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.
Preorder:
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM $2699 | Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS $2999
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:
- Customizable control ring that allows photographers to adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO
- 17 lens elements in 13 groups including two aspherical lenses, one super UD lens and four UD lenses, that help to reduce chromatic aberration
- CIPA standard five stops of image stabilization (IS) including three IS modes with dual-sensing and combination IS
- 12-pin communication system
- L-Series dust and weather-resistant build with fluorine coating
- Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC) helps minimize lens flare and ghosting
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:
- 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 lens and one UD Lens, along with BR optics that help to reduce chromatic aberration
- 12-pin communication system
- L-Series dust and weather-resistant build with fluorine coating
- Air Sphere Coating (ASC) that helps minimize lens flare and ghosting
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.
Preorder:
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM $2699 | Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS $2999
Pricing in Germany:
2.849 € for the RF 70-200
3.449 € for the RF 85 DS o_O, the normal RF 85 is at 2.999 €
I wouldn't have expected 15% more because of DS, but it's a new feature...
And a first for dual-Nano USM
Only one distance is in focus. How everything else looks to our eyes is determined by how much the light from out of focus areas is collimated.
When an aperture blocks all of the less collimated rays falling on the edges of a lens, none of the blur they would otherwise contribute is seen in the image.
When some, but not all, of the edge rays are reduced and some, but not all, are allowed through then that will affect how sharp or blurry things not perfectly in focus will look.
The more collimated the light that is allowed through the lens is, the sharper out of focus areas will look.
As more less collimated light is allowed through, the blurrier out of focus areas will look.
The RF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM is slightly more tolerable at £ 2,699.00 given the list price for the EF 70-200 f2.8L IS USM III is £ 2,149.00 (you can buy for £ 1,999.00).
The problem for Canon is the RP and R only have two non L affordable lenses the RF 24-240mm f4 - 6.3 IS USM and the RF 35mm f1.8 IS STM and this is certainly limiting purchasers. Now the holy trinity is delivered Canon needs to address the lower end and fast or risk losing out to Sony.
Go back to the RF 85mm f1.2L duo, they would have to be appreciably better than the EF 85mm f1.4L IS USM lens to tempt me as this lens is such a good all rounder and at £ 1,379.00 its almost half the price of the RF 85mm f1.2L IS USM. As for defocusing I can achieve similar results using a polyester filter from Lee Filters that maintains sharpness at the plane of focus but adds softness to out of focus areas for a few £ / Euros / Dollars (Polyester soft set in frames which fits their 100mm holder).
The chart on the left is not as good as the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II/III as previously released by Canon:
Source
The Tamron 70-200 G2 has only 0,95m! Hoping for something like that...but I won't afford those lenses O.o.... 3000€ for a 85mm is crazy! I bought a used 300mm 2.8IS for this before 6 years!
That is because Canon changed how they calculate MTFs. The charts you copied use the old method and cannot be compared 1:1 to those generated with the new method. The older charts will look better when compared to the new ones.
The EF charts I used are from the website of Canon Japan, which has updated charts for all lenses
However, at $2700 - “ehh...that’s gonna be a no from me, dog” :o
Give it a year... Canon typically has the highest prices at launch.
I do not want the Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L DS. I do not want any compromise on IQ.