Canon FD 85mm f/1.2 L
Aperture Size: 71mm ● Dimentions: 71x80mm / 680g
Scores: out of 10 (non-Bokeh Pano scores)
Overall: 8.5 (9)
Bokeh Amount: 8 (8)
Bokeh Quality: 6 (7)
Sharpness: 7 (7)
Aberrations: 6 (7)
Value: 7 (9)
This lenses produces a lot of bokeh! This is still the fastest 85mm lens you can get and Canon was the first to make one. It's pretty amazing that they ever managed to squeeze these elements into such a small package. Fun fact: The aperture is only 1mm smaller than the front filter. It looks insane from the front and generally it is a very desirable beast.
I love this lens, but probably not for the right reasons. It's a beautiful piece of history, it's built like a tank, it's very small for what it is, the focus action is beautiful and the level of subject isolation is amazing. The problem is that the bokeh quality doesn't keep up with the amount and the relative sharpness doesn't impress as much as you'd expect from a Canon L lens either. Generally it's a little disappointing for the technique.
If you want to use this lens on a full frame digital then the Sony A7 is pretty much your only option (Canon DSLRs can't use it without adding optics or expensive conversions). It's a bit front heavy on the A7 (not quite so bad on the mkII bodies) but it isn't bad if you mostly hold it by the lens. It's not a terrible option by any stretch, but I do feel like I downgraded coming from the Nikon 85/1.4. The Nikon lens is about the same price second hand and that gives you AF on most Nikon bodies.
If you're looking for a manual-focus lens like this then it is hard to recommend old Canon FD lenses these days because they're holding their price too well. Lenses from Samyang and Mitakon are often cheaper and seem to out-perform the FD lenses. Also if you have a DSLR they may be your only option anyway, so don't feel bad if you're in that position. Samyang now make a 85mm f/1.2, so I've very curious to see how that compares to their excellent f/1.4 version.
The Canon FD 85mm f/1.2L lens is currently my go-to lens for producing bokeh panoramas. It's probably the most used lens for the images that you see in the galleries, but I am starting to look for something better suited.
If you're looking for an auto-focus lens like this then of course there is Canon's new EF 85mm f/1.2L. However, from what I understand it performs very similarly to this old FD model. Making it rather disappointing for it's very high cost! Plus it's bigger, heavier and doesn't focus as close. If you have a Canon (or any other DSLR) and want AF then my recommendation would be with the new Sigma 85mm f/1.4 ART lens.