Wide aperture with Canon 85mm f/1.2L II

Today, I received my B+W 2-stop neutral density filter (see recommended list), to be applied to the Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II and 50mm f/1.2L (both highly recommended lenses!).

Without the filter, shooting is constrained to f/2.8 or so in sunlight, even at ISO 100 and 1/8000 second. With snow or bright sand, it might be f/4 or even f/5.6. So you might also want a 3 stop and 6-stop filter as well.

I took a few moments for some harsh daylight shooting wide open at f/1.2, made possible (just barely) by the 2 stops of density: 1/8000 second at ISO 100 at f/1.2. The nice thing about shooting wide open in sunlight is that the lower contrast of a wide open f/1.2 lens helps offset the harsh mid-day lighting. I’m not so delighted with Canon 5D Mark II image quality under such conditions, but perhaps Canon will deliver a better sensor this year.

For more on wide aperture shooting, see my June 20 comments, and my Mini guide to wide aperture landscape photography, which has been well received:

I really like this new piece! — Martin D

That was worth the years subscription in one article! — Timothy A

Watch your gamut with bright colors: I converted the image below to sRGB for web display, and so it’s a little dull. But with a wide gamut monitor, such distinctions are obvious.

The image below is in AdobeRGB, so if it doesn’t look right, get a better browser. It’s out of gamut in sRGB, and goes “flat” if converted to it, though you’ll need a wide gamut monitor to see it.