Review: Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens

Last Updated: February 14th, 2020

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens is one of the most impressive portrait lenses we have worked with. It is the widest aperture lens Canon produces at f/1.2 – a title only shared with the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM Lens. Because of this feature and the performance abilities of this lens, when shooting in the range of f/1.2 to f/2.8, the background blur created is nothing short of breathtaking.

Getting Into It

As professional photographers, we have required the use of the best camera equipment in order to succeed in creating great quality photos. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens has turned into our go to, and we use it during virtually every portrait session we have – whether it be for solo portraits, couples and engagement shoots, family photos, and during weddings to capture the bride & groom. Honestly, any time you have a subject that you want to isolate from a background – this lens provides some serious value.

Over the course of 2 years, we have been shooting with this 85mm lens, and have come to learn a lot about it. While we will absolutely walk you through some of the technical specs you can expect from virtually any review on a piece of camera equipment, we are going to additionally talk through our personal experiences, showcase some Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 lens sample photos, and give you our thoughts on the pros and cons this lens has to offer (and it does have some down sides).

Through this approach, we hope you will find our review of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens to be highly useful in helping you to make a decision as to whether or not it is right for you.

Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens – Breaking it Down

Technical Specifications

Before we dive into the core of our lens review, we wanted to include a brief summary of the tech specs (if that is interesting to you). Generally speaking, the technical makeup of a lens matters less to us that previous user reviews and experiences, as well as seeing sample images. For this reason, our Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens review will be getting into these more subjective areas in more detail shortly.

Focal length: 85mm
Maximum aperture: f/1.2
Lens construction: 8 elements in 7 groups
Angle of view: 28 degrees @ 30 feet
Focus adjustment: Autofocus with full-time manual
Closest focusing distance: 3.2 feet
Filter size: 72mm
Dimensions: 3.6 inches in diameter and 3.3 inches long
Weight: 36.2 ounces

If the detailed technical aspects of this lens interest you significantly, we recommend checking out Optical Limit’s Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens Review as they cover this in greater detail.

Build Quality

When we ordered our Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens, we had expected it would fit in with the rest of our Canon camera lenses. While it does, it does not in the area of weight. For a single focal length lens, this one is a beast. It is heavy. It is not unbearably heavy like the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 Lens, which can actually be tough to use for extended period of times due to its weight. With this said, it does weigh more than the average prime camera lens.

Of course, weight isn’t actually a way to define whether or not it is a good quality lens. We’re certainly not that naive. With this said, it is the first impression we had with the lens as we experienced picking it up. From there, our inspection immediately was drawn to the beautiful glass that makes up this lens. It’s a strange experience, honestly, especially as people who have had plenty of lenses to look at in the past.

Our first impressions ended up being matched by our feelings on this Canon camera lens even today – 2 years later. It’s still heavy relative to most of our other lenses, but it’s build quality is stunning. It’s held up under many forms of pressure. From drops during a wedding day where we had to rush around, to bearing dramatic temperatures in Iceland and Death Valley, as well as putting up with inclement weather thanks to the quality weather sealing. It really is a great product on a physical construction level.

Focus

The first area where the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens struggles is in it’s auto focus (AF) system. After so much use, we can only tell you that it is okay. Generally speaking, longer focal length lenses (regardless of brand) tend to have slower AF systems – but this lens is particularly slow. This can make it tough especially when trying to take candid portrait shots. We have definitely had a few occasions where the resulting images have ended up blurry, soft, or missed entirely.

As users of this lens, it is one of the aspects we have learned to work with the most. Pairing a slow focus with the wide open aperture setting of f/1.2, and the potential to miss focus is pretty high. Often, we need to resort to using higher f-stops to get crisp images. The lowest we typically go is f/2, which is still plenty wide open to create some beautiful depth of field effects.

Our professional knowledge and ability to be better prepared for how people will react to certain situations helps to make the most out of this downside. It is, however, something you should be aware of as when you start to shoot with it – it can become frustrating, especially if your shooting style is fast moving like ours often is.

How to get better focus and shoot wide open?

Getting better focus with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens begins with learning to slow down. By taking a second to breath and let the auto-focus system actually focus, you can expect far better images and a much lower missed focus rate.

Outside of this, one of the key ways we’ve pushed this 85mm lens to perform better is by specifically using it during optimal light conditions and introducing flash.

Camera’s tend to perform slower in low light because finding a focus point can be more difficult. Using a slower lens like this in that sort of environment is only creating something more difficult for you to work with. Since we use the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens specifically for portraits most of the time, we tend to use it under better lighting conditions, such as during Golden Hour when the light is right. Focusing will be easier during times like these, and by extension, your images will often be more beautiful because of the painted colors sunsets and sunrises have to offer the background of portrait photos.

Another route you can go is introducing flash into your images. This is a great solution when shooting in darker environments, and if you are wanting to use the lenses wide aperture capabilities. We shoot frequently at f/1.2 and get crystal clear results without a problem when a flash is introduced into the scene. This is because flash will freeze any movement.

Who is it for?

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens is designed with professional portrait photographers in mind. At nearly $2,000 dollars, you need to be highly invested in the need for quality equipment to want to pick this up compared to more affordable options on the market.

As professional photographers, we are shooting several sessions and weddings every week. All of these shoots require a lens like this. It is undeniably one of our favorite lenses.

If you are more budget conscious and looking for an 85mm lens in Canon’s line of prime lenses, we would suggest you check out the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Medium Telephoto Lens.

How we use this lens

While this lens is great for all types of portraiture, our favorites tend to be images of our subjects up close and personal. Often these are above-the-waste shots. With couples, this allows us to clearly capture more intimate moments they share together in front of our camera.

When shooting with a wide open aperture, which is frankly one of the big appeals of this lens specifically vs. the Canon 85mm f/1.4 IS USM Lens (which is a few hundred dollars cheaper), it really shines through. When the light and colors are just right behind your subject, the bokeh blur effect can be stunning to look at. Weirdly enough, we still get excited when we see particularly beautiful compression effects like this lens has to offer.

Our clients may not necessarily realize it, but this enhanced quality that comes with more expensive (but higher quality) gear is one of the things they are paying for. Of course, we know how to use them appropriately, but the lens itself when paired with a quality camera body such as the Canon 5D Mark IV really is capable of creating great images.

Final Thoughts

We have been really happy with our purchase of the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens. As we’ve mentioned a number of times throughout this review, it really has been a staple in our gear bag. We use it in virtually every session. There are some downsides, though. Specifically: slow focusing that contributes to some missed and soft focus shots. Ultimately, we’ve learned to work with this limitation to still take great images most of the time.

If you are a professional photographer, we highly recommend this Canon lens for purchase. If looking to buy through Amazon, you should also consider setting up a Free Amazon Business Account as there are sometimes special deals to be found.

Non-professionals can absolutely benefit from this lens, too, but will want to consider all the options available because of the high price tag.

If you would like to check out more information about the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM Lens and purchase, please use this link.