Undecided between 85mm f1.2 mk2 and 70-200mm f2.8 mk2

[Exhaust]

Hi Guys, i had the intention of purchasing the 85mm f1.2 mk2 to use for portraits and events such as weddings (to be able to shoot from far and under low light situations). But recently i've encountered events whereby it is really difficult to 'walk-around' with prime lens that is of a focal range longer than 50mm. The 70-200 would make it a more versatile lens but my worry is that at f2.8 i may not be able to take in enough light during indoor events, and my flash would not be able to hit the subject at that distance, unless i were to direct flash my subjects which may make the lightings on my subject too harsh.

I need some advice from you guys... i am mainly intending to use either the 85mm or 70-200mm for portraits and events.

 

[esoeij]

If your subject is 'too far' for your flash, then 85mm focal length is probably already too short n you r better off with a longer prime or the tele zoom.

For FF, F2.8 is ok for indoor if the lighting is reasonably alright, can get decent shutter speed if u use high ISO.

The 85L is great for low light, but dun forget at F1.2, the DOF is very very shallow.

 

[raydio]

I would get the 70-200 f/2.8 first and then work towards getting the 85 f/1.8 at a later time. The only reason I would go this way is because of the versatility of the zoom. Both are great lenses, but the 70-200 would be used (by me) far more often than the 85. The 85 works best as a portrait lens and would in my opinion be very limited as an event lens. The 70-200 on the other hand works best as an events lens and can still be used fairly well as a portrait lens.

 

[cmpunkftw]

Hi TS,

Have you ever considered the 135L? It is good for events if you need the reach. IMO flash will make it less discrete and will make the image appear unnatural.

70-200 2.8IS may be too heavy and 2.8 may not be enough unless your are using 5D2 or 1D4.

 

[Exhaust]

Thanks guys for the prompt reply.

I ever considered the 135L but without IS i am worried i may not have a high enough shutter speed when capturing indoor events and thus would observe camera shake. Also, i tend not to tune my ISO too high as i had an incident which i tried shooting at iso3200, the editing process after that nearly killed me lolx. Hence i do not shoot anything higher than ISO1600 now.

I am using a 1D3 btw.

Raydio, i totally agree with you about the 70-200mm being more versatile and probably more usable for most events. Maybe i should search Flickr for portraits done using the 70-200 =)

 

[Kiwira]

70-200 II

it takes in way more light, and dude, your 2nd mark's iso's already a plus, won't need flash unless you know what you're doing.. =w=

the use of the 85 II is too limited, and it's slow, get the superior Sigma's 85 at 1/3 the price

 

[Anson]

I used both 85 & 70-200F2.8IS for my commissioned event coverage, however depending the nature of my job scope and requirement would varies if I am using a prime or zoom. Typically if I am the official pg I would need to grab that shot and I may not have time to change my lens or grab my second body in event hence a zoom is mostly preferred. If I am doing media work that do not require to perform min-min coverage, most likely a prime would be preferred as I just need the key shots.Example of stage shots using the two lenses:


Taken with 70-200F2.8IS

Taken with 85

 

[gundamseed84]

Relying on big apertures for low light situation may not work all the time. Anyway to me the answer is obvious, 70-200 is the choice between the two. You don't need 85L to take good portraits, and since you are not used to primes for events, no point getting L/ non L, f1.2/f12 if you cannot even nail down good shots.

I think instead of spending the money on new lens whereby you may not use their widest aperture for events, why not use the money to get a good 2nd hand copy of 5D2 which gives good quality photos at high ISO? Again depends on what are the lenses you have currently.

 

[neech7]

What you want is not a f/1.2 maximum aperture lens. What you want is a body that can produce clean ISO 51,200 (and beyond) shots, coupled with a lens that has great IS, plus super fast and accurate AF. In other words, the 1D-X (hopefully) and the 70-200 II.

That just might put Gary Fong out of business.

 

[rhema83]

What you want is not a f/1.2 maximum aperture lens. What you want is a body that can produce clean ISO 51,200 (and beyond) shots, coupled with a lens that has great IS, plus super fast and accurate AF. In other words, the 1D-X (hopefully) and the 70-200 II.

That just might put Gary Fong out of business.

Agreed. People tend to move at events, so the very thin DOF of a large aperture lens may work against you instead. A body that can produce very clean high-ISO images is what you want. So yeah, second that 1D-X + 70-200 f/2.8L IS II.

 

[sinned79]

weight is an issue for me, so i go for 85mm instead. that way i can move around fast also without feeling the weight lugging me down.

but that's just me.

 

[mamypoko]

I shoot with an 85 and a 120-300, both mainly for sports (marathons, triathlons).

85 is very useful in the early morning to take in as much light as possible. But of course if you have bad light no matter what you do your shot won't look good.

120-300 is useful for its range, sometimes I miss a shot at 300 and just zoom back to 120 and can still sneak in a capture. The only problem is the weight.

AF for the 85 is slower than my zoom (the canon 70-200 will be much, much faster) but I solved the problem by changing the focusing screen in my 1D to the Ec-S screen so that manual focusing is much easier.

Personally if you use flash the 70-200 would be a better choice, if you're afraid your flash won't reach far enough just maintain zoom range between 70mm to 100mm. For available light I would choose the 85 although the learning curve is much steeper.

 

[Exhaust]

I used both 85 & 70-200F2.8IS for my commissioned event coverage, however depending the nature of my job scope and requirement would varies if I am using a prime or zoom. Typically if I am the official pg I would need to grab that shot and I may not have time to change my lens or grab my second body in event hence a zoom is mostly preferred. If I am doing media work that do not require to perform min-min coverage, most likely a prime would be preferred as I just need the key shots.Example of stage shots using the two lenses:

Taken with 70-200F2.8IS


Taken with 85

The contrast of the 85mm looks really nice

 

[Exhaust]

Agreed. People tend to move at events, so the very thin DOF of a large aperture lens may work against you instead. A body that can produce very clean high-ISO images is what you want. So yeah, second that 1D-X + 70-200 f/2.8L IS II.

wa u guys talk like canon is coming up with a warehouse sale where the 1DX is cheap and affordable hahaha

 

[Anson]

The contrast of the 85mm looks really nice

Both are taken without a flash. My guess is EOY had a better stage lighting setup than Catz... haha

 

[rhino123]

Get the 70-200mm f2.8L, it is a more versatile... and use flash. Don't be shy in using flash.

 

[gundamseed84]

wa u guys talk like canon is coming up with a warehouse sale where the 1DX is cheap and affordable hahaha

They forgot there is a thing call "Money budget". Again maybe TS has no budget.

 

[rhema83]

wa u guys talk like canon is coming up with a warehouse sale where the 1DX is cheap and affordable hahaha

Sorry we made a few assumptions about your budget when you talked about buying the 85mm f/1.2L II. That is IMHO the most literal "luxury" lens in the EF line-up that Canon made just because it can. Like the Honda NR750 bike or the Ferrari Enzo.

Anyway "back to reality", it is indeed not very economical to buy a high end body which depreciates very fast compared to high quality lenses. But the 1D X might allow you to use cheaper, lighter but slightly slower lenses (85 f/1.8, 70-200 f/4L IS, etc). There are always tradeoffs.

 

[IsenGrim]

I use a 135 in a ballroom on a crop body sometimes, and the flash from my 580ex always reaches them. I can't see why yours won't...

Whether walking around with a prime is hard, really depends on perception. In a really cramp ballroom, I can just plant myself in 1 spot, put on my 135 and just start shooting while faning around. I don't even need to walk...

And i'd take a prime over a zoom anyday.

If i have 3000$, I will buy a 24f1.4 + 85f1.8
But if i have to choose between 85f1.2 vs 70-200f2.8, I'd take the 85f1.2

 

[m3lv1nh0]

Personally, I sold the 85LII and got myself a Sigma 851.4 & a 70-200MK2.8 II IS. Both have different usage. For Weddings, the 851.4 is always on one of my bodies. I use the 70-200 only for pre-weddings & outdoor events. 85LII, has amazing bokeh but is just too slow for events.