The 85mm lens.
It’s that classic focal length it’s great for portraiture, textures; anytime you want
to isolate a subject.
Canon makes 3 of these things.
We're going to be putting the trio through its paces today here at the beach.
See what makes each one special.
Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM.
Because of its construction and 1.8 maximum aperture, this is pushing the least amount
of glass of the 3.
Making it the fastest to autofocus.
So, if you have an application fast-moving subject documentary work will you need snappy,
fast autofocus, this is probably the best option for you.
Canon 85mm f/1.4 L IS.
At f/1.4, slightly larger maximum aperture.
There 9 rounded aperture blades for smooth bokeh.
Now there’s even modern coatings on here which help reduce ghosting and flare.
But, the high order bid of the lens: Built-in Optical image stabilization.
That saves you about 4 stops of hand shake If you're making for portrait or any kind
of shot in lower mix-light.
Obviously, it's not a low or mix light day out here at the beach.
We're going to try to find some shade maybe go under the boardwalk and put it through
its paces.
The Canon 85mm f/1.2L MK II.
This has the largest maximum aperture of all of Canon’s current 85mm lenses.
Because of that, it’s also has the slowest autofocus.
So, quick tip here, if you manually focus the lens using the focus distance scale and
then finish out with the AF, things will move a lot faster and a lot smoother for you.
Also, because of the design of the lens, the glass goes all the way to the edge of the
lens mount.
When you are attaching the lens or your detaching the lens from the camera body, exercise extreme
care.
That rear element is very, very easy to accidentally fingerprint or, even scratch if you bump it
against the lens mount.
But, you follow all those tips, you'll get incredibly dreamy portraits at f/1.2.
It is crazy bright out here today.
I'm so, so happy that we had the assist from the Profoto B2.
Canon’s 85mm lenses are among the best in the business.
But, they make 3 of them.
And there is different use cases for all 3.
If you are the type of photographer that needs the fastest possible auto-focus or if you're
working on a fast-precise single point autofocus, the 85mm f/1.8 USM is probably the way to
go.
If you're the type of photography shooting in a lower, mixed light situation you need
to work at a slower exposure, the optical image-stabilization in the 85mm f/1.4L IS
is probably the way to go.
And if you need the largest aperture, the smoothest possible bokeh, the 85mm f/1.2L
MK II is the treat.
I had an awesome time shooting with all 3 of the 85mm lenses today.
If your use cases overlap, thee is not nothing wrong with owning 2 or even all 3 of these lenses.
For more on photography, 85mm lenses and all things imaging, visit B&H.
I'm photographer David Flores, see you next time.
We’re testing it today with Jake in motion.
This is Jake.
Hey David, good to see you again.
Good to see you too buddy.
Gorgeous!
Beach Day!
Roll another one of those.
Yeah let’s do that again.