Photo Comparisons of the 50mm 1.8 and the 85mm 1.2 Lens

Awhile back I did a comparison of lenses.  When I did the comparison I honestly had no idea what the results would be but I really wanted to know how much the lens matter.  When I did my test I concluded that a better lens on a crop sensor body makes a big impact, but a cheaper lens on a full frame sensor doesn’t have a lot of difference between it and a nicer lens.  Like.. my crop sensor + nice lens photos were similar to my full frame sensor + nice lens photos.
Then one night I was taking some photos and I started on my 50 then switched to the 85.  When I went to cull the photos, I could noticably tell when I switched lenses so now I am coming to realize that the lens does make a noticeable difference.  Although, that said, I still fell confident and comfortable using my 50mm.. so I don’t think my photos are doomed or anything if I use it ;).
Anyway I just thought I would show the photo comparison from 50mm to 85mm so you can see what I mean!

So this is where I noticed the quality difference.. on the top is the 50mm and on the bottom is the 85mm.  These are SOOC.. I do think I could edit the one on the top to  look a little more 3D and give it more pow but SOOC you can tell that the 85 has the advantage.

_____

Now these next photos (below) are both from the 50 MM.  It’s the same photo.  The photo on the top is SOOC and the photo on the bottom is edited.  The photo on the very bottom (third one down) is from the 85mm however, it has an advantage/difference because it was shot at f/2.2 and these were shot at f/3.2.  So while it does have more bokeh, you need to take that into account :).

{The above photos are from the 50mm, taken at f/3.2 with unedited and edited examples and below is a similar angle from the 85mm taken at f/2.2}.

^85mm SOOC.

So there you have it.  My conclusions?  The 85mm 1.2 is better.. (I should dang well hope so for the massive price difference) ;).  BUT the 50mm is still pretty amazing and doesn’t embarrass side-by-side comparisons.  If the lens were horrible or significantly inferior, it would be much more obvious.. like in the blog post I link to earlier in the page.. when you compare the kit lens to even the 50mm, it doesn’t stand a chance.  The kit lens is hands-down awful and it is very obvious when you compare the photos (noteL  if you are shooting with the kit lens – the lens that came with your camera – quickly invest in the 50mm 1.8!).  Even though I have an L lens at my disposal I don’t hesitate to use my 50mm when necessary.  I do think the difference between lenses is a lot less noticeable on a full frame sensor, though, and that is important to note.  On a crop sensor the difference between lenses is much  more obvious (these were all taken on a full frame sensor).  So, to reiterate, if you are on a crop sensor, investing in a nicer lens will have more impact for you!  However, you can and should be able to get great photos off your 50mm on a crop sensor too.  I get much better photos off my T2i (crop sensor camera) + 50mm lens now than I did 2 years ago.. the equipment is the same but I just know a lot more now and can use them better.

At the end of the day you can have the best or worst equipment but if you know how to use them (or don’t know how to use them) the equipment won’t do much for you.  I remember the day I got my full frame sensor camera and while I did notice a change in quality, I was disappointed that my photos weren’t instantly and magically like the esteemed photographers whom I so admire.  That takes a lot of time and lot of practice to get to.. there are 5 million things that go into a great photo and equipment is a mere fraction of the equation.  (That was a disappointing realization, haha, but I am proud that when I produce great photos it’s because of my knowledge and not my camera and makes me admire talented photographers that much more 🙂 ).

Anyway, I did most of these “sleeping toddler” photos on the 50mm.  If you’d like to see the full blog post click here.  All of them except the last 2 are from the 50mm.  You should be able to get great photos on your 50 and if you aren’t, it isn’t the lens, my friends.  A nice lens is always nice to have and I strongly believe in giving your photos every edge possible, especially  if you are a professional who charges people for them.  So my advice is work towards getting a nice lens but in the mean time, it isn’t essential to have one.  Keep learning, growing, practicing, and doing what you can with what you have.. you’ll keep improving and gain knowledge so that when you do get the equipment you want, you will be able to make the most of it.  I’ve had my L lens for almost 2 years and I’m just recently starting to get where I’ve wanted to be since I started on my photography journey!

Welp I am stepping off the soapbox now!  haha.  I hope this blog post helps people to decide if they want to invest in a more expensive lens or not!

-Christine Ann
Duluth Family Photographer

Photos From 85mm 1.2L Lens.

Which lens you decide to use on your camera has a big impact on how the photo turns out. A big contendor in the photography world for people who are very invested in photography is the 85mm 1.2L lens by Canon. This is the first professional level lens I invested in and I am very fond of it :).
The first thing you have to decide when picking a lens is if you want a prime lens (does not zoom in and out) or a zoom lens (has a range of how close or far you can get to the subject by rotating the lens to zoom in and out). THere are advantages and disadvantages to each (perhaps a future blog post topic 🙂 ) but one of the best and most noteworthy features of the 85mm 1.2 lens is that the aperture can reach .. *drumroll* .. f/1.2! The lowest number you usually see on a zoom lens is f/2.8 so this is quite a big difference on the prime, however you do lose the ability to zoom in and out. The f/1.2 is amazing for when you want to get as much light into the camera as possible and also if you want a very small depth of field (meaning only one thing will be sharply in focus and everything else will be blurred).
The f/1.2 is so sensitive that on my full frame sensor camera body (how far 1.2 takes you depends on a handful of factors including your camera body), if I focus on someone’s nose, their eye will be out of focus. It’s a very very narrow depth of field and very unforgiving for in focus images! There is a learning curve to harnessing this power. I would not recommend using any new equipment at a shoot that you haven’t practiced with in advance. YOu will probably get some out of focus images when you start out with this lens. I try not to go to 1.2 anymore, personally. f/2 or higher is usually ideal but if there is low light or if I want a certain look I will bump it down lower.

Anyway, I wanted to make a blog post showing image examples of photos taken on the 85mm f/1.2L lens so people could take a look and maybe it could help people make more informed purchasing decisions.

I do need to explain that I reduced the image size significantly to post to the web. Standard web size is 900×600.. the originals are around 3800×5700 so they don’t reflect the same quality as they do out of the camera but I hope it gives a good idea.. especially since the originals are better :). If you would like to see a full resolution version of anything just ask in the comments! I am happy to post!

Anyway, without further ado….

^f/3.5

^f/2.8

^f/1.8

^f/1.2 – wide open!

f/1.8

^f/1.4 – close to wide open :)! If you’re shooting this low you must nail the focus spot!

^f/2.5

f/1.4. I was able to take a photo with one fairly dim light on @ 1.4.. this low aperture also created a very nice bokeh effect on the Christmas tree.

^f/1.8 (This lens is great for Christmas lights!).

^f/2

^f/1.8

f/1.6. Notice how narrow the focus is.. the arm is in focus and his entire body is blurred.. there’s about a foot between what is in focus and what isn’t. If the aperture were higher (around f/4+) the arm and body would both be in focus.

^f/1.8

f/1.8. Loving how blurred the background is! Notice how even the front of the scarf is blurred.. 1.8 is not a very large depth of field.

f/1.8

^Here’s one at f/1.2 – this is as low as it can go. I am going to do another blog post soon zooming in so you can see the eyes are in focus but even the nose is out of focus. It still looks okay zoomed out but if you zoom in you’ll see how sensitive the focus is.

^f/2.8

^Wide open at f/1.2. To do this shot over I would have used a higher aperture since her hair is blurred out but I still love this photo :).

^Another photo taken at f/1.2. I’m trying to include a lot at 1.2 since a lot of people are curious about what photos like at that aperture.

f/1.8 portrait

^f/1.4

^Here’s a shot taken at a higher aperture of f/4. As youc an see.. still plenty of lovely bokeh :).

^f/2.2

^f/2.2

f/2

^f/2.2

^This is a full res version of an image taken at f/1.2 – click on it to see full detail.

To see zoomed in versions of the photos to see how the depth of field looks up close at f/1.2 check out this article.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask!

-Christine Ann
Duluth MN Senior and Family Photographer Website
Duluth Photographer Blog
Duluth Senior and Family Photographer Facebook Account