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As you might expect, there are plenty of portraits featured in this week’s DPReview TV episode looking at the Canon RF 85mm F1.2. Take a closer look at images from this modern marvel as well as some comparison shots from the original EF 85mm F1.2.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
This week Chris and Jordan take a closer look at the Canon RF 85mm F1.2L and – no surprises here – find it to be a technically excellent optic. They also compare it with the original EF-mount 85mm F1.2L, which is no slouch for its age, to see just how far the design has advanced in the past 15 years.
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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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The ‘Defocus Smoothing’ or DS variant of Canon’s RF 85mm F1.2L uses a special coating to two of the lens’ 13 elements to give out-of-focus highlights a smoother appearance. And like its non-DS counterpart, it’s an outstanding portrait lens. We took advantage of a little time outdoors and some springtime scenery to put together a collection of preliminary samples – take a look.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Since the launch of the EOS R line in 2018, Canon has mostly concentrated its attentions on high-end RF lenses. And the lens we’re looking at here is likely to be one of the most coveted RF-mount optics, partly because of its classic portrait-friendly focal length and super-wide aperture, but also because Canon bills it as having the finest optical performance of any autofocus-enabled 85mm lens the company has ever released. Quite a claim.
Naturally, all of this goes some way to explain why the RF 85mm F1.2L USM is among the costliest lenses in the RF lineup. It’s considerably pricier than the EF 85mm f1.2 L II USM, which can also be used with EOS R-series bodies via an adapter, and if you’re happy to slum it with an F1.4 option then you’ll find many more cost-effective options from other manufacturers to choose from. Nevertheless, the RF 85mm should prove a tempting option for early EOS R-series adopters with an appetite for fast glass and pockets deep enough to satisfy it.
Aimed primarily at portrait, fashion, wedding and event photographers, the RF 85mm F1.2L USM brings together a handful of RF-specific technologies with those seen previously in the EF line.
Despite its size and weight, the lens has been designed with just 13 elements in nine groups, although some of these are necessarily quite large. They include a single ground aspherical element to keep spherical aberration and corner softness from being a problem, and an Ultra Low Dispersion element positioned just ahead of it to help combat chromatic aberration.
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| Canon’s Blue Spectrum Refractive (BR) element greatly refracts shorter wavelengths, ensuring blue wavelengths focus at the same plane as longer wavelengths like red and green. This increases sharpness and reduces longitudinal spherical aberration, commonly seen as color fringing. |
Longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCA), typically seen as purple and green fringing in front of and behind the focal plane, respectively, is further controlled through the use of a Blue Spectrum Refractive (BR) element, something we first saw three years ago inside the EF 35mm F1.4L II USM. Its purpose is to refract blue light – or rather, short wavelengths that correspond with what we see as blue – to a greater degree than conventional optics would manage. By doing so, it’s better able to focus all wavelengths to the same point, which in turn helps to quash longitudinal chromatic aberration and increase sharpness at the focal plane. Quite how well it can do so is something we’ll be digging into later on in this review.
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Helping to keep flare and ghosting down are Canon’s conventional multi-coatings, while a single application of the more advanced Air Sphere Coating (ASC) deals with ill effects from light passing either parallel or near parallel to the optical axis. Nine diaphragm blades, meanwhile, promise to keep the diaphragm round for nicer out-of-focus highlights.
The lens accepts 82mm filters at its front and can focus as close as 85cm (2.8 ft) away from the subject, which is a 10cm reduction on the previous EF 85mm f1.2 L II USM. Helping to make its price tag a little easier to swallow, Canon has thrown a deep round lens hood into the box, as well as a pouch to keep it all protected when not in use.
The lens on test is joined by a slightly more costly (+$ 300) ‘DS’ variant, and while the it adheres to the same basic formula and optical design as the non-DS version, the ‘DS’ suffix denotes the presence of Defocus Smoothing technology. This is a new coating on two of its elements that’s said to help smooth out the edges of out-of-focus areas, which the company claims is more necessary here given the more severe correction for chromatic aberration. The effect is similar to some specialized lenses from Fujifilm and Sony that contain comparable apodization elements.
While potentially very useful to dedicated portrait photographers, the fact that the DS technology comes at the cost of up to 1.5EV stops of light transmission, and also produces images with slightly deeper depth of field than the non-DS version explains why Canon has decided to give the photographer the choice of both options.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
To coincide with the official release of its now-official RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS lens, Canon has released a 90-second video showing how the Defocus Smoothing (DS) technology inside its upcoming lens actually works.
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For those not familiar, Canon’s DS technology is similar to the apodization technology found in Sony’s FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS and Fujifilm’s APD version of the XF 56mm F1.2 R. In the case of Canon’s new RF 85mm F1.2 DS IS, the DS technology consists of a new vapor-deposited coating applied to two elements inside the lens that ‘has the effect of gradually decreasing the transmission factor from the center to the periphery of the lens.’ In other words, two elements inside the lens effectively have a radial graduated neutral density coating that’s feathered around the outermost edge of the element.
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As demonstrated in the above comparison from the video, the DS coating creates much smoother bokeh by softening the edges of out-of-focus highlights.
The Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS lens will be available in December 2019 for $ 3000.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Canon’s RF 70-200mm F2.8 and 85mm F1.2 DS were announced some time ago, but as of today they’re official. Canon has revealed full details and pricing for these new additions to its full-frame mirrorless lineup.
The RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM boasts an impressively compact design, measuring 146mm (5.8″) in length when at its widest zoom position. It extends when zoomed in towards 200mm, marking a departure from its EF-mount equivalents.
The RF 70-200mm F2.8 includes a floating focus lens element for reduced focus breathing, with a total of 17 elements in 13 groups making up the optical construction. Its image stabilization system is CIPA-rated to 5 stops.
Defocus Smoothing works thanks to a special coating to two of the lens’ thirteen elements
The 85mm F1.2L USM DS sits alongside the standard RF 85mm F1.2, but is differentiated by what Canon calls Defocus Smoothing (DS). Defocus Smoothing works thanks to a special coating to two of the lens’ thirteen elements. This gives out-of-focus highlights smoother edges compared to those rendered by the standard version of the lens.
The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM will be available in late November for $ 2700; the RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS is scheduled to arrive in December for $ 3000.
Press release:
New RF L-Series Lenses Aim to Provide Impeccable Performance, Handling and Unique Features to Photographers Shooting with EOS R and EOS RP Cameras
MELVILLE, N.Y., October 24, 2019 – Completing the “trinity” of RF lenses for the EOS R Full-Frame mirrorless camera system, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM telephoto lens. Additionally, the company also announced its first lens to feature Defocus Smoothing lens coating, the Canon RF 85 F1.2L DS. The ninth and tenth lenses in the RF family are both powerful tools for photographers using the EOS R or EOS RP cameras, in particular, those shooting sports or wildlife photography with the RF 70-200mm F2.8L or portrait photography with the RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS.
Short and Light With All The Might: Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM
The new lens features a large and bright f/2.8 aperture, which, along with the 70-200mm focal zoom ranges, presents an ideal workhorse lens for professional and amateur photographers shooting sports, wildlife, wedding and event action. The new RF lens is 27 percent shorter and 28 percent lighter than its EF counterpart with a large portion of the lens element arrangement closer to the camera body. This arrangement is designed to provide photographers with a more balanced feel and experience even at telephoto end of the zoom range. Additionally, the shorter and lighter design allows the lens to be more easily stowed away in a camera bag when not in-use.
A first for Canon lenses, the new RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM features two Nano USM motors providing an even greater level of high-speed autofocus for still image shooting and quiet and smooth autofocus for video shooting. The lens also incorporates a floating focus control, another Canon first, that drives the two lens groups individually while using the two aforementioned Nano USM motors. The floating focus lens element shortens focusing distance and help reduce breathing, providing users with fast, consistent and reliable performance.
Additional Features of The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Include:
Teaching an Old Dog a New Trick: Canon 85mm F1.2L USM DS
Canon has a rich history spanning over 40 years of producing 85mm lenses with f/1.2 apertures, and the new Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS is no different, or is it? The lens ushers in a new lens coating from Canon, Defocus Smoothing , designed to enhance the appearance of bokeh in the images captured with the lens. DS coating is a vapor-deposited coating technology that is applied to the front and rear surfaces of a specific lens element inside the lens. The coating allows off-axis flux to pass through the periphery of the lens that gradually decreases the transmittance of light, which results in images with beautifully blurred backgrounds.
In addition, the new lens features a bright f/1.2 aperture which, along with the 85mm focal length, encompasses an ideal lens for portrait photographers. 85mm is often the preferred focal length selected by photographers when shooting portraits because it provides an appropriate depth and perspective of the subject relative to the background, helping to capture high-quality imagery with beautiful and desirable bokeh. The focal length also allows for the photographer and subject to maintain optimum distance apart to support strong communication, while not being too close.
Additional Features of The Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS Include:
Pricing and Availability
The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM and RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS lenses are scheduled to be available late November 2019 and December 2019, respectively for an estimated retail price of $ 2,699.00 and $ 2,999.00 respectively . For additional information, please visit, usa.canon.com.
| Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM | Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS | |
|---|---|---|
| Principal specifications | ||
| Lens type | Zoom lens | Prime lens |
| Max Format size | 35mm FF | |
| Focal length | 70–200 mm | 85 mm |
| Image stabilization | Yes | No |
| Lens mount | Canon RF | |
| Aperture | ||
| Maximum aperture | F2.8 | F1.2 |
| Aperture ring | No | |
| Focus | ||
| Autofocus | Yes | |
| Motor type | Ultrasonic | |
| Full time manual | Yes | |
| Focus method | Internal | |
| Distance scale | No | |
| DoF scale | No | |
| Focus distance limiter | Yes | |
| Physical | ||
| Power zoom | No | |
| Zoom lock | Yes | |
| Hood supplied | Yes | |
| Tripod collar | Yes | |
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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The Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM is one of the most impressive lenses released for the nascent RF system. Sharp at all apertures and capable of excellent rendering – especially for portraiture – it’s quickly becoming one of our favorite lenses for any system. We’ve taken the opportunity this summer to update our original sample gallery with new images, converted from Raw. Take a look.
See our Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM
sample gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Canon’s RF mount is still in its infancy, but that’s not stopping the brand from flexing some muscle and releasing the ultra-fast, ultra-pricey 85mm F1.2L – a lens that arguably doesn’t yet have a sensible camera to attach it to. Nonetheless, as you can see from our sample gallery, it offers jaw-dropping performance.
See our Canon RF 85mm F1.2L
sample gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Of the four lenses launched alongside the Canon EOS R earlier this month, the RF 50mm F1.2L USM was one that we were excited to get our hands on. As soon as it landed in our office a few days ago we got started on a dedicated gallery, shot in Raw mode on the new Canon EOS R.
You’ll notice that quite a lot of the images in this gallery were shot at F1.2, because, well, why not? This is lens is seriously sharp wide open and a lot of fun to shoot with. See for yourself how it performs.
View our Canon RF 50mm F1.2L gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)