With the announcement of the RF 85mm f/1.2 lens, Canon has finally made one of what is arguably the most popular portrait lenses of all time available to shooters who have moved over to the EOS R mirrorless ecosystem.
If you’ve ever shot portraits with one of Canon’s existing 85mm lenses, you’ll understand why they are so popular. They are capable of producing images with razor sharp subjects, but with background bokeh so creamy, you could put it in your coffee.
The new Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM lens features an entirely new optical design which Canon says boosts its performance over the previous EF 85mm f/1.2 L lens.
The lens is also the first RF series lens to feature Canon’s Blue Spectrum Refractive (BR) Optics technology which helps to reduced chromatic aberration and colour fringing in faster lenses.
First introduced in the EF 35mm f/1.4 II, the BR element is inserted into the lens and refracts blue light between the concave and convex lenses, enabling the “convergence of the entire wavelength of light to one point, resulting in higher image quality from the centre to the edges of an image.”
Additional features Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM include:
- Minimum focusing distance of 2.79 feet/0.85 meters
- Customizable control ring that allows photographers to adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO
- One Aspheric and one UD Lens, along with BR optics help to reduce chromatic aberration
- 12-pin communication system
- L-Series dust and weather resistant build with fluorine coating
- Air Sphere Coating (ASC) helps minimize lens flare and ghosting
The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM lens is expected to hit shelves in June and retail for around $3499.00 CDN.
