Photo Plus - UK (2019-12)

SUPERTEST

http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

Centre Middle Edge

Sharpness

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2500

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f/1.2f/1.4 f/1.8 f/2 f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 f/22

CANON EF 85mm

f/1.8 USM £365/$369

Affordable and easily manageable, this relatively

compact contender has stood the test of time

ost of us don’t just

shoot portraits. We

like to shoot all sorts.

So it makes sense not

to spend a fortune on

a ‘portrait lens’ that we might

not use often, and to buy one

that’s compact and light. This

lens is ideal for both, costing

a small fraction of any other

Canon 85mm lens and being

much more lightweight, at just

425g. Naturally, downsizing

and cheaper manufacturing

costs are due to the narrower

aperture of f/1.8, compared

with the f/1.4 or f/1.2 of the

other Canon lenses.

Launched nearly 30 years

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lens has stood the test of time

and is equally viable for digital

bodies. The optical path is

simple, based on nine

elements in seven groups,

but includes Super Spectra

coatings to reduce ghosting

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ultrasonic AF system is fast,

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override with a purely

mechanical linkage.

Handling is good and the

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have to buy a hood separately.

Performance

Sharpness isn’t that impressive

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detail. Colour fringing and

distortion are minimal. The

quality of bokeh is pleasing

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well rounded as others,

tending to give an octagonal

shape to defocused points of

light and bright objects when

you stop down a little.

FEATURES

VERDICT

01

Focusing is fully

internal, so the front

element remains

fixed.

02

Canon sells the

ET-65 III hood as an

optional extra, at

£24/$23.

03

Super Spectra

coatings are applied

to reduce ghosting

and flare

04

Ring-type ultrasonic

autofocus comes

complete with a

focus distance scale.

05

There’s no

weather-seal ring on

the mounting plate.

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

PERFORMANCE

VALUE

OVERALL

01

04

02

03

M

o test performance, we use lenses in all sorts of lighting

conditions, for indoor and outdoor scenarios. We check

for build quality and handling, smooth and precise

operation of controls, and we test the speed and accuracy of AF.

We typically test full-frame compatible lenses on a range of

full-frame and APS-C formats, whereas lenses that are designed

for APS-C formats are only tested on cameras like the EOS 90D

and 7D Mark II. In-camera corrections for chromatic aberrations

and peripheral illumination (where available) are disabled in all

testing, to better reveal the true performance of each lens.

We also run a range of lab tests under controlled conditions,

using the Imatest Master and DxO Analyser suites. Photos of test

charts are taken across the range of apertures and zooms

(where available), then analysed for sharpness, distortion and

chromatic aberrations. Results are shown on the following pages.

HOW WE TEST

We combine real-world shooting results with rigorous lab

testing to arrive at our overall ratings

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