Canon EF 85mm F 1 2L II USM Review | 54 Data compared

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens is hailed as a premier portrait optic offering an ultra-fast f/1.2 maximum aperture for superior low-light performance and distinct bokeh, along with robust L-series build quality. The Version II update significantly improves autofocus speed, while maintaining exceptional sharpness and contrast. Conversely, the lens is noted for being heavy, slow to focus compared to modern standards, and features an electronic focus-by-wire system that lacks damping. Its exceptionally thin depth of field requires high user proficiency, and it carries a substantial cost.

The LensTip review concludes that the Canon EF 85 mm f/1.2L II USM is a highly capable, fast portrait lens offering solid workmanship, a very robust barrel, and a silent, quick autofocus system. Optically, it delivers sensational image quality at the frame center and remains useful straight from its maximum aperture. It provides very good chromatic aberration correction, low distortion, low astigmatism, and light fall-off (vignetting) that becomes completely unburdensome starting from f/2.0. Performance on the edge of the frame is highly dependent on the sensor, providing very good quality on APS-C detectors right away, and achieving good resolution on full-frame bodies once stopped down to the f/2.8–4.0 range. However, the lens is held back by several notable optical and physical drawbacks. Its primary cons include a very high retail price alongside a somewhat limited accessory kit. Mechanically, the manual focus ring operates with a feel that is considered too loose. Optically, full-frame shooters will experience a significant level of vignetting near the maximum f/1.2 aperture, and the lens suffers from a level of coma that is considered too high.

The Photozone review concludes that the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 USM L II is an exceptional choice specifically for portraiture, offering excellent field capabilities and outstanding center sharpness even when shot wide open. A major highlight of the lens is its superb bokeh quality, which delivers the highly desired shallow depth-of-field look. Mechanically, it boasts a professional-grade build quality, and its autofocus speed is twice as fast as its predecessor, making it highly reliable for day-to-day shooting. Additionally, technical issues like distortions and lateral chromatic aberrations (CAs) are practically non-existent, ensuring clean geometry in your images. Despite these strengths, the review highlights several distinct optical and mechanical drawbacks when using this lens on a full-format body. Optically, it suffers from relatively soft borders and corners, along with heavy vignetting when shooting at wide-aperture settings. Photographers may also notice longitudinal chromatic aberrations (LoCAs/bokeh color fringing) in high-contrast scenes. Mechanically, while the autofocus is improved, it is still not blazingly fast, and some users might find the "manual focus-by-wire" mechanism unintuitive to operate.

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens is hailed as a premier portrait tool, offering exceptional center sharpness from f/1.2, beautiful bokeh, and robust, weather-sealed construction. Tested on a 5D Mark II, the lens provides excellent image quality with low chromatic aberration, though edge sharpness is soft when shot wide open. Conversely, the lens is very heavy at 1,025 grams, features a high price point, and requires careful handling due to an electronic manual focus ring that can be rotated accidentally. The review concludes that while it is a heavy and expensive option, its specialized, bright aperture makes it ideal for professional portraiture.

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II is a premium portrait lens praised for its exceptional build quality and ability to create a striking three-dimensional effect with heavy bokeh. Built with an all-metal construction and thick glass, it feels solid and durable, though it oddly lacks weather sealing at the base. The lens excels in natural light and portraiture—from full-body shots to tight facial framing—allowing photographers to isolate subjects completely from the background. Its massive f/1.2 aperture delivers beautiful, "bokehlicious" aesthetics and excellent low-light performance, while also creating creative lens flare and reducing post-production retouching time by naturally blurring out subject blemishes. However, the lens comes with distinct operational quirks, making it less suitable for beginners. Its autofocus is notoriously sluggish, struggling on older camera bodies, and the extremely shallow depth of field requires precise shooting techniques or camera micro-adjustments to ensure sharp focus. Optically, it suffers from heavy vignetting at wide apertures and significant purple fringing or chromatic aberration along high-contrast edges. Additionally, its electronic focus ring operates via wire, meaning it free-spins without changing focus when the camera is...

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L USM II is a legendary full-frame portrait lens famous for its ability to beautifully isolate subjects and produce alluring bokeh. A long-standing favorite for wedding and portrait photography, it features an electronic focus ring encoder that delivers high-precision manual focusing, which is critical for managing the lens’s ultra-shallow depth of field at f/1.2. While its autofocus speed is an improvement over the original version, the physical movement of its large, heavy front glass elements still makes the autofocus mechanism quite sluggish. In terms of image performance, the lens sacrifices peak wide-open sharpness for a gentle roll-off that flatters skin tones while keeping enough detail intact to capture the eyes. Its notable pros include an exceptional ability to separate portrait subjects, a super-tight depth of field at f/1.2, and a precise manual focus ring. Conversely, its primary cons are distinct axial chromatic aberration around high-contrast edges, a lack of weather-seals despite its pro-grade build, a heavy 1,025-gram footprint, and a high price tag. Furthermore, DSLRs often struggle to nail autofocus at its widest aperture, making it...

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM is described as a masterpiece of manufacturing offering extraordinary, sharp image quality, gorgeous bokeh, and a high-precision, luxurious mechanical feel. Its primary pros lie in its stellar optics, which produce exceptional, shallow depth-of-field effects at portrait distances, along with nearly silent operation. Conversely, the lens is a massive, heavy, 34.2 oz (971g) piece of glass, which is a major con that can make cameras feel unbalanced. Other downsides include deliberately slow, precise autofocus, an indirect electronic manual-focus system, and poor close-focusing capabilities, as detailed in Ken Rockwell's review.

Here is a specific summary of the Canon 85mm f/1.2 II lens review based on the provided text: The Canon 85mm f/1.2 II is a professional-grade prime lens that is highly valued by wedding and portrait photographers for its ability to capture stunning, candid moments with a distinct artistic style. Its primary advantage is its wide maximum aperture of f/1.2, which allows more light onto the camera sensor for night, sunset, or "blue hour" shooting without relying on an artificial flash. This wide aperture, combined with a longer focal length, creates incredible background compression, a shallow depth of field, and beautiful bokeh that makes subjects pop significantly more than standard lenses or smartphones can achieve. Additionally, when shooting in Camera RAW on high-quality camera bodies, the lens delivers superior image clarity, excellent shadow depth, and exceptional highlight detail compared to wider options like a 50mm lens. However, the reviewers note a few notable drawbacks to consider when using this lens in the field. Its main performance con is that it can be slow to autofocus, which makes capturing sharp, crisp...

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens is a specialized, high-performance prime favored for portraiture, offering exceptional light-gathering capabilities at f/1.2 and superb edge-to-edge sharpness when stopped down. Key strengths include fast, quiet autofocus and a comfortable, robust handling experience on professional bodies. However, the lens is noted for being exceptionally heavy and expensive, with a design that feels unbalanced on smaller, entry-level camera bodies. It lacks image stabilization and is not suited for close-up or macro work.