Opinions on the 85mm f1.4 IS?

Dpreview's sample gallery is up.

I'm not sure if I should feel tempted by that lens. - Clarifying: I have the 70-200/2.8 IS. Close focusing distance isn't really short enough to substitute a short portrait lens + it is bulky and yes, I run out of light all the time, so an IS lens would be a must have and the f1.8 less tempting.

I'm not sure what to think about the idea of a fast 85mm in general. - Will I be able to occasionally nail focus wide open? What are others' experiences and hit rates with the f1.2? - If everybody else shoots at f5.6 to 11 too, I could figure out how to carry light stands and stick to Leica. - Seriously: If somebody thinks focusing anything faster than the 100/2.8 IS most likely won't work out anyhow, please let me know, it 'll save me 300g and 800 Euro...

Thanks in advance!

I'm not sure what to think about the idea of a fast 85mm in general. - Will I be able to occasionally nail focus wide open?

Yes, of course

What are others' experiences and hit rates with the f1.2?

85/1.2 has slow AF. 85/1.4 I am sure will be faster

If everybody else shoots at f5.6 to 11 too, I could figure out how to carry light stands and stick to Leica. - Seriously: If somebody thinks focusing anything faster than the 100/2.8 IS most likely won't work out anyhow, please let me know, it 'll save me 300g and 800 Euro...

I'm confident this will be a good lens with fast accurate AF, and will have beautiful bokeh and shallow depth of field. So, very nice for headshot portraits. As to whether it is better to have than the 100mm f2.8 L, only you can decide that. There are pros and cons. 85.1.4: heavier much more expensive, but is f1.4 fast. 100mm very light, much cheaper, longer reach and macro, but only f2.8

I am using the SIGMA f/1.4 Art - What I found that surprised me was how much depth of field there is on this lens very wide open. I would imagine similar results with the Canon and the addition of IS too is pretty nice option for the Canon lens..

Here is an example of f/1.4 at night of a street musician near Time Square. Shot at probably 10+ to 20' feet away. Heavily cropped. 1/250th second. I probably could have shot at a slower speed, but it was around 1am. I imagine IS could have let me shoot slower too and drop the ISO lower than ISO2500.

I have but seldom us the 85 1.2L II. Couldn't imagine need IS on a lens this fast. It is ALL about clarity and beauty so why mess that up with IS? It is by not means a fast lens not designed to be. When you are focusing on anything at 1.4, 1.2 you can not depend on auto-focus. the DOF is so razor thin you must use your eyes to focus (autofous will focus on something but rarely what you want it to). Basically, if you are going for fast primes don't think of IS or autofocus.

My favorite lens of portrait work by far is my 70-200 F2.8 IS II. I prefer it over the 85 1.2L as it is so much more versatile. They both blur background beautifully, but nothing looks as smooth as the 70-200 when shot close to subject 1.5m @ 200 zoom and f2.8. It is also way way faster than the 85 1.2L and more reliable in that 2.8 is more forgiving that 1.4, 1.2. I would even consider the 85 1.8 I already have the 50 1.8 which is super sharp.