Canon 85mm f1.8

[tenohfive]

Santa has very kindly made a contribution towards me next lens, with

I had initially planned to look at the EF-S 15-85mm (I'm on a 70D/crop) as being my next walkaround lens with a bit of reach, as my 'semi decent,' glass is all at the wider end. But on looking this morning I swear prices have gone upwards in the last year, not down. I can't stretch to £600 so that's out of the
equation.

The other consideration was a prime. Part of the justification for the new lens is shots of the kids. As my eldest gets bigger the camera gets noticed more and more and that horrible 'cheeeeeese' pose (the inlaws will one day pay for that) gets trotted out unbidden, when I'm trying to get candid shots. And the 50mm 1.8 just doesn't give me the reach to sit in the background unobtrusively snapping away any more.


So. The 85mm f1.8.
Is it any good, does it sound like it'll do what I need and is there anything from the likes of Sigma etc that I could consider? (I need AF with exocet paced kids, so don't think Samyang are a consideration.) Realistically I think I'll have to limit the budget to £350, and I'm prepared to take a punt on a grey import if it's from one of the more reputable suppliers.

[Tony1963]

Of course prices have gone up! Seen the exchange rates since the blinkered ones voted 'leave'? It's unlikely to get better any time soon.

[outnumbered]

I have the 15-85 and like it a lot as a general purpose lens. MPB have several in stock within your budget...

[rossub]

Why not get the 15-85 used from eBay? The market for second hand lenses is huge and as long as you stick with 100% feedback it’ll be fine.

I’ve had mine for a number of years on a 600D and now my 80D and take about 90% of my pics with it.

[tenohfive]

outnumbered said:

I have the 15-85 and like it a lot as a general purpose lens. MPB have several in stock within your budget...

Hmm, that makes things a little trickier. How do you find it at the long end for portrait shots - will I get comparable quality to a 50mm f1.8 or better? If so, I that could well be a possibility.

[outnumbered]

The image quality of the zoom seems fine to me. I suppose the prime would probably be slightly sharper, and an extra f-stop or so might help with indoor shots. Usual tradeoffs really...

[corozin]

I have the 85mm f1.8 prime. To be honest I don't use it as much as my 50mm prime but the 85mm is a lovely piece of kit and a very good for taking high quality portraits.

As an affordable alternative to the other lens you mentioned, you might want to consider looking for a pre-owned Canon 28-135mm F3.5. They don't make them any more but I've had one (for over 10 years!) and it's a great all rounder, plus it can do a bit more depth when needed.

Edited by corozin on Monday 25th December 20:39

[TheLimla]

My 15-85 is/was on mpb, traded it in after purchasing a new 16-35 f4.

[rich888]

Take a look at the Camera Price Buster website which charts prices of cameras and lenses: https://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk

[DIW35]

The 85mm f/1.8 Canon lens is one of the best non L series lens that Canon makes. I use one on a 5D, and is probably my favourite prime lens. I bought mine second hand, but it's in excellent condition and I wouldn't be without one.

[Havoc856-S]

Tony1963 said:

Of course prices have gone up! Seen the exchange rates since the blinkered ones voted 'leave'? It's unlikely to get better any time soon.

Nothing to do with the cost of materials increasing worldwide or the fact, you know, it's Christmas and historically that's when prices increase in the coming months... I despise the rolling out of politics in a non-political thread - clearly you didn't get the outcome you wanted - deal with it and contribute.

OP - 85mm is c.135mm on a crop so it does have a good reach but bear in mind your 50mm is behaving like c.80mm. To that end have you considered either of the following:

1. Rent the 85mm for a day and trial it - they're fairly cheap to day-rent and it'll give you a far greater understanding of whether the 85mm prime is bang on what you want.

2. Used Canon L 24-105mm. I've got this on my 7D and it's a great lens. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-phot... That's a fairly good price from a reputable dealer. It's F4 throughout the range which is a nice thing to have.

3. Canon 18-135mm. I have this (kit lens with my 7D) lens in my bag - it doesn't get much use since i bought the L but i found it quite a decent lens for GP photography. https://www.jessops.com/p/canon/ef-s-18-135mm-f-3-...

4. Canon 15-85mm. Stick to the original plan? https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-phot...

[Tony1963]

Havoc856-S said:

Nothing to do with the cost of materials increasing worldwide or the fact, you know, it's Christmas and historically that's when prices increase in the coming months... I despise the rolling out of politics in a non-political thread - clearly you didn't get the outcome you wanted - deal with it and contribute.

Look at the prices of all photographic equipment over the last two years, there's a correlation. My 5D3 has only just gone out of production, but even when the 5D4 was introduced the 5D3 price refused to drop by more than a hundred quid or so. Even companies like HDEW have had their prices climb steadily since that vote, nothing to do with price rises just before Christmas. And think about it, most of the world seems to reduce prices to at least sell something to keep their necks above water.

[tenohfive]

Havoc856-S said:

OP - 85mm is c.135mm on a crop so it does have a good reach but bear in mind your 50mm is behaving like c.80mm. To that end have you considered either of the following:

1. Rent the 85mm for a day and trial it - they're fairly cheap to day-rent and it'll give you a far greater understanding of whether the 85mm prime is bang on what you want.

2. Used Canon L 24-105mm. I've got this on my 7D and it's a great lens. https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-phot... That's a fairly good price from a reputable dealer. It's F4 throughout the range which is a nice thing to have.

3. Canon 18-135mm. I have this (kit lens with my 7D) lens in my bag - it doesn't get much use since i bought the L but i found it quite a decent lens for GP photography. https://www.jessops.com/p/canon/ef-s-18-135mm-f-3-...

4. Canon 15-85mm. Stick to the original plan? https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-phot...

Rental not a bad shout, although with the way they hold their value I don't imagine it would be difficult to sell on if I bought one used and it wasn't for me.

I'm ruling out the 18-135mm because I'm not sure the quality is up there, but all the other 3 options are ones I've looked at. And the 24-105L is a lens I've long wanted to have a play with but I just don't think I can get it within budget in reasonable condition - all of the MPB ones that are in budget are 'well used,' which I'd rather not chance.

The reason my better half indulges the costs involved with this hobby is photo's of the kids (whereas I prefer doing landscape stuff) so I need to keep that in mind too. And in fairness, 90% of my photo's is people. Which leads me back towards the prime.

That being said, the flexibility and convenience of the 15-85mm could mean I end up getting more shots than the prime. So it's a question of how much that flexibility offsets the drop in IQ and the extra 3 stops. Which could be limiting in places. Anyone got any thoughts on that conundrum?

[Havoc856-S]

What would you be willing to pay for an L 24-105 out of interest?

[tog]

I shoot on full frame cameras and use my 135 a lot more for the kids than my 85. An 85 on crop would be great for photographing your kids - long enough they don’t notice you so much, fast enough to get nice clean backgrounds, and small and light enough that you’ll take it with you and actually use it.

[Craikeybaby]

Have you already got a fast prime?

I've used the 85mm f1.8 a fair bit as my Dad has one, it is a good length for portraits on full frame, but I think I would find it too long on a cropped sensor camera, especially indoors.

[tenohfive]

Sorry for the late reply.

I settled on the prime in the end. Long term I will look to get either a 24-105mm or 15-85mm but the priority right now is that quality of the portrait shots - and finance wise it was more practical as I had some vouchers I was able to use.

I've only messed around with it so far, but being a newcomer to USM I'm really impressed by quiet the focusing is. I'm looking forward to having a proper play with it.

[checkmate91]

Just picked up on this. I got a 15-85 with my 7d in 2011, it's a great allround lens and is pin-sharp at 5.6 at the short end and 8 at the long. Only problem for me is that it's a bit s l o w which is a shame as, otherwise, it produces some nice pics. Indoor shots for me are taken with a 35 F2 IS or 24 STM. Mine now is well-used so zoom creep is an issue when it's slung over the shoulder on the camera/strap and you have to coerce it to focus on demand occasionally when it's not been used in a while (switch camera off, move focus ring left/right a few times, switch back on again and you're away) but, apart from that, it's fine.

Having said that, I'd have probably bought the 17-55 2.8 if I had my time again. Indoor sports shots of the missus fencing are best served by the 35 F2 and/or 24 STM.

If you want to try a 15-85 and you're not a million miles from Stansted Airport, you're welcome to have a play with mine...

[tenohfive]

That's a very kind offer, but I need to stop spending money for awhile - and I've no doubt that playing with a 15-85 will lead to me wanting to buy one. And I've already foolishly read a review of the EF-S 55-250mm STM and it's surprisingly good IQ - not as a competitor to the 15-85, just as something for some more each and general purpose photography. And at £150, that's actually achievable.

I'm starting to think that my next two lenses should be the 55-250 STM, and the 17-55.

I've got a few shots with the 85mm prime, and compared to the 50mm f1.8 I feel like the AF is much faster and more accurate. Perhaps that's simply a zoom factor (accuracy anyway - as the eyes are bigger, and easier to focus on) but either way I can tell I'm going to get some decent shots from this lens. Seems to be pin sharp, even without stepping down much. And the bokeh is lovely...

[corozin]

tenohfive said:

That's a very kind offer, but I need to stop spending money for awhile - and I've no doubt that playing with a 15-85 will lead to me wanting to buy one. And I've already foolishly read a review of the EF-S 55-250mm STM and it's surprisingly good IQ - not as a competitor to the 15-85, just as something for some more each and general purpose photography. And at £150, that's actually achievable.

I'm starting to think that my next two lenses should be the 55-250 STM, and the 17-55.

I've got a few shots with the 85mm prime, and compared to the 50mm f1.8 I feel like the AF is much faster and more accurate. Perhaps that's simply a zoom factor (accuracy anyway - as the eyes are bigger, and easier to focus on) but either way I can tell I'm going to get some decent shots from this lens. Seems to be pin sharp, even without stepping down much. And the bokeh is lovely...

Fast auto focussing is not a strong point for the 50mm! But on the other hand that's not why everyone raves about them, there's just no other lens that gets you to F1.8 for the money. As you say the 85mm is a much more substantial piece of kit, and that's reflected in it's pricing, which is still very good when you think about it.