Sudden obsession with Canon FD 85mm 1.2L....owners please comment

[dirk_dom1]

<p>Hi! I had the 100mm f/2 and thought it was an incredible lens. Then i got the 85mm f/2. I haven't used the 100 anymore, not even a single shot.<br /> I now shoot it on an Olympus PEN (micro four thirds) I focus extremely accurately by magnifying the viewfinder image.<br /> I shoot a lot of medium format and the bokeh of the 85mm is - well - medium format.<br /> The 135mm f/2 is also fantastic in the bokeh aspect. <br /> <br /> But let's get your GAS on the move and have some photographs!</p><div></div>

[dirk_dom1]

<p>The 85mm f/1.2 is an awesome macro lens. Lens imperfections? I couldn't care less.<br>

Here's one taken with the 85mm and a 25mm extension tube:</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

[dirk_dom1]

<p>Here's a last one:</p><div></div>

[dirk_dom1]

<p>Just to show you how good this lens is, here's a shot at f/16, 25mm extension tube:</p>

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[alan_swartz]

<p>I have to chime back in after the discussion concerning the feel of a great film body with the 85/1.2L.</p>

<p>Absolutely!</p>

<p>You're talking about a great lens here that also feels great. It's big and it's heavy and its huge front element smiles at you. Its red racing stripe makes you feel like you bought a supercar and its silky focus is like a fine gear selector.</p>

<p>I'm a T90 fan, but to me, that lens feels like the perfect engine/transmission match when mounted on a New F-1. Solid, powerful, well-machined, precision instruments. The perfect shutter sound of that body makes the lens even better.</p>

<p>Enough industrial poetry. Enjoy the lens!</p>

<p>Dirk, your macro shot immediately above is one of very few I see that appears surgically sharp to me on the monitor. Well done, technically speaking, and a pleasing photo as well.</p>

[User_4136860]

<p>I bought a Canon FD 85mm f1.2L lens new about 26 years ago and it cost an arm and a leg as you can imagine much more than I could comfortably afford at the time. but I'm a very keen portrait photographer and over the years it's been worth it's weight in gold and must be one of the greatest 85mm lenses ever made by any company.</p>

[mel_snyder4]

<p>I totally agree. Back in the early 1990s, a client assignment let me write this lens off - and I looked at longingly all through the digital era, almost selling it for peanuts when I was cash-strapped - but like my 3 M-mount Leica lenses, could not get enough to justify selling them.<br>

And then came Sony mirrorless cameras - and this lens, and others, were reborn.<br>

It is ridiculously heavy - 24 ounces - a pound and a half. But it is incredibly sharp, even wide open, although wide open it does display some chroma around bright lights against the night.<br>

It is so sharp and contrasty that it focuses almost as fast and precisely on Sony cameras as if it was AF. It mad makes it easier to hand hold at low shutter speeds than lighter lenses.</p>

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[mel_snyder4]

<p>Here's an in-line sized image</p><div></div>

[mwmcbroom]

<p>I agree that the Canon 85mm f/1.2 L is an awesome lens, but there was a forerunner to it, you know. A lens that "those in the know" often consider to be even better than the 85mm f/1.2 L. It's the FD 85mm f/1.2 SSC Aspherical, a breechlock lens made in the 70s. One reason most often cited for its greater desirability is it has nine iris blades compared to all of the 1.2 L's having 8, rendering somewhat smoother bokeh when the lens is stopped down somewhat, I suppose. Here's a shot of mine hooked up to one of my Canon F-1s. I have a Winder and a Booster T Finder installed for this shot, the latter being quite apropos, given the low-light capabilities of this lens:</p>

<p><img src="http://michaelmcbroom.com/images/f1_booster_t_85asph_c.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="799" /></p>

<p>Late yesterday afternoon, I took my 85mm Aspherical out to see what I could find worth shooting. I found a hibiscus plant with a bloom and a bud. The bloom first, and then the bud.<br>

<img src="http://michaelmcbroom.com/images/DSC00789_hibiscus_canon_85_14_1b.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<img src="http://michaelmcbroom.com/images/DSC00792_hibiscus_bud_canon_85_14_1b.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Following are some film shots I took with this lens. The event was a Civil War reenactment, held in Galveston, Texas. I just got shots of the encampments with the 85mm. When the "fighting" broke out, I was shooting with my Bronica ETRSi.</p>

<p>Canon F-1, Velvia 50. For the first shot, I didn't record the aperture setting, but if I had to guess I'd say about f/2.0 or so. Second shot's probably f/8 or so. Scanned using a dupe rig I cobbled together so I could shoot duplicates with my DSLR.<br>

<img src="http://michaelmcbroom.com/images/gfc/confederatecamp6.jpg" alt="" /><br>

<img src="http://michaelmcbroom.com/images/gfc/unioncamp1.jpg" alt="" width="673" height="1000" /></p>

 

[pensacolaphoto]

<p>My two favorite lenses are the FD 85/1.2L and the Zeiss 85/1.4. Each has some advantages. </p>

[mel_snyder4]

<p>I've been running some tests between the 85mm f2 Nikkor AiS and the FD 85mm f1.2L on my Sony A7. I've concluded that the 1.2L is a slightly sharper and contrasty-er lens - a bit disappointing because now I will feel obligated to carry it and use it more often. At 24 ounces it is a big mamma. I need to re-test my Leica 90mm f2.8 Tele-Elmarit. A preliminary test against the Nikkor was not good, and that surprised me mightily, because it was killer-sharp on my NEX-6.<br>

If you have concluded I'm a sucker for 85mm lenses, you are right. I have owned the Tele-Elmarit since 1983, and the 1.2L since 1990 (or so). I bought the 85mm Nikkor in mint-mint condition with a like-new shade for $50 on Craig's List, and the 105mm f2.5 AiS - a lens I have lusted after since college graduation in 1960 - for $100 in similarly mint condition. Been using the 85mm f2 Nikkor for video on the A7 and a rented A7II. Stripping my travel kit down to accommodate the 1.2L.</p>