The 85mm f1.8 was one of the first lenses I bought to use with my Canon 10D. I was recently visiting an old friend who's daughter just got engaged. I was taking a few informal portraits, when it occurred to me that I'd used the very same lens 16 years before to photograph her daughter as a toddler. Neat.

17 years!? Whoah! In an age where everyone around seems to only focus on the latest-and-greatest super expensive lenses, this is a nice breath of fresh air. It's also one of the lenses I always remember that Zack Arias recommended for EVERY single beginner and pro photographer for years. Great to see a professional use it successfully for such a long time!

I just love watching your reviews….You are just so real!

I actually just picked one of these up for indoors sports. Purple fringing is definitely a characteristic of this lens that's for sure haha. But it has been working quite well for me. I love these older lenses. Great video!

I was a photographer in 90´s and I am back to business.. I got a 90D, 50, 85, 100 macro I just love prime lenses and love this 85. I agree 100% with you. Happy New Year!!!

Mine is also 17 years now and it's still kicking butt. What a lens! I got 50/1.4 and 85/1.8 almost at the same time and it turned out I was using the 85/1.8 more!

Fantastic video man. I’ve watched a few of your videos over the last month, and they’ve absolutely influenced my purchase decisions. I can’t believe you don’t have more subscribers; your videos are exceptionally well-produced. Thank you!

Really honest review. Having the experience using it for so long gives a real review. Thank you.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this lens. I've always thought of getting one but been put off by others thinking cheaper must be rubbish, but with your professional thoughts and experience, I've decided to order one and I'm sure I will not be disappointed. Thank you.

Thanks for your time. Gratefull for your insights. Very, very, very honest reviews. Greetings from Puerto Rico.

An excellent review. You explain things clearly and it is easy to understand.

I’ve just recently bought this lens and used it on a portrait shoot the other day and the images it produced we’re beautiful. They did have done colour fringing but that was easily handled in lightroom. I’m very happy with it so far. The only other experience I’ve had of an 85mm was my Jupiter 9 but as nice as that was I couldn’t rely on the manual focus for paid work.

I went on a vacation to Mexico, and the only two lenses I took were the 50mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.8, and I don't feel like I needed anything else. They both are freakishly sharp, and they are HIGHLY underrated lenses! I rarely shoot wide open....I feel the depth of field is too shallow for anything I like to shoot, so anything wider than f1.8 would be wasted money. I remember the first image I took with my 85 1.8 was of one of my dogs, and when I pulled it up on the computer, I was astonished at how sharp it really was. Thanks for posting!

I bought that lens for my 6D in 2017. Every time I take outdoor portraits I'm Stunned at what this lens can do, the images are Stunning. I Absolutely Love this lens.

It is very comforting to hear a professional photographer speaking about a long term relationship with his/her gear in a time when KZfaq by default focus on your next, more expensive and better(?!) purchase of photo-equipment. Thank you!

I have just stumbled upon your channel and am finding them very interesting viewing. This lens was on my list to get when I first changed from the FD system to the EOS system. However, before I did, I got the opportunity to buy its lesser known sibling the 100mm f2. That was my first EF lens. It was a great lens and once purchased I never again felt any need to get an 85. Over the years I could never understand why the 100 f2 was always so overlooked.

Super helpful, thank you!

Amazing video Roy! I’ve always wanted to pick up this lens. I have an RF 85 f2 that I use on my EOS RP and I really enjoy. But lately my favorite is an EF 28mm f1.8 that I adapt to my RP and I find it glued to the camera! I think it’s similar vintage to the EF 85 f1.8 and it suffers from similar fringing, vignetting and also soft focus wide open. But the Dual Pixel autofocus just does so much leg work. There is something about the 28mm focal length that is magical and would use any lens of this focal length after I learn how to use it! Thanks for your videos! They are so inspirational and please keep them coming! Cheers, from snowy Brooklyn!

Great video review, I've got one of these underrated lens and have recently started using it with the 5D mkiii great even for detail within the shot and definitely not just for portraiture.

Hello, thanks for the excellent review. I just picked up one today 2nd or 3rd hand from eBay in excellent shape. Will use on my Canon 90d but I won’t shoot it wide open. More like f/2.8 and sometimes these older lenses just have their own character. Different is ok sometimes. Thanks again

Another great video! I'm on a work photo trip to Shanghai right now and I just have the same 85 and the thrifty fifty, and dong fine. Two great lenses. Cheers mate

I've had one for a few years and I don't use it enough. Thanks for the reminder.

Thanks for the nice video! I love shooting with the 85, and, maybe it's very personal and subjective, but as much as I love the 85 I dislike the 100mm focal length, which I find strange, as these lengths are quite close together (not like 24 vs 35 or so). Anyway... Yes, I have an idea for a video: you said many times that you calibrate all your lenses, and I also do it, but with varying succes, so I would love to see an in-depth video with your calibration process, tips and tricks!

I almost exclusively shoot with this lens and a 6D. What you said about eye focus in such a narrow focus window is so true! I also use back button focus and especially with focus and recompose I can convince myself i've nailed the shot, then come to see its soft as hell on review. When you do nail the shot though it almost feels better. I love this lens.

Very interested to hear your thoughts on this particular lens as I've been thinking about buying one to add to my work kit, for which I have the 24-105mm f4 RF as the general purpose & portrait lens. That's tack sharp at 85mm (and at every length!), but I've always had a prime 85mm in my kit, both work and personal, as I just think it's an 'essential' lens, with the 50mm. The discipline and yet freedom from zooming shooting portraits, or feature shots, with a prime 85mm just really suits me. I even like that the Canon 85mm is a 20 year old design, as in my own Nikon kit, my 85mm is the venerable 85mm f1.8D which I really like because it's sharp yet 'forgiving'. There's a lot to be said for the best 'classic' lenses over the super sharp latest and greatest.

Roy, it would be good to see a vid about your location lighting kit as well some non gear videos like those of the "superhero swimmer", "blue hour travel photos", etc or talking us through some portfolio highlights

Great review. I really liked the ef 100 2.8, I used to own both the 85 1.8 and the 100 2.8. The 100 is an amazing lens. Ironically, I just purchased this lens again, the 85 1.8. I’m waiting for it to be delivered. I didn’t want to pay the extra money for the 100, and I agree with you, it’s a great lens. You have me a bit freaked, because I don’t remember the fringing, but I’m prepared now and have my Lightroom ready :) thanks for the review.

Definitely among the best values for lenses. I have been thinking of getting something with IS for field work but maybe I need to practice a little more with shutter priority. This lens has been great, it has more reach than the 28mm 2.8 iS I carry with it, and when I wander out of the sun into forest or canyon the 1.8 really comes in handy.

I have this lens once and I plan on buying it again to use with my newly acquired 5D Classic. I found some older shots I've taken with it when I owned a 5Diii and 1DXii and really missed shooting with it. For me, hands down much more of a bargain than the 1.2 and produces similar results. I shoot mainly FUJI now with an XT3 but picked up a used 5D classic as sort of a bang around travel FF camera and I LOVE IT. Only have the 50mm 1.8 and am happy with the results. I love how you put out reviews of things you have owned and used for 10/15+ years. I was close to going with a 1Dsii but I wanted the compact size of the 5d. I like the "Feel" I get from the 5D and older lenses. I'm not looking for that razor sharp, sort of overly sharp image that some of these new bodies produce. I like more of an organic look and I think these combos archive that.

Nice lens, wouldn't mind having one in my collection. None of my full frame lenses that I keep in my bag have IS, except for my super zoom, a Tamron 70-300mm. The big lenses are the only ones I feel that I really need it for. I know what you mean about the fringing. I recently took a picture of the sun shining through an overcast sky, through the branches of a leafless tree and where the sun is, the branches have a purple fringing. Took it out but ended up putting it back because I liked how it looked.

It gives me magical results even with my 5d classic.

Thanks for the great video! I've been looking between this and the much newer Tamron 85mm 1.8 VC. Latter is better in image quality and has IS but significantly bigger and heavier, I can quite resonate with the weight factor. In addition to the weight, I find myself shooting candid and event more which could require a higher shutter speed to freeze motion, thus making IS not as important. Would you have any thoughts or plans for a video for wider canon primes e.g. 28mm 1.8 or 35mm f2?

thanks for the very honest opinion of this lens. i've had mine (same model as yours) for years now. i've shot the L 85mm 1.2 (not the 1.4), and it has it's own unique character, but has--in my opinion--even more drawbacks than the 1.8. the 1.8 is really more versatile. again, in my opinion. in the end, i can see that you do love this lens, as do i. some of the cons (is, etc) are not a concern for me. as you touched on, if you aren't sound in the mechanics of focal length to optimal shutter speeds, then you're relying too much on technology, over experience. i shoot some vintage 85s with adapters on my 5d mk iv, so i'm used to being patient for a good shot. in relation to them, this lens holds its own. the af at that point, is a big bonus. as long as it locks on, haha. good review.

Excellent lens... I have one, plus the 28mm and the 50mm all Canon and f/1.8 EF Mount for my DSLRs. I think that camera's autofocus is better these days. All are great lenses. - May need a 105mm (or similar) macro lens if I get into doing weddings... plus possibly a long zoomie: 70-200mm or so. We'll see.

I appreciate your insight. I am thinking about buying one.

Really great video. Thank you sir. I do have the 85 prime 1.8. I love this prime lens it's great for portraits I know a couple people who have used this for weddings. It is definitely part of my portrait kit along with the 50 mm and the 24 - 105 mm. I'm having great success with all of them. I'd like to put a 35 mm and a 100 mm in there too. Your thoughts? Again great video thank you!

New video! Agree with you, the natural vignette is all fine! Would be nice to see some of your shots taken with this lens) That's my lovely range from 70 to 100mm, both on 35mm cameras or 6cm rollfilm it gives a beautiful perspective and scale relations between front and back objects

A couple of the issues you mention (nailing focus because of depth of focus & no image stabilization) I think will be a non issue for me as I plan to use one of these adapted to my Nikon Zf. I have the 50mm f1.4 and use it with an adapter and it works beautifully. The Zf's IBIS and eye-detect auto focus virtually eliminate those issues. The reason why I am using this approach (EF on Nikon mirrorless) is for the same reasons you mention, size and cost. Nikon does not have a good selection of Z mount primes that fit this description (aside for the 40mm f2 which is great). Surely the S line lenses are fantastic, but the size, weight and cost have been sacrificed on the altar of image sharpness, and I guess this just does not fit my use case. Appreciate you pointing out the weaknesses as something to adapt to and work around as opposed to reasons to reject good glass. Well done.

I have this lens and the 100 f2. They are very close in quality but I think the 100 is a little sharper wide open. I like them for portraits especially for outdoors shots. They don’t have the sterile look of some of the higher priced 85 and 100. For the money these are great. I have 5 canon lenses that shoot 100 but this is second only to the macro. Different tools for different looks.

Could you maybe add some examples? The lazy focus into the light, vignetting and all that? Just some examples of when and where it happens

Just trying to catch up with all your videos, when I should be working :D Anyway, I think it's worth mentioning for anyone wondering why the focal length/iso rule seems to have broken, but it's because cameras have such high resolution sensors, the slightest movement is amplified. Where 1/60th sec might have been fine for an 85mm with a static subject and steady hands on a 5D MKI, it's more like 1/160th sec for the same on a 5D MKIII or IV. It's one reason manufacturers started putting stabilisation into lenses and camera bodies, but I love this lens too. I still occasionally use it on my EOS 1N, which suffers no fringing at all 😉

Such a fantastic info .. I can’t afford a full frame camera , I have a Canon 80D and I love that lens .. thanks! I have a 24-105 L 85 1.8 50 1.4 24 Pancake 24 2.8

Planning to buy this lens

Vignetting brings a touch of soul and vintage, oldschool vibe, especially in not so constrasty frames.

That 85mm 1.8 is a bad boy.... Especially shooting black & white. Wooooooeeeeee! Just love mine to bits!… ✊🏿

Very interesting Roy, thank you, I am considering buying that lens. I own a 7D Mark II and of course crop factor is an issue here, so I researched that. The interesting point is, I found an article that claimed that the cop factor relates to focal length, however it does not affect the aperture. Meaning 1.8 will remain 1.8 on a crop sensor camera. I often heard that you will have to bare the crop factor in mind as far as aperture is concerned. But if you think it over, the amount of light entering the camera, considering the camera mount is the same, remains the same. I am looking forward to owning one of these. Must be fun on a 7D Mark II, Kind regards Roland

A sold mine on a couple of years ago because I didn't use it a huge amount, but I find myself wanting that 'Look' every so often when photographing journalistic and wildlife work. Might need to track down another one Pretty excellent for how cheap it is

Hi Roy, thx for the great content! Always good when you post up your experience! I quite like the look of this lens for my 5D classic but I came across the Sigma 85mm f1.4 Ex DG hsm, this lens goes back to around 2011 and I was wondering how it would compare with the canon f1.8 and if you have used the Sigma in the past? Cheers Chris.

Yay, I think I was the 5000th sub 😁

This EF85 1.8 seems like the ideal choice (along with the 50 f1.8) to pair with my newly arrived 1DS mk.3 😊 ps video idea: I’d like to see you review a 1DX mk.1 and compare its sensor output & colour palette with the 5D3 from a portrait shooter’s perspective.

Just getting into photography and really enjoying your reviews and insights! I have a 6D with a 24-105 F4 L and contemplating this prime - am I being silly? Should I just use what I have?

I have this and have no complains about it, especially for what it costs.. one of the things I like is that it shares the same size filter with 50 1.4 and the 28 1.8 for a nice trio of primes. I had the 100mm f2 before, actually traded with someone for the 85 and between the 2, I found this to be more useful even if the 100 seemed a fraction sharper

I agree about the range.. it’s the most annoying thing but like you said, take a step back and you’ll get that shot. Just takes more work

Interesting you use a prime in this day and age, as things swung firmly to zooms in the 90's...in the old days (again..sorry!!) the Domke was full of primes, usually 24mm, 35mm, 85mm & 180mm... The Nikon zooms of the era were slow and awful to use...Even the first AF zooms we got with the F4 were, like the camera, ergonomically terrible.. So I stuck with primes... Then enter Canon EOS... and their wonderful zooms... (I still have and use the 70-200). They were game changers for us and I had not used a prime lens until I got the Xpro2.. I now have 2 bodies with a 23mm & 50mm fixed permanently. I think for press work primes were of limited use, as we didn't really need very wide apertures and shallow depth of field.. what was the maxim? "F8 and be there!!" I didn't really miss the primes as zooms gave better framing.. less recropping of the neg. For me an 85 without counting the extra wight to lug around was not of any real use.. I guess it's down to personal preferences, but also the gear we were issued...

I would love to use this lens around the goal mouth area when shooting football. At 1.8 the shallow depth of field must be brilliant.

I love the EF 85 1.8. :)

I was recently going through some of my old photos. I shoot Canon and Sony A7RIII and Canon RP and R6. I have some awesome lenses. RF28-70 F2, Sigma 40, 85 and 105 1.4's But every time I came across an old photo I took with the Canon 85 1.8 I thought wow! There is just something that I really like about the look of that lens. So I went on ebay last night and bought one. I sold mine a few years ago.

Problems like the fringing are fixed by other manufacturers (Panasonic, Fujifilm) with in-camera processing. Does Canon do this for jpegs, or are you only shooting raw? I love vignetting as a way of concentrating the viewer's attention on the subject. If it isn't there I add it! Minimum handheld shutter speeds do vary with camera I find. It's the weight and the ergonomics, the way it fits your hand, the way you find yourself holding it, where the shutter button is and how much pressure it takes to trip the shutter.

I have had this lense for a couple of years on my slr and it has been amazing. And for close up portraits on my RP is also amazing. However. Shooting on an RP at 3m distance or more. On single point autofocus due to the model wearing sun glasses. It consistently front focused about a foot in front on every shot. A steep rf to ef learning curve. Next shoot will be manual af with zebra lines, or face af. The ef 50 1.4 has that issue also apparently. Yes the purple fringing is extreme at 1.8 and f2

Haha, ditto to all. My experiences are absolutely the same. This lens is sharp and fast enough to do the job without a doubt and autofocus speed is also fast enough, (unlike the 1.2). The fact you can put it in your pocket means its pretty much always with me and so gets a lot of use for indoor portraits and anything with ambient light. The downside is as you point out we use it in a difficult application otherwise we'd always be at 5.6, its by no means an easy field; if that's not enough I bump that up a bit as I've normally got it on my 5DS. Stunningly easy to handhold weightwise it can be easy to forget the ideal of a tripod with 50Mp shaking about. On the plus side speed is not usually the concern when this lens is out and switching on all silent shutter etc. functions helps a lot and in this respect the 5DS claws back some dissadvantage with is amazingly smooth shutter. I find your real world reviews always very accurate and exactly as per my experience so thankyou for taking the time to put this up. I take on board all you say at face value as your focus in speaking is really spot on. Thanks again.

has someone use this lens for video, i would like to put it on R6ii, because Canon RF 85mm f2 is not that good with autofocus. Are there some opinions about that?

85mm 1.8 has alot of back/front focus issues, sometime really hard for autofocus in high contrast scene. I'm using on 5d mark 1, so the culprit might be with the body than the lenses. It renders quite saturated and sweet color in my opinion, comparing to another 85 zeiss 85 1.4 that i have used

Thanks for the review. However for me this lens has been hell to use with my mirrorless R6 camera. It works as you say on my dslr. Autofocus and depth of field has been brutal for me. I am an event shoot. Speed build confidence. I have no confidence with this adapted

Are there any in-camera corrections for color fringing and vignetting when shooting jpeg if I wanted to adapt this to an R5?

Great to have an open-minded review here - I just bought this used to use on my M6 Mark II - we‘ll see how that works out. What IS that Doohikey on the back of your body?

I love my 85mm 1.8, but just ordered a 1.4 to replace it. (shooting video, looking for IS)

I just picked one up used for $249, I feel like people are dumping dslr and you can really build your kit with used at a decent price.

I use this lens on a crop sensor 80D (about 135 full frame eq.) and I love it when I have enough light to run high shutter speeds and enough distance to frame my subject. It's great for outdoor events because you can be a bit more incognito vs. shorter focal lengths and get nice candids. The purple and green fringing when wide open is pretty gnarly, but not too bad to pull out in post. A small price to pay for the subject separation and bokeh that results. Also the AF has been fast and accurate for me, especially compared to my 50 mm f/1.8. Really love this lens under the right conditions.

I use this lens for basketball. It's very fast, and works well at f2.8 1/1000th in the gym on my 1dx.

Love mine :-) Bought it around the same time as the first full-frame (5DMk11) I bought. Had so many compliments on portraits I have taken with it... Like you say using software ( de fringe etc ) is relatively easy to fix. BTW I love that screen viewer... any chance of a link to it for more information? Cheers Roy.

I have a question regarding the focus distance. I have a 5d classic and a 50 mm 1.8 lens. Sometimes, when I try to shoot something so close, the focus can't keep up or the auto focus can't get it correctly. Regarding that, is 85 mm better for it? I wanted to photograph closer pictures and portraits so I'm thinking a "zoomer" prime lens would do the trick without having that difficulty in auto focus as I get closer to the subject.

Hey brother, I just got a really old canon eos 1200D that my brother gave me, i really like the 85mm focal length, i use a camera from a friend with an 85mm lens and i really like it for woodland scape and for everything else lol. Do you think that that 85mm is good for my canon eos 1200D

Great video I’ve been looking at a portrait lens for the R6 I have the 24-105 f4L love that lens and a 200mm f2.8L but I’m looking for something a little shorter snd wider so I’m thinking either this 85mm 1.8 or another option was it’s bigger brother the 100mm f2 which on Chris frosts comparison shows the 100 mm to be a bit better with the colour fringing with the same crazy good sharpness have you had the 100mm version and if so what’s your thoughts between them both cheers 👍👍

I use a Canon M50 with the nifty fifty 1.8 and I’m wondering if anyone knows the comparison between image quality between this lens and the 50? The 50mm is about 89mm on the crop sensor and I really like that length but I want to get a little more light and bokeh out of that length with a speed booster and this lens has caught my eye. Thoughts?

I have a canon 50mm 1.8 prime. Its a great lens. Would like an 85mm prime but not the L lens too costly so may look at that or 1.4 or a sigma. Cant justfy £2000 For a lens. I started with 35mm film and still use it. Use a canon 50 e. With that.

is that lens fits to family pics (group of people), or only portraits?

Cant knock it for the price, when you compare to it to its 85mm F1.8 L Brother pricing. Picked mine up new for £300 many moons ago and used on the same day on another classic of the 5DMKIII (was in a very dark club where I use to watch some tribute bands and had to bump up the ISO to a ridiculous 12000 and above on some) but the photos I got from the two together still blows me away when I see them

I'm new to this, I have 50mm STM and I'm struggling to find a good reason to buy the 85mm

Please do a real world review of the 1.4

Hi this or canon 100mm f2.8 non L? Thanks :-)

Would you say this is a good lens for shooting concerts on an 800D?? What would you recommend for a inexpensive zoom lens for shooting concerts in low light??

Roy Vignettus, this should be your stage name.

Hello, can you use this lens on canon 1300d?

Is 5.6 the sweet spot of this lens?🤫

What happened to trhe examples?

I skipped this one and bought the 135mm f2 L the King of the Red Rings ;) (according to Kai Wong)

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