f/1.2 L II

Canon 85mm f/1.2 L II.

The 85/1.2 L II also has spectacular optics and doesn't weigh much more. However it's much older, only has an 8-bladed diaphragm for inferior 8-pointed, not 18-pointed sunstars, lacks image stabilization, focuses much more slowly and costs more.

The 85/1.2 is for astronomy or other things that require no stabilization or are shot on tripods, while this new 85/1.4 is a much more practical lens for hand-held and regular shooting, or shooting anything that moves.

 

Versus the 85mm f/1.8

Canon 85mm f/1.8.

The Canon 85mm f/1.8 is as sharp when shot at normal apertures, but the 85/1.8 lacks stabilization. The 85/1.4 has 9 expertly-curved diaphragm blades for round bokeh and magnificent 18-pointed sunstars, while the 85/1.8 only has 8 regular blades for octagonal bokeh and dull 8 (not 18) point sunstars.

For most normal uses where you don't need stabilization or sunstars, the pictures from either of these lenses will be exactly the same, and the 85/1.8 costs less than one-quarter the price and less than half the weight of the 85/1.4. I show it as large here for clarity, but it's a much smaller and lighter lens then the f/1.2 or f/1.4.

The 85/1.4 L is for those who deserve the best or those who like nice equipment; the 85/1.8 is the most intelligent choice if money or size and weight or sanity matter more to you. The pictures are exactly the same 99% of the time. See also Is It Worth It.

 

Versus the Nikon 85/1.4G

Nikon 85mm f/1.4G.

The Nikon 85/1.4G lacks stabilization but this Nikon lens is much lighter; 20.8 oz/591g versus the Canon's 33.2 oz./941g.

Both are insanely sharp, have great bokeh, have the same maximum macro reproduction ratio, have the same level of spherochromatism and are both otherwise optically just about perfect. They have the same price as of 2018.

 

Versus the Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM

Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM.

The Sony 85mm f/1.4 GM is almost a first-class lens. This Sony lens has superb optics. This Sony has no focus breathing, while the Canon does. This Sony lens lacks stabilization, but many Sony cameras have some basic sensor-shift ability. This Sony lens weighs less than the Canon (28.9 oz./820g versus 33.2 oz./941g).

Sony adds a focus lock button, but the Sony has much more ghosts.

Sadly this Sony only has an electronic focus ring which means no real instantaneous manual-focus override in all settings, a key weakness of the Sony system.

This Sony lens isn't made as well as the others, with a serial number simply glued on a sticker, but it costs more.

If you shoot Sony then this lens works better than anything adapted to Sony, especially for super fast autofocus. If you shoot Sony, ignore the other brands; you're not doing yourself any favors getting the Canon lens and an adapter.

 

Usage

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I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

 

How to shoot at f/1.4 in daylight

You'll probably need a faster shutter speed than 1/8,000, even at ISO 50.

No worries; I use a Tiffen 77mm ND 0.9 3-stop neutral-density filter and I'm set. Other brands of filters cost more and might be coated or multicoated, while I've always found Tiffens to be the most color-neutral. That's why they're the standard in Hollywood motion picture work: they don't shift colors and are more durable and easier to clean than coated filters.

 

AF Fine Tuning

You shouldn't mess with your camera's AF Fine Tuning adjustment unless you really know what you're doing. It's unlikely this lens needs any adjustment, while most people who fiddle with this do it wrong.

Don't adjust focus with slanted, curved or tilted targets because AF sensors are never exactly where they are marked in the finder. Therefore slanted targets add more errors when you consider that the actual AF sensors are in different places than you think.

The proper way to adjust focusing with this lens is to use its Spherochromatism at f/1.4 to our advantage. If you're seeing green or magenta fringes, you're not in perfect focus. The way to adjust this lens is to use a flat target with strong light/dark or white/black contrasts and shoot at f/1.4. If you have magenta fringes then you're focused behind the target, and if the fringes are green you're focused in front of the target.

 

Canon 85mm f/1.4

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM. bigger.

AF | | MF Switch

Leave this in AF. Even in AF you may grab the focus ring at any time for instant manual focus override.

Use MF only if you want to disable autofocus and work only in manual focus.

 

STABILIZER

Leave this ON all the time hand-held, and leave it ON even if you're on a tripod for exposures less than about a half second. Cameras, even in Mirror Up, generate a little bit of shake on a tripod, especially between 1/50 and 1/2 second.

Don't leave it ON on a tripod for exposures of a second or more because the IS system will add blur over time exposures.

 

Recommendations

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I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This is the world's premium choice for the best 85mm lens for general photography. People used to buy the 85mm f/1.2 L II, but its slow autofocus made it an iffy choice for general use. The f/1.2 has always been intended for astronomy, not for general shooting.

The original 85mm f/1.8 is intended for general shooting, and remains a spectacular lens regardless of its bargain price. It's at least as sharp stopped down and almost as sharp wide-open as this new f/1.4. The 85/1.8 remains a superb choice, and when you consider that it sells for just $349 because it's been in Canon's catalog since 1992, if price matters and you can live without image stabilization, the 85mm f/1.8 takes the same pictures for less than a quarter of the price.

The very best protective filter for this f/1.4 is the 77mm Hoya multicoated HD3 UV which uses hardened glass and repels dirt and fingerprints.

For less money, the B+W 77mm 010 is an excellent filter, as are the multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya filters, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best.

Filters last a lifetime, so you may as well get the best. The Hoya HD3 stays cleaner than the others since it repels oil and dirt.

I got my 85mm f/1.4 at B&H. I'd also get it at Adorama, at Amazon or at Crutchfield, or used at eBay if you know How to Win at eBay.

This all-content, junk-free website's biggest source of support is when you use those or any of these links to approved sources when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Canon does not seal its boxes in any way, so never buy at retail or any other source not on my personally approved list since you'll have no way of knowing if you're missing accessories, getting a defective, damaged, returned, store demo or used lens. I use the stores I do because they ship from secure remote warehouses where no one gets to touch your new camera before you do. Buy only from the approved sources I use myself for the best prices, service, return policies and selection.

Thanks for helping me help you!

Ken Rockwell.

 

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27 March 2023, 28, 23, 07 April 2018, August 2017