Let’s Talk Lenses! | The 85 1.2

I like to call my 85 1.2 my magic lens.

Really, this lens is perfection. The bokeh is amazing, the colors are ridiculous, and the sheer fact that I can open my lens up to 1.2 still makes me do a happy dance every time I pull this lens out. I LOVE it!

I have to admit, I was a little nervous to purchase this lens. I had heard so many mixed reviews of this lens and, while every image I saw from this lens was absolutely stunning (when taken by a great photographer, of course!), I hesitated because I was afraid the lens would be too slow or would miss focus to much or that there would be too much Chromatic Aberration.

And there is, guys. There is.

There is way too much Chromatic Abberation.

But! The good news! Lightroom has a neat little slider that gets rid of 98% of Chromatic Abberation just by quickly clicking a button. So! The Chromatic Abberation? It’s annoying but not much of a big deal (most of the time- sometimes it is the worst).

Which brings me to this lens being too slow and missing focus.

Here’s the thing- most of the people who say this, bless their hearts, are children and family photographers. Now, I absolutely, positively, truly love photographing families but I am, hands down, not a children’s portrait photographer. I’m just not. And the 85L? It is, hands down, not a children’s lens. I mean, it’s possible! You can take photographs of children with this lens. You can take fantastic photographs of children with this lens. But! It’s not meant to be a fast-tracking, child friendly lens. It’s intended for subjects that don’t quite move so much, y’know? This lens is meant to be a portrait and fashion lens. The 85 1.2L is crystal clear, gorgeous, and, breathtaking but it can be finicky and, even just because of the focal length, it can be extremely hard to track moving subjects with this lens. I will admit that I am lucky- I have a very fast copy of the 85L and, because of this, I don’t have many throw-away photographs taken by this lens, even if my subject was moving. But! Even if I had a slow version of this lens, I would be head over heels for it. This lens was meant for gorgeous, steady portraits and, as a wedding and senior portrait photographer, I can’t imagine a better lens.

For example! Here are some brides:

While I love many things about the 85L- the bokeh, the sun flare, the way that it is literally an enormous piece of glass- I think that, for me, the best part of this lens is the little bit of magic it adds to your photographs. Because of the focal length, this lens is extremely flattering and, if you can nail focus at an extremely wide aperture, the results are unbeatable.

Here are some seniors!

I’ll be honest, while I love the 85L, the 35L is actually my favorite lens- it fits how I see the world and, even though I don’t care for the distortion the 35L causes on portraits, the 35L is definitely my go-to and has been since the very beginning. After I added the 35L to my camera bag, I waited for nearly two years to fall in love with another lens the same way I fell in love with the 35L. And when I bought the 85L? I was a hot mess of stress (because, let’s be honest, this lens is not a cheap one!) and I was nervous that I just wouldn’t love the lens like I loved my 35L. I was shocked, awed, and amazed, though, when I came home from my first session with the 85L and came home with this photograph:

And after that? I fell head-over-heels for this lens in an instant. This lens is absolutely amazing and I believe that, if it fits well with your shooting style, it is absolutely worth every penny. So don’t hesitate! Try it out as soon as you can! You really won’t regret doing so… even if your bank account might!

Oh! And a quick note! When I first bought the 85L, I was in a tough debate between Canon’s 85L (the lens discussed in this blog post) and the Sigma 85 1.4. I had read countless reviews comparing the two and was so sure that I was going to go with the Sigma that I headed to Bedford’s with my wallet out. After comparing the two, however, I was surprised at how different the two were. While the Sigma is a solid lens, the Canon 85L has a magical quality that the Sigma does not. After this comparison, I knew that my decision was a no brainer. And two months later? I finally added the 85L to my bag and I have been loving it ever since.

Weddings | Engagements | Seniors | Families | Personal

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