Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM review > trending technologies

Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM review
Portrait perfection
posted by trending technologies                          Camera Lenses
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OUR VERDICT
no longer simplest top notch for portraiture, this is a extremely versatile prime lens that provides exceptional picture satisfactory, even when shooting hand held underneath very low lighting fixtures conditions.

FOR
rapid f/1.four aperture score
photograph stabilization
premium build and picture nice
in opposition to
high-priced to shop for
pretty hefty for an 85mm f/1.four lens

Canon personal-brand lenses have been going through ever-stiffer opposition of past due, in particular from Sigma and Tamron. Portrait primes for complete-body portraiture are not any exception, as there are two awesome, lately launched 85mm lenses from the independents.

The Sigma 85mm art lens goes down the conventional direction, designed round a fast f/1.four aperture, and delivering stunningly sharp image quality. The Tamron 85mm is two-thirds of a stop slower, at f/1.8, but nevertheless produces fabulous photograph pleasant with excellent and rather consistent sharpness across the entire photo body, in a much smaller and more lightweight construct than the Sigma lens. Crucially, the Tamron also adds photo stabilization, or VC (Vibration repayment) as Tamron call it. Canon’s ultra-modern portrait primes ambitions to overcome each competition at their own recreation.
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Canon EF 85mm f/1.4L IS USM at Amazon for $1599
Capabilities
rapid f/1.four maximum aperture
photo stabilization
fantastic-smooth Bork in focused regions

With the release of this Canon lens, portrait photographers no longer need to select among a great-fast aperture score for minimizing depth of discipline, or the inclusion of stabilization. Uniquely in its field, the Canon boasts the identical f/1.4 aperture score as the Sigma, even as including a stabilizer with the equal nominal 4-stop effectiveness as that of the slower Tamron lens.

Specs
Focal length: 85mm
Mount: Canon EF
filter size: 77mm
Max aperture: f/1.4
most magnification: zero.12x
Dimensions: 89 x 105mm
Weight: 950g

some may say which you don’t really want stabilization in a lens with a fast aperture score, but we disagree. Stabilization allows the convenience of hand-held portraiture interior or at twilight, without the want to apply flash or bump up your digicam’s ISO putting, which degrades image quality.

the overall bonus is that you can get top notch-clean Bork in refocused areas, even underneath very dull lighting, without image noise spoiling the effect. And evidently, in case you want to stop down the aperture a chunk to provide some detail inside the environment, for environmental portraiture, stabilization may be a large gain as shutter speeds begin to drop.

Construct quality and managing
Solidly built and climate-sealed
significantly smaller than Sigma rival
managing is refined

ordinary of Canon’s up-marketplace L-collection lenses, this one’s solidly built and weather-sealed. Like maximum modern high designs, it has a complex optical path, based totally on 14 factors in 10 businesses. Canon’s professional ASC (Air Sphere Coating) is applied to fight ghosting and flare.

At 89 x 105mm and 950g, it’s surely not a compact, lightweight lens, however it’s still significantly smaller than the Sigma competitor, which measures 95x126mm and weighs in at 1,130g. The Canon lens additionally has a more modest filter out attachment thread of 77mm, compared with the Sigma lens’s 86mm. As you’d assume, the ‘slower’ Tamron 85mm f/1.eight is extremely smaller and lighter, at 85x91mm and 700g, with a 67mm clear out thread.

The Canon’s build pleasant feels remarkable for the duration of, and dealing with is delicate with a easy-motion guide cognizance ring that allows particular modifications. the hoop-kind auto focus device and image stabilizer are whisper-quiet in operation, despite the fact that the stabilizer makes an audible clunk when it starts off evolved up and shuts down.

Performance
Sharpness and comparison are top notch
Auto focus very rapid and extremely correct
Ghosting and flare are thoroughly controlled
Sharpness and comparison are extremely good, even if shooting at f/1.four, although the Canon isn’t pretty as sharp because the Sigma 85mm while taking pictures at this aperture, specially towards the corners of the body. alternatively, nook-sharpness is seldom an crucial component in portraiture. then again, the corners end up very sharp at f/2.eight, and continue to be so thru to f/11, dropping off a chunk at f/sixteen.

The Bork (excellent of refocused regions) can be similarly critical as sharpness for portraiture and still lifestyles images. This aspect of performance is sublime, with a splendidly creamy smoothness in blurred areas, and terrific nice inside the transition between centered and refocused areas.

Auto focus is each very rapid and extraordinarily correct, making the lens similarly viable as a quick telephoto for action images, as opposed to simply being a ’portrait lens’. Ghosting and flare are thoroughly controlled, dwelling as much as Canon’s claims. In our check, the picture stabilizer enabled us to get continuously sharp handheld photographs at round 1/10 sec, matching the gain of the Tamron’s VC gadget.

Verdict
no longer handiest exquisite for portraiture, that is a hugely versatile prime lens that provides superb picture pleasant, even if capturing hand held under very low lighting fixtures conditions. For the money, it makes the Canon 85mm f/1.2L quite a good deal redundant. Outright photo high-quality is no higher than from the competing Sigma 85mm f/1.four art lens, that is virtually slightly sharper, but the addition of stabilization makes the Canon greater versatile. however, there are huge financial savings to be made if you’re willing to sacrifice -thirds of an f/forestall, in which case the Tamron 85mm f/1.8 is a pinnacle-cost purchase.

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