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I Want This Lens!

danj

danj

modern primitive
Yesterday I had the chance to try out a super fun Canon Lens, the 85mm f1.2L, and I was completely wowed. What a terrific lens.

At $2200 it's too rich for my recession-based finances (but I can dream, can't I?) and it's big and very heavy for its focal length. This is serious piece, folks. The front element is freakin' huge but impressive. To top it off, even though it has a USM ring motor it focuses slowly - it reminded me of the old original AF lenses from back in the 1980s - but a motor with enough torque to quickly move that huge piece of glass would be too large to be practical so we live with it. Besides, after a few shots it doesn't matter because this lens is so bloody wonderful.

If you like BOKEH, this is the lens for you. It's a telephoto lens with a huge aperture and it shows. When shot wide opened the background is totally soft which makes the subject really pop out. This, people, would be the perfect portrait lens.

What's not to like? It's expensive and impressively big and heavy but it's a super high quality totally wonderfully eccentric lens. I fell in love with it. When my ship comes in or I am no longer paying my ex's bills, I'm gonna buy one of them for it's now numero uno on my highly desirable camera/lens list. I think if you can try one you'll feel the same.

Picture shows EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II mounted on an EOS 30D.
 

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Not a bad lens and certainly a nice piece to dream of.

But the EF85/1.8 will perform slightly better in many cases and give you almost 90% of what the /1.2 does for almost 1/8 of the cost.

Not wanting to bash the /1.2 or Canon (I'm a Canon user for 35+ years since the analog SLRs) but the few, extreme, examples of technology have a matching price tag.
 
SaSi said:
Not a bad lens and certainly a nice piece to dream of.

But the EF85/1.8 will perform slightly better in many cases and give you almost 90% of what the /1.2 does for almost 1/8 of the cost.

Not wanting to bash the /1.2 or Canon (I'm a Canon user for 35+ years since the analog SLRs) but the few, extreme, examples of technology have a matching price tag.
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Really? Must you kill my dream with your down-to-earth practicality?

It's my "DREAM' list and it's full of esoteric, expensive, and eccentric gear that I want but don't need. Hey, I'd like to own a Bentley but I drive a Ford.

I thought the 85mm 1.2 L a thoroughly wonderful lens. The 85mm f1.8 is a great lens but rather ho-hum, at least compared to that f1.2 beast - and beast is what it is with that huge diameter and substantial heft. But it beguiled me........
 
onepixel said:
Hope your dreams come true! And looking forward to the day you post pictures using that lens!
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Thank you. That would be nice. However, the top item on the dream list is always something also on the unlikely and impractical list. The photographer in me says GO FOR IT and the guy who has to pay the bills (me) says NO WAY. He's no fun but almost always wins the argument.:yes:
 
I used to get paid for it but dropped out of the business several years ago. Trying to keep the business going while attempting to keep my marriage together with a spouse with a gambling problem was too much for me. The stress just about put me down for the long count.

Who knows, though. Maybe it's time to test the waters again, so to speak. An occasional event wouldn't kill me and might allow me to but that little jewel of a lens.
 
Ever hear of istockphoto.com? It started 5-7 years ago where good amateurs and semi-pros could sell their photos and illustrations, albeit quite cheap compared to other stock agencies. They've grown quite a bit since then. A pretty good resource.
 
danj said:
Who knows, though. Maybe it's time to test the waters again, so to speak. An occasional event wouldn't kill me and might allow me to but that little jewel of a lens.
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.....Dan, I went to a photography club meeting tonight with the Canon guy at work I mentioned earlier somewhere in the forum, Stuart....he got off at 4p, I met him there at the Crest, and we dropped by the camera shop in Little Rock I was at the other day with plans of grabbing a meal afterwards before the meeting....the same salesman as when I was there waited on us, and Stuart asked to see the Canon 85 f/1.2, he's been thinking about it anyway....the salesman popped it on a D5 Mark II, and my gosh what a grab the front of that lens gets....the salesman said it takes a 77mm filter, is that correct?.....

.....anyhow, the salesman stood about 5 feet away and got a shot of just Stuart's head, the face view, no flash, indoors....as we watched the lcd screen on the back of the D5, he zoomed it to where it was only Stuart's eye area with eyelids in the crop, and you could distinctly see any red blood vessels in his eyeball very sharply....and, the salesman said, used outside, the bokeh is staggering.....

.....interesting....when the grab gets outrageous, the image-quality of the bokeh improves?.....there's a reason why Canon is getting $2200 bucks for their 85 1.2 lens....it's called demand.....

.....EDIT....nope, I just checked, and the salesman was wrong, the Canon 85 1.2 takes a 72mm filter, but that's still a big grab for for an 85....here's the kicker, Canon also makes a 50mm 1.2 that takes a 72mm filter....that IS an outragous grab for a normal 50.....
 
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DROOL!!! Wonder if i can get my GF to pony up the cash for one...ill give her the doe eyes when the opportunity presents it self!
 
I know how it is when you really want something (not really need it but want it).

I was in the market for a telephoto lens 3 years ago and I was decided to pay the bill for an EF300/2.8 (~3.5k).

In the process I met with a wildlife photographer who was selling is well taken care of EF500/4. He just purchased an EF600 and decided he couldn't keep both of them (he also had an EF400/2.8).

I ended up getting the EF500 for about 3k, including the "much needed" 1.4xTC.

The crispness of that lens is something else. And the awe effect it has on people when they see it (without the hood) is also something else.

But in all fairness, I find myself using the 70-200/4 much more. Simpler to carry around and less implications around. But the 500 is very useful stadiums.
 
well, she laughed with me...I did tell her it is only 2200 for the lens....drool...she said i should market myself in order to buy it...any one of you wanna buy any of my images? Ill take them off line and offer them exclusively! :D
 
Based on the results I've gotten with my 100-400mm L which was about $1400 with tax, I'd be willing to consider the $2200 a fair price.
 
All you need to do is put one on your camera and you will know why. The difference in quality over a 'kit lens' is striking.
 
Yeah, I suppose there are envious people out there. Besides, it's not likely to ever happen 'cuz I will probably never be able to afford an "L" lens, unless I fall into a pit of good luck. That always seems to happen to other people. Maybe I'm guilty of luck envy.:yes:
 
I dunno, if you stay with the older, slightly slower non IS models they're getting reasonable. I have mine on a tripod most of the time so the IS is off more than it is on, could saved a few hundred forgoing the IS normally but I got good deal on a package.
 
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