Canon tele face off: 85/1.8 vs 100/2 vs 135/2
I have been debating two of these lenses for my 5D mk III for a long time and actually purchase the 85 knowing that a friend would happily buy it from me if I decided it was too short. Took out a loan of the 100/2 and 135/2 from CPS and had a chance to compare all three today. Here's my report:
Images first - thoughts after the samples
Comparison shot - 85 and 100 have almost identical builds; 135 significantly larger though not heavy at all
My daughter served as model and I tried to replicate the conditions with each lens. These were shot as I would normally use each lens - no test charts here :wink As luck would have it, my daughter had on the perfect outfit to torture test purple fringing :clap
135
100
85
135
100
85
100
85
135
100
85
135
100
85
Thoughts:
85mm - bit short for my taste. most purple fringing but easily controlled in LR 4.1. Nice indoors. Feels like a 50 did on my 50D
135 - bit long for my taste. not as 'magical' as I thought it would be. not worth twice the cost of the 100/2 in my opinion. way too long indoors. was able to get a tiny bit of purple fringing out of it in one scene so this is definitely a 'class' issue - all tele primes seem to have some amount
100mm - just right :lust thought the bokeh was damn nice on it and as good as the 135 for all intents and purposes. perfect length - especially for young kids it seems there is a distance at which you are too 'in their face' and another where you are 'too far to interact with' - this seemed to lie right in the middle. I think you can see that in the expressions I got from my model. There was some purple fringing on this one - far less than the 85 (half if you use the sliders as objective measures in LR).
Hope that helps anyone else in the market for a Canon Tele-Prime. Feel free to ask any questions :ears
Images first - thoughts after the samples
Comparison shot - 85 and 100 have almost identical builds; 135 significantly larger though not heavy at all
My daughter served as model and I tried to replicate the conditions with each lens. These were shot as I would normally use each lens - no test charts here :wink As luck would have it, my daughter had on the perfect outfit to torture test purple fringing :clap
135
100
85
135
100
85
100
85
135
100
85
135
100
85
Thoughts:
85mm - bit short for my taste. most purple fringing but easily controlled in LR 4.1. Nice indoors. Feels like a 50 did on my 50D
135 - bit long for my taste. not as 'magical' as I thought it would be. not worth twice the cost of the 100/2 in my opinion. way too long indoors. was able to get a tiny bit of purple fringing out of it in one scene so this is definitely a 'class' issue - all tele primes seem to have some amount
100mm - just right :lust thought the bokeh was damn nice on it and as good as the 135 for all intents and purposes. perfect length - especially for young kids it seems there is a distance at which you are too 'in their face' and another where you are 'too far to interact with' - this seemed to lie right in the middle. I think you can see that in the expressions I got from my model. There was some purple fringing on this one - far less than the 85 (half if you use the sliders as objective measures in LR).
Hope that helps anyone else in the market for a Canon Tele-Prime. Feel free to ask any questions :ears
Eyal
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
0
Comments
Enjoy!
I was wondering about these three focal lengths, I shall take this as my answer.
By the way, I can see that my 70-200/2.8II's bokeh is noticeably busier.
This is a great "senior portrait"!
And this is ridiculously cute.
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
Do you find that teens want you to be farther away than younger kids?
No idea...I'll update the post in 10 years
I only shoot my kids and then do landscape work otherwise.
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
Your daughter is adorable.
NEW Smugmug Site
I dont know about the lenses, but your daughter is very cute! Great and fun shots. We need to do more of this!
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
The 85 is a bit harsh while the 100 is acceptable and 135 is creamy smooth.
14-24 24-70 70-200mm (vr2)
85 and 50 1.4
45 PC and sb910 x2
http://www.danielkimphotography.com
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
Nick.
my equipment: Canon 5D2, 7D, full list here
my Smugmug site: here
My site | Non-MHD Landscapes |Google+ | Twitter | Facebook | Smugmug photos
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=118&Camera=453&Sample=0&FLI=0&API=2&LensComp=674&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
An "accurate" reproduction of a scene and a good photograph are often two different things.
I agree, the 100mm f2 should be fine for portrait work