Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM on GFX Review

In this review, we’ll look at the highly regarded Canon EF 85mm f/1.4 L IS USM (EF 85mm f/1.4L) lens, made for the Canon EF mount from the DSLR era. We won’t however be using this lens on a DSLR camera, but instead will adapt it to the GFX100 II using a Fringer adapter.

I should probably write a review about the Fringer adapter at some point as its one of the most incredible pieces of technology crammed into a small package. Let’s leave that for another day and focus on this remarkable lens instead. 

Background

When I first got started in photography in 2016, I heard a lot of people talking about Canon 85mm portrait lenses and speculation about this lens. I think every professional photographer that I came across had owned a Canon camera and mentioned how much they loved this 85mm portrait lenses. I knew that at some point, I’d have to own it to see what everyone was talking about.

Since I have no interest in a DSLR camera, that left me with two choices, adapt it to my Sony A7R5 or the GFX100 II. Since I already own the amazing Sigma 85mm f/1.4 E-Mount for the Sony, I decided to adapt the EF 85mm f/1.4L to my GFX100 II. I purchased both the lens and adapter second-hand so that I could easily sell them if they didn’t meet my requirements.

The EF 85mm f/1.4L was first introduced in August 2017 as a follow-up to its f/1.2 older brother. The newer lens brought much better sharpness wide-open at f/1.4 and faster autofocus. It’s the latter improvement that had me most excited. I love the images that come out of the Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 lens, but the focus speed is best characterized as somewhere between a slug and a sloth, with the sound of a slow-moving grinder.

If the Canon lens can keep up in resolution, with improved autofocus speed, I could conceivably see my GF80 up for sale. In this review, we’ll see how it stacks up against the very tough native Fujinon competition.

Disclaimer: This lens was purchased second-hand on the xianyu.com platform in China. It was rated 99% and looks and feels that way. It’s basically brand new with little to no evidence of use. I paid CNY8,000 or USD1,111 in April 2024.

Autofocus

The main reason I wanted to try this adapted lens is because I was hoping for better autofocus performance than my GF80, which is accurate, but clunky and slow to autofocus. I’m pleased to share the EF 85mm f1/.4L is very fast to autofocus on the GFX100 II. The Fringer adapter makes this feel like a native GF lens, with every autofocus mode working just like a Fujinon lens. 

Face detection works very well as does subject tracking, up to the limits of the Fujifilm AF system. In practice, this lens feels just as fast or faster than the GF110’s Linear Motor focusing mechanism. It’s a very good performance and makes me question why Fujifilm continues to launch modern lenses with its archaic DC motor focusing mechanisms, such as those used in the GF55, GF80, and XF56 WR.

Contrast and Resolution

In the centre, the resolution is excellent right from wide open at f/1.4. With the excellent Optical Image Stabilization (IS), these results can be achieved hand-held as well as on a tripod. I can imagine how incredible this lens would have been to professional photographers back in 2017 when it was launched. To have this level of resolution at maximum aperture in 2024 is still an achievement, so it must have been a revelation at the time.

Resolution improves slightly at f/2, but not by much. It’s super sharp from f/1.4 to f/8 in the centre. I wouldn’t hesitate to use any aperture within that range for subjects in the centre. Things change a bit in the corners however given that this lens was never designed to cover a sensor as large as the GFX’s “Medium Format” 44x33mm sensor.   

Given this lens was designed for “Full Frame” or 36x24mm coverage, we should expect some loss of resolution in the corners and some smearing, and that’s exactly what we see. From f/1.4 to f/4, the corners are not really all that sharp. Things get much better by f/5.6 with peak corner sharpness arriving at f/8 and f/11.

If edge to edge sharpness is what you want, you’ll need to use f/8 or f/11. With this being a portrait lens, most people will want a shallow depth of focus and use f/1.4. At that aperture, the corners are likely to be in bokeh so the lack of sharpness may not be much of a concern. 

35mm Format

The GFX has a mode that allows for automatic RAW cropping of images to the standard 36x24mm format. Some lenses, while designed for the smaller “full frame” format should look perfect in this mode.

However, sensor stacks (the sensor and electronics sandwich that makes up the “stack”) play a big role in how light is captured at the extreme angles of some lenses. For example, Leica M-mount lenses are designed for film and have smearing in the corners on thick stack sensors like the one in the GFX, even in 35mm mode. 

There is no such issue with the EF 85mm f/1.4L as it was designed for DSLR cameras and the angles of light appear to work just fine with the GFX sensor stack when in 35mm mode. The corners are sharp from wide open at f/1.4 with only a little purple fringing visible. 

Bokeh

Beyond contrast and resolution, people buy a lens like this for its bokeh, or background blur. The EF 85mm f/1.4L delvers in spades on this parameter. The bokeh is gorgeous and so smooth. There are very rare circumstances where the bokeh can look busy, but a few meters right or left can change the background sufficiently to find a smooth background.

It’s easy to see why this lens was a “go-to” lens for wedding photographers. The way it transitions from the sharp subject to the dreamy background brings a lot of character to the images. It has a vintage vibe, while having modern sharpness on the subject. It’s beautiful and certainly one of the pulls of wanting to keep this lens in my collection. 

Distortion

There was minimal distortion visible in my tests and this could be due to the lens itself or the corrections that the Fringer adapter is putting in place. It’s difficult for me to determine, but in the images with lines, they’re all straight and well corrected. Given it’s an 85mm focal lengths lens, we wouldn’t expect much correction required anyhow.

Aberrations 

This lens has a fair amount of purple fringing in high contrast areas. It’s easily correctly in Capture One Pro or Lightroom, but it’s something you need to look out for as it can be quite distracting in high contrast images. 

Size and Weight

Without the Fringer adapter, this is a very manageable lens. It weighs in at 950g and has a diameter of 89mm and length of 105mm. However, the Fringer adapter itself weight 165g and is 24mm thick so when you add the lens and adapter, you’re at the same weight and length as the formidable Fujinon GF110mm f/2 (1,010g and 125mm) and longer and heavier than the Fujinon GF80mm f/1.7 (795g and 99mm) lens. 

In total, with the adapter in place, the combination weighs 1,115g and is 129mm in length. When compared to the native lenses available from Fujifilm, there’s not much advantage to using the adapted lens in this regard. There would be some cost savings going with the Canon/Finger combination, but perhaps not significant enough to make it worthwhile.

Build Quality

It’s a legendary Canon L lens; nothing more needs to be said. Canon and Nikon are what professionals used in those days and there’s good reasons for it. This second-hand lens shows no signs of age-related issues or wear and tear. It feels robust in the hand and appears to be designed to last a lifetime. 

There’s nothing that indicates poor materials or bad design choices. Everything about this lens exudes quality and durability. Regarding feel, I always prefer metal over plastic, but Canon’s plastic is some of the nicest available, so it still feels premium and well built. I would rate the build quality at the highest levels.

Conclusion

The question that kept coming up in my mind as I used this lens and was writing this review, “in the GFX universe, who is this lens for?” After extensive use of this lens across a variety of subjects, I’ve concluded this lens is for someone that matches the following criteria:

1. You have a closet full of EF lenses including the EF 85mm f1/.4L so the expense of the Fringer adapter can be spread across multiple lenses.
2. You want to save some money (~USD 300-600) over buying the native GF80mm f/1.7 or GF110mm f/2 lenses.
3. You want a more vintage look to your images with more character (i.e., more aberrations and less optical corrections).
4. You have an older non-IBIS body so the Optical Image Stabilization in the Canon lens will provide a significant benefit.

If you match any of these criteria, you can’t go wrong with the EF 85mm f/1.4L. I enjoyed every minute using it. However, for my needs, and already being an owner of both the GF80 and GF110, the only benefit I would gain is the faster autofocus speed over the GF80. The faster autofocus for me isn’t worth the trade-off in corner sharpness so my EF 85mm f1/.4L has gone up for sale (at the same price I bought it at, mind you). 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this review; it’s the second “vintage” lens review I’ve completed. The first being the Leica 35mm Summilux Pre-Aspherical f/1.4 from a few weeks ago. If you like these kinds of reviews, please let me know in the comments below.