Photo Plus - UK (2019-12)

108 http://www.digitalcameraworld.com

SUPERTEST

Centre Middle Edge

Sharpness

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

3000

2500

2000

1500

1000

500

CANON EF 85mm

f/1.2L USM II £1849/$1899

It’s certainly not your average L-series lens,

but is it really something special?

deal if you want to focus

all of the attention on the

eye, even if the rest of a

portrait sitter’s face goes

soft, this lens delivers an

XOWUDWLJKW'R)7ROHWLQPRUH

OLJKWDQGHQDEOHWKHVXSHUIDVW

f/1.2 aperture, the front group

of elements need to have a

wide diameter. Since these

large and weighty elements

also move forwards and

backwards for focusing, AF is

slow. Even so, AF speed is

better in this Mark II edition,

compared with the original.

 8QXVXDOO\IRUDULQJW\SH

ultrasonic AF system, the

manual focus ring is coupled

electronically, rather than

mechanically. It’s a clever

GHVLJQÁRXULVKEHFDXVH

accurate focusing is highly

critical with such a tight depth

RIÀHOGDWI7KHIRFXV

ring’s electronic encoder

enables greater precision for

manual focusing than in the

majority of AF lenses.

Although build quality is of

DIXOO\SURJUDGHVWDQGDUG

WKLVOHQVODFNVZHDWKHUVHDOV

Weighing in at 1025g, it’s

slightly heavier than the

Canon f/1.4, but less heavy

than the Sigma.

Performance

Sharpness is mediocre when

VKRRWLQJZLGHRSHQHYHQDW

the centre, but picks up well

when reducing the aperture by

small amounts to f/1.4 and

f/1.8. Bokeh fringing is visible

when shooting wide, around

WKHRXWOLQHVRILQIRFXVREMHFWV

against defocused areas.

When stopping down, the

EODGHGLDSKUDJPJLYHVD

more pronounced octagonal

shape to defocused points of

light than the Canon f/1.8.

FEATURES

VERDICT

01

The large, heavy

front elements move

forwards and

backwards for

focusing.

02

The Super Spectre

coatings are

relatively basic by

the latest standards.

03

The focus ring is

electronically

coupled.

04

Based on eight

diaphragm blades,

the aperture isn’t

that well-rounded.

05

Unlike most Canon

L-series lenses, it’s

not weather-sealed.

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

PERFORMANCE

VALUE

OVERALL

01

02

03

I

PEOPLE IN ISOLATION

Shrinking the depth of field enables you to

isolate your subject by blurring the background

he ‘bokeh’, or pictorial quality of defocused

areas isn’t just about the tightness of DoF.

The design of the lens and the quality of its

elements are critical in delivering a smooth nature

to background blur, notably for bright and detailed

defocused spots. A well-rounded diaphragm helps

retain the quality of bokeh when stopping down.

Even so, depth of field is a critical component.

T

04

05

f/^1.^2 f/^1.^4