(46 views/week)
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Review Date
January 29, 2007
Overall Rating
 5 of 5
Value Rating
 5 of 5
Used product for
1 to 3 months
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Reviewed by
amelo14
, Intermediate
Price Paid
$390.00
at Canada
Photography Experience
2-5 years
, People
Summary
t is no wonder this lens is highly respected by the Canon community. Although it does not have any special glass, it is amazingly sharp and produces a very beautiful bokeh. What is simply amazing, is its price. This prime is also lightweight and therefore can be easily added to your bag without having your back (and wallet!) suffer the consequences.
The DOF at 1.8 is quite narrow, but in general the focusing is excellent. The CA at 1.8 is troubling, but easily fixed by software. By f4 the lens already peaks and the quality of the colors produced is surprising. This lens is cheaper than the comparable 100 f2 and can be used with either Full Frame or 1.6x sensors. There is just no downside here.
You can check many images taken with this lens here:
http://www.pbase.com/cameras/canon/ef_85_18u
Strengths
Cost, sharpness, weight, quality of bokeh and colors, fast AF.
Weaknesses
CA at 1.8! Nothing else.
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Review Date
January 3, 2007
Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year
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Reviewed by
nigelskeet
, Professional
Price Paid
$300.00
at Calumet
Photography Experience
21+ years
, People
Summary
I purchased this lens thinking it was going to clutter up my style - I believe in being as portable as possible with no distraction from "trying to decide which lens to use" - so I can concentrate on the image at hand rather than on the equipment. But I needed something a little longer for the Rock and Roll images I create. And now, eight months later, I am so glad I have it - I have used it to create album covers and some exceptional live images. It is amazingly sharp. I am not a super techno dude, so I couldn't tell you about all the technical characteristics - this lens just works.
Strengths
Sharpness & size
Weaknesses
Lens-shade - I use a Mamiya Pro rubber/collapsible lens shade with a 58-77 step-up ring rather than the plastic bayonet style - they snap easily and they look cheesy!
Similar Products Used
Canon EF 17-40 f/4.0L
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Review Date
April 10, 2006
Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
 4 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year
Visitors rate this review
3.75 of 5, 4 votes
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Reviewed by
Frans
, Casual
Price Paid
$400.00
at photobuff
Photography Experience
21+ years
, People
Summary
I bought this lens together with Canon 50mm f/1.4 as I was so impressed in the low light shooting capabilities of the Sigma 30mm f1.4 that I had purchased some months earlier. The 85mm f/1.8 is of a much higher quality both mechanically and optically than the 50mm f/1.4. The 85mm produces less flare, has better contrast and has a more reliable auto focus. It seems as the focal length decreases so does the auto focus accuracy on the 350D when using fast lenses. The purple fringing that is apparent under strong light seems to be less on the 85mm too. The focus ring operates smoothly and without any play, unlike the 50mm lens. My main objective was to use this lens as a telephotos when filming at folk music events. Most of these events are poorly lit. All lenses mentioned have proved to work very well here. The other thing the 85mm excels in, is the manual focus. The 30mm and the 50mm lenses are just about impossible to manual focus in low light. If you are considering between the 50mm or 85mm lens the 85mm lens is of much better value, when considering there is only about $50 between then
Strengths
Light weight
Sharp and good contrast
Rich colour transfer
Fast reliable focus
Easy to manual focus
Beautiful background blur
Weaknesses
Pity it wasn't a zoom
Similar Products Used
Sigma 30mm f/1.4
canon 50mm f/1.4
Customer Service
so far not required
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Review Date
January 21, 2005
Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
3 Months to 1 year
Visitors rate this review
2.83 of 5, 6 votes
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Reviewed by
kel3at
, Intermediate
Price Paid
$379.00
at 17Photo.com
Photography Experience
2-5 years
, People
Summary
An excellent lens. Excellent performance with the fast silent USM autofocus. And the image quality is top notch. My best lens.
Strengths
USM
Silent fast focus
Light weight
"Slap your Mama!" Sharpness
Weaknesses
Not a zoom
Similar Products Used
Canon 28 f/2.8, takumar and mamiya/sekor prime lenses on Canon 20d
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Review Date
March 15, 2004
Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
1 to 3 months
Visitors rate this review
3.00 of 5, 14 votes
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Reviewed by
ichiu
, Intermediate
Price Paid
$259.00
at B&H
Photography Experience
2-5 years
, Outdoor
Summary
Awesome lens. One of the sharpest i've used. It's close to being the perfect portrait lens.
Strengths
Sturdy build, lots of glass, sharp, sharp, sharp, smooth bokeh, great for low light situations, USM quiet and fast AF, smooth manual focus ring, compact size, excellent resale value.
Weaknesses
longish minimum focus distance. no hood included. That's all I can think of.
Similar Products Used
Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro
canon 135mm SF f2.8
canon 135mm f2
Customer Service
Canon customer service = OK
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