135/85mm portrait primes lens recommendations for EOS R6 Mark II

[raven403]

Hi!
I'm currently looking at a portrait prime adapted onto my R6 Mark II (EF-mount)
I'm considering the canon EF 85mm F/1.2 L II, the Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM, the sigma 135mm f/1.8 ART, and the 50mm f/1.2 for EF. If people here know the ins and outs of any of these lenses and could give some advice for what situations each lens is best for, that would be great.

[ebiggs1]

The truth of the matter is there is no such thing as a "portrait" lens. There is only distance from subject. The term portrait lens came into being by studio photographers that were limited to how far from the model they could get. In the average studio of the time the 85mm and in some cases the 135mm worked well. However if you equal the distance and FL of any given lens it will catch the exact same perspective.

The next consideration is how close to the model do you want to be and how close the model wants you to be. No one likes thelens right stuck up very close to the (her) face. You must first decide that and the distance you can use to decide what FL works best. It could be any of the ones you listed or not.

Personally in my situation I like my ef 85mm f1.2L on my FF 1DX camera. IMHO, the 85mm and certainly not the 135mm if you own a cropper.

[rs-eos]

I had both the EF 50mm f/1.2L and the EF 135mm f/2L and loved them (I exclusively use primes). Though when getting my R-series camera, I moved to the new RF versions.  Here are some thoughts:

When taking portraits (headshots), my favorite focal length is 135mm. Though check out what look you would prefer. For some, this would be an 85mm and for others, a 200mm, etc.

When stepping back with longer focal lengths for three-quarter or full body work, you can end up working at a decent amount of distance.  For general portrait work, the 85mm tends to be easier, especially if you don't have much space to work with.

I would highly recommend the RF 50mm f/1.2 over the EF version as the image quality is exceptional. It is both larger and heavier though.

The RF 135mm f/1.8L has IS which is very nice. It's also weather-sealed unlike the EF version.

A note on filters... one nice thing with the EF 50 f/1.2 and 135 f/2 is that they both use 72mm filters. Their RF counterparts use 77mm and 82mm respectively. So unless dealing with step-up rings, if you do use filters, plan for more expense here.

[deebatman316]

The EOS R6 Mark II uses the RF Mount not the EF Mount as previously seen on all DSLRs and EOS 35mm AF SLRs. So its best to look into native RF Mount lenses for your camera instead of adapting EF Mount lenses. Unless an RF Mount equivalent isn't available. The lenses you mentioned have an RF Mount replacement available. The EF versions of the lenses mentioned cannot take full advantage of your camera. Instead some features won't be available such as 12 FPS, DPAF (Dual Pixel AF) and the lenses will function in a degraded manner. But will still work don't expect smooth seamless aperture changes or AF changes or quiet AF & Aperture motors.