Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Interchangeable Lens Review

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM Handling and features

Weighing around 425g, you can tell there is a fair bit of glass inside this lens, thanks to the fast f/1.8 maximum aperture. Still it isn't overly heavy and the lens balances extremely well on the Canon EOS 5D Mark II used for testing. The lens barrel is constructed mostly from high quality plastics and the lens mount is metal. Build quality overall is very good. It may not be up to the weather sealed standards of Canon's 'L' series lenses, but it is certainly good enough for most people's requirements.

Filters can be attached via the 58mm filter ring. As focusing is performed internally, this filter ring does not rotate during use, making this lens ideal for use with graduated and polarising filters. Autofocus is very quick and finds a subject without hunting under a wide range of conditions. Manual adjustments to focus can be made at any time thanks to the ultrasonic focusing motor and the manual focus ring is well damped making it a pleasure to use. The minimum focus distance of 85cm is typical of lenses of this focal length and aperture, which may be a little too far away for frame filling close ups of smaller objects, but is perfectly suited for portraiture.

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