questions on 85mm f1.8 lens

[imola_dreams]

I`m looking at buying a good prime lens primarily for indoor church weddings and formal wedding photos. I`m just curious if anybody here knows the actual quality of the lens. I usually do most of my shots for weddings using a 24-70mm 2.8L lens but the past couple of weddings have been shot in dimly lit churches where shoot with the natural light has been dominant in most of the photos.

My question, is the F1.8 rating pretty good and is the overall sharpness of images the lens takes pretty good. I don`t expect it to compare to the 24-70mm but if it was at least pretty good it would be worth the while I figure for low light settings...

Main reason I say this is I like to shoot at ISO speeds of 200 or so with no flash, I`ve become accustomed to this actually and the results are rather stunning.

[lint]

I had one, and traded it away (wish I hadn't). Great lens, focus was extremely fast and accurate. I used it for shooting sports in indoor gyms. Worked great. I thought the focal length on a 1.6 was great for portraits, and the bokeh was very nice (especially when compared to the likes of the 50 1.8, 50 1.4, and 17-40). I'll have to see if I did a test when I had this lens, but if memory serves me correctly, it was quite sharp at f2.2 and useable at f1.8. I know it was better than my copy of the 50 1.4.

[imola_dreams]

That was my thinking, that this lens would be great for something like this. The price is relatively inexpensive when you consider the alternatives...

If you do have some test shots please post it so I can see, it would be great.

[lint]

I'll dig around when I get home.

[turboMiata]

the 85 f/1.8 is a superb lens with great colour, fast AF and sharpness. However, I'm not really sure how good it is wide open. why not get the 85L? it's a waaaay better lens (usable at 1.2) and you'll have it for the rest of your lifte.

[imola_dreams]

As nice as that would be I'd prefer to try the two lenses out. I use the 24-70 2.8L for most of the shots I take for clients but I feel a lower light lens would be helpful some of the time. I think the 85 1.2L would be great but it would be nice to just try the 85 1.8 first to see if it will have what I need before going out and spending some serious money on a prime lens. I have ordered the 85 1.8, I figure for the $250 i'm spending it really can't hurt to try it.

[benyl]

Is the 85 wide enough for inside a church? You will have to be standing pretty far back, unless you are trying to get in tight.

[imola_dreams]

This wouldn't be for group shots, kinda like shots of the bride and groom at the altar. I wouldnt be standing right up to them but relatively close. The issue came into play when a couple weeks ago I did a wedding where the priest was adament that absolutely no flash photography would be permitted inside the church. Not that it should be an issue granted some photographers don't carry the proper equipment for that kind of lighting. I found it challenging at best.

I think it would also work pretty good for format outdoor shots as well if the weather wasn't exactly cooperative. I'm starting to really dislike flash and I am finding that natural light can provide some really beautiful pictures.