Overview of CANON LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 ULTRASONIC

Many thanks to Igor for providing the CANON LENS EF 85mm 1:1.8 ULTRASONIC (USM) lens .

Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is a stunning lens, affordable, and produces stunning images. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is a short telephoto, classic portrait lens, and a fast prime lens that fits all Canon EOS DSLR cameras . This lens is a full-frame camera lens, as evidenced by the "EF" designation. The optical design of the lens consists of 9 elements in 7 groups, with no unique elements.

Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

On Canon APS-C cameras, k=1.6x equivalent focal length is equivalent to 136mm , and on Canon APS-H cameras, k=1.3x equivalent focal length is equivalent to 110.5mm . The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM remains a wonderful portrait lens on both crop and full-frame cameras; you can buy it with confidence without worrying about upgrading from crop to full-frame.

Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM has a built-in ultrasonic focusing motor – Ultra Sonic Motor . Focusing is very fast . The lens focuses very quickly from infinity to maximum focus and back. Focusing accuracy is highly dependent on the camera and shooting conditions. When working with the lens, I did not find any focusing issues with the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. The lens has completely internal focusing – neither the front nor rear element moves when turning the focusing ring. The front filter diameter is 58mm.

Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

The lens has an AF/MF focus mode switch . In manual focus mode, the focus ring rotates only 90 degrees when in the active position. When reaching the limit, the focus ring simply begins to slide. The minimum focusing distance is 85 cm , which is quite normal. The lens has a focusing distance scale in meters and feet, as well as a depth of field scale, but only at f/22. There is also a red dot for focusing when shooting in the infrared spectrum. The focus ring rotates smoothly, and the focus ring itself is rubberized and conveniently located on the lens.

Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

The lens's aperture ranges from f /1.8 to f/22 . F/1.8 is considered sufficient for low-light conditions, but due to the long focal length and the lack of image stabilization, it's highly recommended to keep the shutter speed below 1/80th of a second when handheld. For more details, see the section on handheld photography . The difference between f/1.8 and f/1.2 apertures in the more expensive Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM is a whopping 2.25x, which is quite noticeable for a number of applications.

Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

The number of diaphragm blades is 8 pieces, this allows you to form fairly smooth discs in the out-of-focus area and create a pleasant bokeh. The bokeh deserves special attention, as it is very pleasant and smooth.

On the lens you can find the inscription Canon Lens Made in Japan, Canon Lens EF 85mm 1:1.8 Ultra Sonic , which adds confidence in the good build quality.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm 1:1.8G IF SWM and Canon LENS EF 85mm 1:1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

Image quality using Canon EF 85mm 1: 1.8 USM

I can only judge the lens's image quality when used on cropped-sensor cameras, such as the Canon 400D and Canon 1100D . When used with the cropped aperture, the lens exhibits a complete absence of distortion and vignetting. The lens is quite sharp, even at f/1.8. As the aperture is stopped down, sharpness increases until it reaches the diffraction threshold. Color rendition is neutral, the lens produces contrasty images, and handles backlighting and side light well. The lens's only weakness is chromatic aberrations at wide apertures, particularly fringing. Fringing is a purple fringe at the edges of high-contrast elements in the frame, such as near the sun's reflection in water. Overall, the image quality is excellent.

Example photo on a Canon EF 85mm 1: 1.8 USM. Halos.

Competitors

Canon has a very interesting approach. Among the classic 85mm portrait lenses, as of 2012, there are only three: the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2 L USM, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM , and the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. The first two are very similar and cost approximately five times more than the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. This means you have to choose either a very expensive portrait lens or the relatively inexpensive Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM. An alternative is something in the middle, such as the Sigma AF 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM. Nikon has a more interesting situation: there are four different lenses, each with different price and functionality, giving you plenty to choose from.

In any case, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is a simply wonderful lens, with excellent aperture , design, and price. If you're on a budget, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is a real panacea. Many photographers are faced with the choice of a portrait lens with a crop factor, and they often turn to the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM and the Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II —these are good options that are more convenient for cropping. However, the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM blurs the background and foreground much more strongly for portrait photography, allowing you to stand further away from your subject than with a 50mm f/1.8 USM, making it easier to communicate with your subject. I recommend the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM.

A quick comparison with a similar Nikon lens, the Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor : Both lenses, the Nikon 85mm f/1.8D AF Nikkor and the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM, belong to the same class and price range. The Nikkor has a slightly larger front element diameter and looks more beautiful on the camera. Both lenses demonstrate excellent performance, but I want to note that I liked the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM much better than the Nikkor in terms of image quality when used with a crop sensor, and the Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM focuses more than twice as fast as the Nikkor. Here's an example of a pair of handheld shots taken with these two lenses.

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 85mm 1:1.8G IF SWM and Canon LENS EF 85mm 1:1.8 ULTRASONIC USM

Sample photos on Canon EF 85mm f / 1.8 USM

All sample photos were taken with Canon 400D and Canon 1100D cameras and a Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM lens using a Digi-Optic 58mm UV protective filter . All photos were shot in RAW format , converted to JPEG using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom's Auto Levels, downsampled to 3MP, and embedded with EXIF ​​data.

Personal experience

The Canon EF 85mm f / 1.8 USM is a lens you don't want to take off your camera. It is light enough, compact, fast and very fast, and even full frame. I really like the high-aperture 85mm lenses, they can shoot a lot of creative ideas, they wonderfully blur the far and foreground, and on the crop they work like short telephoto lenses.

Lens prices in popular stores can look at this link, or in the price block below:
All Canon EF 85mm f / 1.8 USM prices

All autofocus 85s

Choosing a good 85mm portrait lens is very important for a large number of photographers. I pay a lot of attention to this issue, therefore I have prepared this list of all such autofocus lenses for full frame cameras with F <= 2 and a focal length of about 85 mm.

Nikon (F, Z mounts)

1. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.8 AF Nikkor [December 1987]
2. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.8D AF Nikkor [March 1994, Thailand/Japan]
3. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.4D AF Nikkor [November 1995]
4. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.4GN AF-S Nikkor SWM IF Nano Crystal Coat [August 2010]
5. Nikon 85mm 1: 1.8G AF-S IF SWM Nikkor [January 2012]
6. Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm 1: 1.8 S [July 2019]
7. Nikon Nikkor Z 85mm 1: 1.2 S [January 2023]

Canon (EF, RF mounts)

1. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1:1.2 L USM [September 1989
2. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.8 USM [July 1992]
3. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1: 1.2 L II USM [March 2006]
4. Canon LENS EF 85mm 1:1.4 L IS USM [November 2017]
5. Canon lens RF 85mm F1.2L USM [May 2019]
6. Canon lens RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS (DEFOCUS SMOOTHING) [October 2019]
7. Canon Lens RF 85 mm F1.4 L VCM [September 2025]

Sony / Sony Zeiss ZA / Minolta (E / FE, A mount)

1. Sony FE 1.4/85 GM (SEL85F18GM) [February 2016]
2. Sony FE 1.8/85 (SEL85F18) [February 2017]
3. Sony FE 1.4/85 GM II [August 2024]
4. Sony SAL85F14Z / Carl Zeiss Planar 1,4 / 85 ZA T* [June 2006]
5. Minolta AF 85mm 1:1.4 (22) (AF lens 85) / Minolta Maxxum / Dynax / G / G+D / G+RS / G+D+LE and other versions of the same lens, A mount [1987]

Sigma (different mounts)

1. Sigma EX 85mm 1: 1.4 DG HSM (two sub-versions with different body finishes, for Canon EF, Nikon F, Pentax K, Sony A, February 2010)
2. Sigma 85mm 1: 1.4 DG | A [Art] (for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sigma SA, Sony E, Leica L, September 2016)
3. Sigma 85mm 1: 1.4 DG DN | A [Art] (for Sony E, Leica L, August 2020)
4. Sigma 85mm 1: 1.2 DG | A [Art] (for Sony E, Leica L, September 2026)

Viltrox (different mounts)

1. Viltrox PFU RBMH 85mm F1.8 STM (Sony E/FE + Fujifilm X, 2018)
2. Viltrox AF 85/1.8 STM ED IF (Nikon Z, Canon RF, December 2020)
3. Viltrox AF 85/1.8 II STM ED IF (Sony E/FE + Fujifilm X, July 2020, light version XNUMX)
4. Viltrox AF 85/1.8 RAZE (DL DJI) (DL DJI, spring 2025)
5. Viltrox AF 85/1.4 VCM ASPH ED IF Full Frame (85mm 1:1.4) PRO (Sony FE, Nikon Z, June 2025)
6. Viltrox EVO AF 85mm 1:2.0 STM ED IF Full Frame (Sony FE, Nikon Z, October 2025)
7. +Lightdow AF Lens FE 85mm f1.8 (FE 1.8-16/85 STM ED) (most likely a modification of one of the Viltrox options)

Pentax (K mount)

1. SMC Pentax-FA* 1:1.4 85mm IF AUTO FOCUS PENTAX 85 [1992]
2. HD PENTAX-D FA * 85mm 1: 1.4 ED SDM AW [May 2020]

Panasonic (L mount)

1. Panasonic LUMIX S 1: 1.8 / 85mm [November 2020]

Zeiss (various mounts)

1. Zeiss Sonnar 1.8 / 85 T * (Batis 1.8 / 85) [April 2015, built-in stabilizer, Sony E/FE mount, 11/8]
2. Carl Zeiss Planar 1,4/85 ZA T* (Sony SAL85F14Z) ​​[June 2006, Sony A/Minolta A mount, 8/7]
3. Carl Zeiss Planar 1,4 / 85 T * [November 2002, Contax N mount, 10/9]

Samyang / Rokinon (different mounts)

1. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 EF (for Canon EF, scheme 9/7, June 2018)
2. Samyang AF 85/1.4F (for Nikon F, scheme 9/7, April 2019)
3. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 FE (for Sony E, scheme 11/8, March 2019)
4. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 RF  (for Canon RF, scheme 11/8, May 2020)
5. Samyang AF 85 / 1.4 FE II (for Sony E, scheme 11/8, July 2022)
6. LK Samyang AF 85/1.8 FE P (for Sony E, 9/8 scheme, July 2025)

Yongnuo/YnLens (different mounts)

1. Yongnuo YN85mm F1.8 (YN85mm F1.8) [9/6, Canon EF, February 2017]
2. Yongnuo YN85mm F1.8 (YN85mm F1.8N) [9/6, Nikon F, May 2019]
3. Ynlens YN85mm F1.8S DF DSM (YN85mm F1.8S) [9/8, Sony E, August 2020]
4. Ynlens YN85mm F1.8R DF DSM (YN85mm F1.8R) [9/8, Canon RF, May 2021]
5. Ynlens YN85mm 1:1.8Z DF DSM (YN85mm F1.8Z) [9/8, Nikon Z, March 2022]
6. Yongnuo 85F1.8S DF DSM [9/8, Sony E, Nikon Z, Canon R, August 2022]

Meike (Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E, Nikon Z, FujiFilm X)

1. MEIKE 85mm AF 1: 1.8 [review] (Canon EF / Canon EF-S, April 2018)
2. MEIKE 85mm AF 1: 1.8 [review] (Nikon F, Aug 2020)
3. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.8 Auto Focus Lens FF STM [review] (for Sony FE/E + Nikon Z, FujiFilm X, June 2022 + March 2023)
4. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.8 AF STM PRO [review] (for Sony FE/E + Nikon Z, Leica L + FujiFilm X, fall 2024, spring 2025)
5. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.8 AF STM II SE (for Sony FE/E, Nikon Z, Leica L + Canon EF, Nikon F, fall 2025)
6. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.4 Auto Focus Lens FF STM (for Sony FE/E, Nikon Z + Leica L, September 2023)
7. MEIKE 85mm 1:1.4 MIX II (for Sony FE/E, Nikon Z + Leica L, May 2026)

Tamron (different mounts)

1. Tamron SP 85mm F/1.8 Di VC USD Model F016 (for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony A [without VC function], March 2016)

Tokina (Sony E / FE mount)

1. Tokina atx-m 85mm F1.8 FE (for Sony E), based on Viltrox PFU RBMH 85mm F1.8 STM, January 2020)

AstrHori

1. AstrHori AF 85mm 1:1.8 [E, Z, December 2022]
2. AstrHori AF 85/1.8 II [E, Z, L, 2025]

7Artisans (different bayonets)

1. 7Artisans 85mm F/1.8 AF STM [FE, Z, L, July 2024]

SIRUI (different bayonets):

1. Sirui Aurora 85mm F1.4 AF FF [Sony E, Nikon Z, FujiFilm X, October 2024]

Brightin star

1. Brightin Star AF 85mm 1:1.8 BLK [Sony E, Nikon Z, May 2025], based on 7Artisans 85mm F/1.8 AF STM

Rollei

1. Rollei VAF 85mm F1.8 STM [Sony E, Nikon Z, June 2025], based on 7Artisans 85mm F/1.8 AF STM

Kase

1. Kase AF 85mm F1.4 [Sony E, Nikon Z, Leida L, Fujifilm X, 10/13, 5 ED, 2 HRI, June 2025]

SG-image

1. SG-image 85mm 1:1.8 AF STM [Sony E, 11/9, 1 ED, 3 HRI, October 2025]

SongRAW

1. SongRAW Moonlit 85mm f/1.2 [Sony E, Nikon Z, Leica L, 18/10, 1 ASPH, 5 ED, 11 HRI], September 2025
2. SongRAW M-Simplify 85mm f/1.2 [Sony E, Nikon Z, Leica L, 18/10, 1 ASPH, 5 ED, 11 HRI], September 2026

TTArtisan

1. TTArtisan 85mm F/1.8 AF NEO  [Sony E, Nikon Z, Leica L], August 2026

lightdow

1. Lightdow FE 1.8-16/85 STM ED [Sony E, 10/7]

Vistilen

1. Vistilen 85/1.8 AF STM [R, E, Z, L, 2026]
2. Vistilen 85/1.8 AF STM II PRO [R, E, Z, L, 2026]
3. Vistilen 85/1.8 AF STM SE II [R, E, Z, L, 2026]
4. Vistilen 85/1.4 AF STM [R, E, Z, L, 2026]
5. Vistilen 85/1.4 AF STM MIX II [R, E, Z, L, 2026]

Separately, you can still highlight non-classic 85s:

1. macro lens Canon Lens RF 85mm F2 MACRO IS STM [2020, RF]
2. longer LEICA APO-SUMMICRON-SL 1: 2/90 ASPH. (2018, Leica l)
3. less aperture Sony 85 / 2.8 SAM (SAL85f28) [2010, A]
4. shorter SMC PENTAX FA 1:1.8 77mm Limited (1997, K)
5. shorter HD Pentax-FA 1: 1.8 77mm Limited (2021, K)
6. shorter Samyang AF 75 / 1.8 FE (2020, E) and Samyang AF 75/1.8X (2023, X)
7. shorter TTArtisan AF 75/2 ED (2024, E, Z, L)
8. cropped Samsung Lens 1:1.4 85mm ED SSA i-Function [2011, NX]
9. cropped and longer FUJIFILM FUJINON LENS SUPER EBC XF 90mm 1: 2 R LM WR [2015, X]
10. cropped and shorter Viltrox AF 75/1.2 XF STM ED IF [2022, X, E, Z]
11. cropped and shorter Sirui 75/1.2 [2024, X, E, Z]
12. Vistilen 85/1.8 AF STM II Full Frame + Vistilen 85/1.4 AF Full Frame [2024, R]

Conclusions

The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM is an excellent fast telephoto prime portrait lens. The Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM delivers excellent image quality, especially the bokeh. I highly recommend it.

Update: A review of an inexpensive alternative to this lens, the YONGNUO 100/2, has appeared.

This material was prepared by Arkady Shapoval . The greatest support for the site is if you use links on this site, such as Amazon , when purchasing anything . It costs you nothing, but for this site, and therefore for my family, it's the main source of support.