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100 in 100/IV: Canon 85mm f/1.8 USM

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100 photo product profiles in 100 days: Day 7

By Mason Resnick

March 17, 2009

For more tips, go to the 100 in 100 Part IV Homepage

For our second week of 100 in 100 Part IV, we begin a multi-week series that focuses on gear that's especially well-suited for portrait photography. This week we a look at portrait-friendly lenses.

One of the most popular lenses in Canon's impressive line of optics, the 85mm f/1.8 USM is a classic portrait lens, and an excellent companion to full-frame sensor-based DSLRs such as the Canon EOS 5D Mark II. Lightweight and relatively inexpensive, the lens has an 8-blade aperture, a quiet and fast USM autofocus motor, and offers pleasing backround blur.

While the 85mm f/1.8 is designed for use on film and 35mm-sized sensor DSLRs, it can also be used on Canon's APS-sensor cameras such as the EOS 50D and the Digital Rebel STi as a 125mm (35mm equivalent) lens.

The 85mm f/1.8 is mostly used as a portrait lens, and is the ideal length for this both in the studio and outside. However, it is also used for low-light candid photography thanks to its wide-open aperture. Reports are that even at its widest aperture, this lens produces sharp images with pleasing focus fall-off. It focuses down to 2.8 feet--more than adequate for facial close-ups. The front elements does not rotate during focusing, which means filters whose placement is critical, such as polarizers and graduated filters.

The 85mm f/1.8 is often compared with the Canon 100mm f/2 USM, another relatively inexpensive lens that is optically similar to the 85. The only downside to the 85mm f/1.8 is that a lens hood is not included and has to be purchased separately. To avoid flare, it is worth buying a lens hood.