# Canon 50 F1.2L VS 85 F1.2L MKII Lenses



## Secretariat (Sep 7, 2012)

Aside from reach,how do the Canon 50 F1.2L and 85 F1.2L MKII lenses compare to each other when it comes to IQ,sharpness,contrast,and color rendering?Which among the 2 also focuses faster?
Thanks.


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## RLPhoto (Sep 7, 2012)

Secretariat said:


> Aside from reach,how do the Canon 50 F1.2L and 85 F1.2L MKII lenses compare to each other when it comes to IQ,sharpness,contrast,and color rendering?Which among the 2 also focuses faster?
> Thanks.



The 85L is better than the 50L in every way, but the 50L has real manual override and faster AF. I prefer the 135L over the 85L anyway.

The 50L is more similar to the 35L than the 85L.


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## myocyte (Sep 7, 2012)

I own both lenses, and the 85L is better in all of those categories you just mentioned (IQ, sharpness, contrast, and color rendering), although the 50L does focus much more quickly. I keep the 50L around for the shorter reach. I wouldn't recommend the 85L for fast-moving subjects, but it's churned out some amazing photographs for me.


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## bp (Sep 7, 2012)

^ what they said.

50L is much faster at focusing, but the copy I had was also rather inconsistent. Sometimes front focused, sometimes back focused. Could've just been my copy though. The 85 is slower and heavier, but is much sharper than the 50 when shooting wide open at f/1.2. The 50L looks sharp if you're not pixel peeping. In the sweet spot, crop or zoom in, and everything has a bit of a soft blur around it. Stopped down to f/2 though, it's razor sharp across the board with lovely color and contrast. I sold my 50L and kept my 85L, but that's just me


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## pz-photography (Sep 7, 2012)

There is pretty much nothing to add. The 85 1.2 II is way slower in focussing than the 50 1.2L, but the 50 1.4 is even faster, so i wouldn't say the 50 1.2 is a quick focussing lens. When it comes to sharpness wide open than the 85 is wayyyy sharper. Both have little issues with CA's at 1.2 in high contrast szenarios but thats normal for such huge glasses i'd say. Another thing is, that the full electronic focus of the 85 is kind of weird. You have to switch to "manual focus" if you want to focus manually, there is no override in AF mode. The focus ring is more like a "sensor" that gives the information to the focus motor. This doesen't work when AF is enabled. The focus ring is also wayyy to smoth, it turns like its a spinning wheel. I like the "mechanical" way of the 50 much much better. Another thing is that the 85 is not weather sealed and the front element extends (and sticks out) a lot when focussing (the front element of the 50 also moves, but it dosent stick out of the lens at any focussing distance). If I could only afford one it, would defenitly be the 85 1.2 II because of its simply the best portrait lens out there (if you are kind of close to your subject, sometimes I take it also for whole body portraits). If you want more "distance" to your model and en even tighter field of view then go for the 135L.


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## bp (Sep 7, 2012)

Very true, the focus-by-wire takes some getting used to. I'm actually quite fond of the almost frictionless spin of the 85's focus wheel, personally. For video work, it allows you to do big focus racks without having to manhandle the lens much - just roll the side of your finger across the barrel. Whereas you have to grip other lenses more firmly, often resulting in microjitters. So, for video, I love the light touch of the 85's wheel. For stills... eh, I'm usually using AF anyway.


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## Axilrod (Sep 7, 2012)

These are two of my favorite lenses, the 85L definitely has the edge in sharpness and bokeh but I feel like when the 50L is on point that the shots match very well between the two lenses. Not to say that they are equal, they just have similar qualities. The 50L is the better walk around lens of course, but if you're into portraits nothing beats the 85L. Like someone else said though, the 135L is an excellent lens and 1/2 the price of the 85L.


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## Jakontil (Sep 7, 2012)

for fast moving object, the 50 1.2 wins, for everything else... i prefer 85 1.2


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## Bosman (Sep 9, 2012)

I had the 85LI and sold it for the 50L. This focal length and speed of focus was worth it. The 85LI isn't much slower than the 85LII and optically it is the same pretty much. Still the 85 is magic. I didn't like shooting that focal length as much though. I get more value out of the 50L and the bokeh pretty much looks close to the same as the 85L.My shooting style would like the 85L again but i won't sacrifice going without a weather seal. The 85L and 35L are the only lenses i know of that don't have the seal. I won't pay this amount without it.


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## Viggo (Sep 9, 2012)

It depends on what you will use it for, just to add to the above, which I, for the most part, agree with. The 85 is very heavy compared. I have them both and for sharpness I too think the 85 is better, this has alot to do with the lack of floating elements in the 50. 

This being said, I use the 50 almost every single day and the 85 for maybe 10% of my images. Contrast and color I like the 50 better and imo the 50 handles the best on all Canon bodies by far.


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## wickidwombat (Sep 10, 2012)

think about this you can buy both the sigma 85 f1.4 and the new sigma 50 f1.4 for the same price as the canon 50L f1.2
not to mention what the 85 L costs and both the sigmas are superb


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## Secretariat (Sep 11, 2012)

Are both the 50 F1.2L and 85 F1.2L MKII lenses weatherproof?
Thanks.


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## neuroanatomist (Sep 11, 2012)

Secretariat said:


> Are both the 50 F1.2L and 85 F1.2L MKII lenses weatherproof?



The 50L is, the 85L II is not.


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## Secretariat (Sep 12, 2012)

At what aperture settings is the 50L sharpest?
Thanks.


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## Random Orbits (Sep 12, 2012)

Secretariat said:


> At what aperture settings is the 50L sharpest?
> Thanks.



It sharpens up as it is stopped down, but it's advantage over other 50mm options is from f/1.2 to f/2.8. Other, less expensive options can do as well or slightly better past at f/4 and smaller.


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## Viggo (Sep 12, 2012)

Secretariat said:


> At what aperture settings is the 50L sharpest?
> Thanks.



I ran a test through FoCal software, aperture sharpness test, and it shows the following:

50 L: Way sharper at 1,8 than 1,2 (obviously) but it is also quite a bit sharper at 1,8 than at 2,2. The very sharpest aperture is f5.

(Have no idea if this goes for every copy on every body, but this is a 2012 50 L on a 1d X)

It has the "dreaded shiftfocus", but I never worry about it, even up close, properly calibrated I don't notice shift. What a lens this is though, if you shoot test charts you might feel you overpaid, use it like a workhorse in all weather and shoot wide open and 1,8 and the 50 L will make you VERY happy....


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## TheAshleyJones (Sep 12, 2012)

Like most people who have replied, I have both and the 85LII is my main lens. The 50L gets very little use as it sits between the 35 and the 85 which are both amazing and it is less so. My main reservations relate to its sharpness wide open. I do a lot of low light stuff and use the 35 and 85 wide open a great deal.

The only thing I would add is that while the 85 is amazing on full frame, I was very disappointed with how ordinary it seemed when I tried it on a 7D and a 60D.


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