Canon 85mm f/1.4L IS EF

The 85mm f/1.4L IS is the modern (2017) Canon portrait prime, 14-element design, optical IS that's quiet enough for video, and weather sealing with a fluorine front coating. On full-frame and large-format sensors, this is the classic interview key-light close-up focal length, with the kind of separation f/1.4 produces and the IS that makes handheld telephoto actually viable. Faster AF than the 50L, dramatically better optical correction, and a 9-blade aperture (one more than most Canon L primes) for rounder bokeh circles. Heavier than the rest of our EF set at 950g, factor that into gimbal balancing, but the build quality is the most modern in our EF kit. 77mm filter, sharing thread size with the 24L II and 16-35 f/4L. We rent it for interview key-light close-ups, portrait coverage, narrative medium close-ups.