Canon's 85mm f/1.2L lens is one of the most legendary lenses ever created and has been in the hands of countless portrait photographers for a few decades now. In the meantime, the company has developed some other remarkable lenses that give the 85mm a run for its money. So, can it be dethroned? This great video review compares two of Canon's best lenses to answer that question.
Coming to you from Irene Rudnyk, this awesome video review compares the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM and RF 28-70mm f/2 L USM lenses. In its five iterations, the 85mm f/1.2L has been one of the most respected and popular portrait lenses out there, offering professional-level image quality along with jaw-dropping bokeh and ultra-thin depth of field. The latest version for the RF mount has been particularly highly reviewed, vastly improving wide-open sharpness and autofocus performance. All that being said, the 28-70mm f/2L has rewritten the paradigm of zoom lenses, offering an extremely wide aperture and prime level performance, and it has quickly become my go-to lens, essentially living on my EOS R5. Both are quite impressive, and you will likely be happy with either lens. Check out the video above for Rudnyk's full thoughts.
I am unclear why anyone would prefer the 28-70mm f2.0 over the 24-70mm f2.8 and a 85mm f1.8.
28mm is way too long for a trans standard zoom lens meaning that it will need to come for a wide when you want to use it in situations where zoom lenses are used.
Besides, however good the 28-70mm f2.8 is isn’t nowhere close à dedicated 85mm f1.8 that will offer much better boleh, in particular oof highlights that are plain awful on the 28-70mm f2.0 due to the old grinding technique used by Canon for aspherical glass elements.
Photos made with the 28-70mm f2.0 looked phenomenal in the video, as did those made with the 85 f1.2. Each has some advantages. They are obviously both great lenses. Neither lens is inherently better. The decisive factor is what the photographer wants to achieve.
I will save you 17 min... the Canon 85mm f1.2 is hands down the best lens I have ever used its pure magic.
I was using a 24-70 f2 the other week. That thing is a TANK!