Chris, I knew it was your post, but didn't realize that you took the photo as well. Every time I think of that lens, your photo jumps to mind. It simply defines "rectilinear".

This lens and the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4L would cover just about anything an architectural photographer could encounter.

EOS (SLR) Camera Systems - Tilt-Shift - Tilt-Shift Lens - TS-E 17mm f/4L - Canon USA Consumer Products

This is a great thread and I'm glad that it is here. A specific question on the Canon 85mm 1.8. I'm looking to get this lens to shoot indoor/outdoor low light shoots. I'll be filming a wedding and I've got the 17-40L 4.0 lens and several others, but I figured towards the late evening it may get a little too dark for that. I've filmed in very low light with that lens and the ISO/noise is actually pretty decent.

So has any one have experience with the 85mm 1.8 in indoor/outdoor low light party/wedding atmosphere with the 5D MkII? For the price do you recommend it? For now the 85mm 1.2 is out of the budget.

thanks again
Michael

I have the 28/1.8, 35/2.0, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, and 200/2.8, and the 85/1.8 is my favorite of them all. First, 85mm is the perfect people-scale lens. It's got USM autofocus, and full time manual focus. Lines are straight, and f/1.8 is good enough in all but the lowest light.

The 50/1.4 is better in low light, but the angle of view can be boring, and it has barrel distortion, making it bad for portraits - not only do you have to get too close to your subjects, but the barrel distortion can make them look piggy.

My favorite foil for the 85/1.8 is the 28/1.8. Photographers don't rate this lens very high, but I find it sharp enough for video. The trick is to put something interesting in the foreground, like a table centerpiece or wedding cake, and show the people in the background. It's a very artistic look without being ultrawide. And with enough distance to your subjects, they won't display the big nose, little ears effect.

If I could only keep two of my lenses for video of people, the 85/1.8 and 28/1.8 would be my choices - in that order. The 200/2.8L has the sweetest look of them all, but it's best used in a big space on a tripod and doesn't touch the others in low light.

You'll have no regrets with the EF 85mm f/1.8 lens.

Jon,

Thank you sir! That is very helpful. I've got the 50mm 1.8, so for this wedding, I think the 85mm 1.8 will be a great add on. I'll look into the 28mm 1.8 soon.

thanks again for the detailed response.

I have recently purchased the Canon 85mm f/1.8 and it is great for an affordable lens. It gathers lots of light and is the perfect focal length for medium-sized areas. I used it at night outdoors and it is great for people from about 5-50 feet away. This is right in line with what you want for unobtrusive tight shots at a wedding. You still must get in close, but you don't have to be right in their personal space. Like Jon, I am coupling it with a wider lens but I like my 35mm f/1.4 as it is super fast and doesn't distort much like a wider lens. This is a Nikon manual lens with an adapter and I find the manual focus is best in low light as the auto always has a tough time. Besides, the auto in video mode on the 5Dii is not really proper. Of course, I have 50mm lenses but I think they will stay in the bag most of the time.

A 35/1.4 would be a sweet partner - with either the 85/1.8 or 85/1.2. I'll gladly trade my 28/1.8 for a 35/1.4L, but I doubt that I'll get any takers. ;) I'd want the 24L to complete the set.

The 28/1.8 isn't the ultimate lens, but it's a great value. It's the same generation design as the 85/1.8 with the same feel and features.

BTW, last night I tested some Magic Lantern alpha code that lets me set two focus points and toggle between them with the push of a button. Currently, there's only one (fast) speed, but it works great with the 85/1.8. Soon, we'll be able to control the speed of the focus pull.

What a change! Before June, manual lenses were the thing to own. With the 1.1.0 firmware, Canon EOS lenses became viable, but many prefer the mechanical focus rings of other brands. With electronic focus control, Canon may soon be the lens brand of choice.

Jon:

Not knowing the whole Canon lens history, I understand that FD's don't work, but what about lenses originally intended for EOS Rebel and such-- are they a fit for the 5D ??

Edit: Answered my own question. Canon 5D mount is for EF lenses only. Newer lensesn in EF-S series will not fit without some adaptation, if at all.

You've answered your own question, and I'll add that FD lenses only fit with surgery and an adapter. They're too deep for modern Canon cameras. Nikon has made hay with this, since you can mount AI lenses to modern Nikons with no problem.

Then again, I can mount Nikon glass to Canon cameras, but not the other way around. The FD lenses are one of the few truly obsolete 35mm product lines.

And yeah, skip the EF-S lenses.

One thing to look for are FTMF (full time manual focus) EF lenses. They are the way to go with electronic rack focus.

With the A-M switch, you have to set the lens to M, adjust it, change it to A and then do the rack focus stuff. When setting thing up I was back and forth with the A-M switch. My EF 35/2.0 is non-FTMF, and it doesn't communicate all of the focus information to the camera that I can get from the FTMF 85/1.8. It did still rack though...

With the FTTM lenses, you can adjust the lens manually, and the Magic Lantern readout shows the data change in real time. FTTM is the only way to go for electronic rack focusing!

Thanks for that bit of wisdom....FTMF......

Not quite correct. The big issue is that when Canon moved to EF lenses they changed focal point vis a vis FD lenses. So with a simple adaptor like we use to fit Nikon lenses to the 5DII it is impossible to focus to infinity an FD lens but it is possible to use it as a Macro. There are adaptors available that include a lens that does allow focusing to infinity but sadly these adaptors come from the cheap end of the market ($30-40) so clearly the optics are not great quality.

I have a beautiful Canon FD Zoom 35-105mm F3.5 that probably has the best & smoothest zoom & focus rings of any of my lens collection & I would love to use it with the 5DII. Sadly with a cheap adaptor the image is just too soft for my liking although on the upside I suppose there is no chance of moire effect.

I've read that with some FD lenses you can actually machine them to work at infinity. I don't know. I haven't done that and wouldn't be motivated to try.

Yes indeed, I second that -- my favorite lens (especially when it comes to DOF & bouquet) is an old classic f/1.4 Carl Zeiss that I got from some underground dealer in Czechoslovakia, and then hacked it into an EF mount. It also has the longest (and smoothest) focus throw of any lens I've owned. Here's the very first shot (the camera accidentally went off) -- I saved it just as a reminder of the hell I had to go thru to get that lens to work on my camera.

-- peer