Comments on: Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

By: FAT

FAT — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:11:30 +0000

THIS LENSE IS ONE OF MY BEST WEPONS IN MY ARSENOL IT’S GREAT FOR PORTRAITS THE CLARITY IS UNBELIVABLE
Rating: 55 / 5

By: svetozar petkov

svetozar petkov — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:19:47 +0000

i couldn’t wait for it to arive, but when it did – there was a problem. it was defective – the autofocus was way off. i’m retrning or replacing it. i know may of you would think “probably he’s doing something wrong” – i’m not. i tried with many diferent settings, and the focus was always way off the desired spot.

oh, and do NOT select the “Free Shipping” option – it won’t ship for 2 weeks.
Rating: 35 / 5

By: Amitabh Saikia

Amitabh Saikia — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:07:25 +0000

I brought this lens for my trip to India. I wanted to get some closeups and portraits. This is not the best lens for either.

Even though it has a f stop of 1.8, it is not fast enough. Its focus range is around or more than 3ft and hence you cannot really use this lens for real closeup. Lots of reviews says its good macro, but its really hard to get real close to the objects.

I also own Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 which is much faster lens then this and gets you really close.

85mm gives you good portraits in good lighting condition. However, I would prefer my 50mm, which gives me better softness in places where I want. I have used both the lenses on my canon 40D.

85mm is not what I expected. Rating: 35 / 5

By: M. Tumminaro

M. Tumminaro — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:46:39 +0000

i’m a wedding photographer, and purchased this lens mainly for it’s low price and f/1.8 aperture. i noticed that the clarity and crispness is hit or miss. sometimes it focuses perfectly, other times, even at 1/125 it seems a bit blurred. i used it on my canon 350D, so the issue could have been caused by the camera just as much as the lens itself, (although i haven’t had this issue with any of my other lenses.) if you’ve got the money i would probably recommend the other canon 85mm f/1.2 lens, but this lens can serve it’s purpose in low/dim lighting.
Rating: 35 / 5

By: Eric Radman

Eric Radman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:48:46 +0000

I tried this lens on a Canon Digital Rebel XT. I’m amazed at all of the positive reviews. My results were very disappointing. Maybe I had a defective lens, but I don’t think so. Great Bokeh. Fast Lens. However, this lens had a VERY DIFFICULT time focusing on a subject. Auto focus was way off. Even in manual mode, getting a sharp focus was a real challenge at F1.8 or 2.8. I switched my Canon Digital XT camera to spot center focusing and still had a difficult time getting a sharp image after taking many pictures. I would recommend testing this lens out before purchasing.
Rating: 15 / 5