Canon Lens News

Canon explains the defocus smoothing in the new Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS lens

Canon Rumors
Posted onOct 24, 2019 at 8:07 AM

Defocus smoothing is a new coating from Canon that will improve the look of out of focus areas/bokeh in your images.

Canon USA explains the technology behind this new feature in the video above.

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM $2699 | Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS $2999

Canon Rumors

View thread (27 replies)
shunsai

shunsai

EOS RP
Oct 15, 2011
215
105
Too bad these aren't filters you can screw on and off. I personally prefer the non-DS bokeh, but it would be nice to have the option to smooth them out from time to time.
 
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CanonFanBoy

CanonFanBoy

EOS 5D SR
Jan 28, 2015
4,157
1,723
Irving, Texas
A little off topic, but with a projected cost of $2,699 for the RF 70-200 f/2.8L I'd imagine the rumored RF 70-135mm f/2L to be upwards of $3,500+. OUCH! It'll be a bitter pill, but I'll just have to swallow it.
 
Maximilian

Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
Nov 7, 2013
2,650
464
Germany
shunsai said:
... I personally prefer the non-DS bokeh...
Click to expand...
It is quite funny that my wife - non photog - prefers the non-DS bokeh, too.
Showed the comparison to a photog friend of mine (Nikon) and he was in love with the DS bokeh.

I am so-so. I'm used to the "classical" bokeh and I suppose that's why I like it, too.
But I also see the DS bokeh as really good, esp. if in-fokus sharpness stays close to the non-DS lens.

But as the prices of both are far from what I'd be willing to pay for such a lens, I can stay relaxed ;)
 
LSXPhotog

LSXPhotog

EOS RP
Apr 2, 2015
381
204
www.diossiphotography.com
This is definitely a "rent before you buy" kind of lens. Losing all the light gathering advantage of an f/1.2 lens for a smoother background might be worth it...if the rendering is truly unique. We all buy lenses for the aesthetic they provide, so I will be renting this to see how it works. Might add something special for the RF mount, but I don't believe this could actually be a practical replacement for my needs of an 85mm prime. But maybe a standalone portrait lens with controlled light?
 
Maximilian

Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
Nov 7, 2013
2,650
464
Germany
LSXPhotog said:
...Losing all the light gathering advantage of an f/1.2 lens for a smoother background might be worth it...
...But maybe a standalone portrait lens with controlled light?
Click to expand...
I've read about the lower transmission here in the forum. But I didn't see the source for this.
Is this lower transmission compared to the non-DS or how does that perform?

If so, then your last statement seems to be fully correct.
 
S

SecureGSM

2 x 5D IV
Feb 26, 2017
1,344
325
Maximilian said:
I've read about the lower transmission here in the forum. But I didn't see the source for this.
Is this lower transmission compared to the non-DS or how does that perform?

If so, then your last statement seems to be fully correct.
Click to expand...
Yeah, the 1.5 stops difference and a deeper DoF statement is on Canon website. So valid.
 
Maximilian

Maximilian

The dark side - I've been there
Nov 7, 2013
2,650
464
Germany
SecureGSM said:
Yeah, the 1.5 stops difference and a deeper DoF statement is on Canon website. So valid.
Click to expand...
WOW! o_O

Thanks for clearing that up.

So that and the price gap would lead me directly to the non-DS version - if I was in the market for a 85/1.2.
But I'd be more in a market for a non-L, non-DS 85/1.8.

And as long as Canon does not start to build more consumer/amateur focused RF lenses I'll stay happy with all my EFs ;)
 
Viggo

Viggo

EOS 5D SR
Dec 13, 2010
4,232
793
I want to see more examples of what the background looks like when there aren’t any bokeh balls. I saw one or two samples with an evenly blurred background and suddenly “huh, hm, that’s interesting”. It looked REALLY good compared to the examples where they just show the effect with round lights.
 
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YuengLinger

YuengLinger

EOS 5D MK IV
Dec 20, 2012
2,627
748
Southeastern USA
koenkooi said:
The way I understood it is that apodization filters need to be really close of the aperture, so a front or back filter won't do much.
Click to expand...
Like I said, it could be worthwhile if it were about 80% appealing as the real thing. Especially for those who already own the normal 1.2.

Personally normal looks just spectacular.
 
M

M. D. Vaden of Oregon

EOS 80D
Dec 6, 2018
114
156
The shown examples are much nicer than anticipated. Although I'd be satisfied with photos from both versions. I think the size of final print would matter quite a bit. Around 16 inches and bigger, the DF files should become more apparent.
 
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R

RunAndGun

EOS RP
Dec 16, 2011
323
27
In a way, sounds similar to what is going on in the motion/“Cine” world right now, with a lot of lens manufacturers releasing “soft” versions of their lenses, where they’re essentially messing with(even removing) the lens coatings, but they’re going for the whole image, not just the bokeh. Sigma’s ‘Classic’ Cine Primes just announced in the last several months are the same f-stop as their existing high-speed Cine Primes(most* are f/1.4 / T1.5) but because of the coating manipulation/differences, they are slower in actual light transmission, going from T1.5 to T2.5.

*14mm & 135 are slower at f/1.8 / T2 in standard high-speed version and go to f/1.8 / T3.2 in the soft versions.

20, 24, 28, 35, 40, 50, 85, 105 are all f/1.4 / T1.5 in standard versions
 
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