GF1 + EF 85mm f/1.8

The other day I slipped my EOS adapter and 85mm prime onto my GF1 and slipped it into my coat pocket (once again proving the size of the GF1 makes it very portable compared to my 40D). I was able to grab some manual focus shots of the kids sledding, but also this one of my parent standing atop a snowy hill. This and others were accepted for stock, which is a pleasing side note. I can't say enough about how much I'm enjoying the GF1. I wouldn't try to manually focus my 85mm on the GF1 for moving subjects, but having a telephoto (170mm f/1.8) for 'free' is great. The fact that it fits in my pocket AND that I can go sledding with it stowed there is icing on the cake :)


© Photographer: Bradcalkins

Manual focus is actually quite well done - a quick press of the dial on the back and you are looking at 5x for focus, then a tap of the shutter zips back to full screen. The only thing that would be better is if it showed a partial enlargement so you could still see the 'whole' image behind for faster framing.

I would also say that I'm not a huge fan of the out of camera jpgs, but as I shoot RAW anyways I'm pretty happy with the color on this camera. Here is an example shot with the pancake lens:


© Photographer: Bradcalkins

Perfect bokeh

A lot of talk goes on about the out of focus rendering on a lens. This is a shot I took recently with my new 85mm f/1.8 lens wide open. The OOF highlights are perfectly round - something you don't see in many lenses... I often wonder why not, since the blades themselves aren't even in the picture.




Then, there is the new Panasonic GF1. While I admit I love the out of focus rendering, it doesn't come close to circular blur wide open except in the centre of the frame (taken with the 20mm pancake set to f/1.7):

85mm f/1.8 Canon prime lens

After sort of moving to zoom lenses for most of my work, and only the 60mm macro as a prime, I rented the 85mm f/1.2 recently. While this lens is very much beyond any kind of reasonable price that I could ever justify, it got me interested in both primes, and the focal length again. I liked the ability to be a bit further away and get less in focus compared to my 60mm.

As well, when comparing the 135mm f/2 and the 85mm f/1.8 the depth of field difference was there, but not something I thought I would notice a lot if framed right. As well, when I rented the 135mm I found it nice, but a bit long for most use on a crop sensor camera. At the same time, I became convinced I would appreciate the 35mm f/1.4 L lens as well, but couldn't justify it, either. As mentioned previously, I ended up deciding on the GF1 instead of the prime lens - and I've been happy with that decision.

Then I found a refurbished 85mm f/1.8 and decided to give it a go. Since the alternative at 85mm in the Canon lineup is so outrageous, and even the 'cheap' 135mm is three times the price, I'm happy to have found a decent prime lens that should get some use. Here is a recent stock image taken with this lens. I like the out of focus background, and even her ears are showing some blurring at f/2...



One thing I haven't quite understood with primes is that they often seem to have poor results in tests wide open. One wonders why you would pay for such a lens over a zoom if you "can't" even shoot wide open with it. And there is the problem - the reviewers often ask the wrong question. They are asking how well does it perform taking shots of a black and white, high contrast target in bright light - what they get is a bunch of CA and fringing, and general lack of contrast. If you actually take such a lens and shoot in the kinds of conditions where you want a fast lens, you find that it performs admirably. Hence why there are so many reviews that primes aren't great, not sharp wide open, and then a whole bunch of people using it for professional use and swearing by it. You need to actually use it to rate it! How often will I shoot back lit leaves with this lens wide open? Never! How many wedding shots are blurry, slightly soft, but absolutely loved because they captured the emotion?