Canon Patent: RF 85mm F1.8L, RF 100mm F1.8L IS, RF 135mm F1.8L IS, RF 150mm F1.8L IS

[Richard CR]

In this patent application (2025-023325), Canon is demonstrating some advanced primes with IS. We already know that Canon has come out with the Canon RF 135mm f/1.8L IS USM, this isn’t the same element design, but a new one from Canon. Considering that this patent application has an application date of December 9, 2024 – this is a new design that Canon is considering for future lenses. Could we see a Canon series of f/1.8L IS USM primes from 85 to 150? I’m not sure there is a market for a series of L lenses in this focal range, but Canon knows better than I do.

Canon Patent: RF 85mm F1.8L, RF 100mm F1.8L IS, RF 135mm F1.8L IS, RF 150mm F1.8L IS

In this patent application (2025-023325), Canon is demonstrating some advanced primes with IS. We already know that Canon has come out with the Canon RF 135mm f

www.canonrumors.com

 

[Shane]

The 150 1.8L would be amazing for wedding ceremonies with low light. I use my rf 85 1.2 a lot in dark Churches where I do not want to use the 70-200 at 2.8 but I miss the reach. I would think it would be a bokeh beast and great for portraits at weddings of the bride where there are distracting backgrounds too. It will likely be expensive and heavy though haha. I have the little rf 85 f2 and it's not bad, but I will never give up my 85 1.2L for weddings and portraits. A 1.8 seems too similar to the f2 for me to get a third 85. I use the f2 version as my walk around holiday and family fun lens on personal vacation etc. It is light.

 

[Loswr]

Considering that this patent application has an application date of December 9, 2024 – this is a new design that Canon is considering for future lenses.

Not necessarily. If that were the first filing date, it wouldn’t have published until June 2026 (patents publish 18 months from the filing date).

The original filing date for this application was July 8, 2021. What that means is that this patent was first filed in another country under the PCT (basically an international patent) on that date.

 

[Richard CR]

Not necessarily. If that were the first filing date, it wouldn’t have published until June 2026 (patents publish 18 months from the filing date).

The original filing date for this application was July 8, 2021. What that means is that this patent was first filed in another country under the PCT (basically an international patent) on that date.

thanks for the correction!

 

[f2_productions]

Maybe I am wrong, but a 100mm f1.8 never existed for the EF mount as far as I know. There was the 100mm f2 from 1991, the 100mm f2.8 macro from 2000 and the last version was the 100mm f2.8L macro IS USM from 2009.

 

[Loswr]

Maybe I am wrong, but a 100mm f1.8 never existed for the EF mount as far as I know. There was the 100mm f2 from 1991…

Correct. The EF 85/1.8 and EF 100/2 were fraternal twins.

 

[David - Sydney]

Let’s not forget the ef180 macro f3.5L
A long macro would interest a bunch of people. Can you tell from the patent what the magnification is?

 

[GMCPhotographics]

Let’s not forget the ef180 macro f3.5L
A long macro would interest a bunch of people. Can you tell from the patent what the magnification is?

Ha! When i was reading through the main artical, I was thinking that it'll be about 5-6 posts before someone brings up the EF 180mm f3.5 L Macro....I hear you!
I'd like one too and it's a lens that is really low hanging fruit for Canon to make and implrove upon.

 

[Deleted member 395378]

I only find interesting the 150mm f/1.8L. I'd prefer the comeback of the 200mm f/1.8 tho.

 

[Maximilian]

Yummy!

I suppose, you could count me in for the 100, if my bank account is not offended with me

 

[Maximilian]

... There was the 100mm f2 from 1991...

And there was the FD100mm f/2 from 1980, which I really fell in love with , when my father bought it for his AE-1

 

[H2Oplanet]

Ha! When i was reading through the main artical, I was thinking that it'll be about 5-6 posts before someone brings up the EF 180mm f3.5 L Macro....I hear you!
I'd like one too and it's a lens that is really low hanging fruit for Canon to make and implrove upon.

I know the EF 180mm macro is well thought of here but my experience was that it was the poorest, slowest focusing Canon L lens of all time… I used it housed and underwater for one expedition and promptly sold it… hopefully an RF version will be much more snapy and lighter???

 

[koenkooi]

I know the EF 180mm macro is well thought of here but my experience was that it was the poorest, slowest focusing Canon L lens of all time… I used it housed and underwater for one expedition and promptly sold it… hopefully an RF version will be much more snapy and lighter???

Don’t forget the aperture mechanism that manages to be both slow and loud!
I still love it for slower moving stuff, like stationary insects.

 

[Askeladden]

I want some compact standard primes with USM.

 

[David - Sydney]

I know the EF 180mm macro is well thought of here but my experience was that it was the poorest, slowest focusing Canon L lens of all time… I used it housed and underwater for one expedition and promptly sold it… hopefully an RF version will be much more snapy and lighter???

I can't imagine shooting with it underwater unless it was weighted on a tripod... and even then!
Having greater shooting distance is not an advantage underwater as more particulate would be present and strobe power is restricted.
Using the RF100 seems to be a good compromise between working distance and magnification especially if cropping in post to avoid touching the subject. That said, people use wet lenses with +8 etc dipoters for super macro but so hard to nail focus.
I also leave focal range to "full" as sometimes there are larger but more distant subjects appear. No strobes used in that case.

Any RF version will definitely focus faster if the EF50/1.2 to RF50/1.2 is an example.

The depth of field would be thin enough for a f3.5 let alone a f1.8 as f1.8 is not really needed for macro work. It could have dual purpose for portrait and macro though to increase popularity.

 

[john1970]

Interesting patent although I don't predict we will see any of these lenses soon (if ever). Still fun to hear about.

 

[Skux]

WE NIKON NOW BOYS

 

[Del Paso]

And there was the FD100mm f/2 from 1980, which I really fell in love with , when my father bought it for his AE-1

And don't forget the beautiful Canon 100mm f/2 for Leica M 39 screw mount, a really gorgeous lens!

 

[GMCPhotographics]

I know the EF 180mm macro is well thought of here but my experience was that it was the poorest, slowest focusing Canon L lens of all time… I used it housed and underwater for one expedition and promptly sold it… hopefully an RF version will be much more snapy and lighter???

Its a specailist lens. It's designed for close distances and close (usally manually) focussing. Anyone trying to use this like the EF/RF 100mm f2.8 LIS macro is in for a shock. I found the copy I used to own a littel soft at f3.5, but it's certainly designed to be stopped down. Stop down to f16 and it's tac sharp. It needs a tripod and it's not a "hand held" lens.
I had a 2nd photographer who hired one and brought it to a wedding, expecting to use it for portriture....it was a disaster. So i showed him what it was designed for (gave him a crash corse in tripod macro photography, on a nearby rose...and he then saw how amazing it can be. But he soon realised that it wasn't the lens for him. It's not the lens' fault but just the wrong use case scenario. For specific macro work, it is superlative. Outside of that use case and it's generally a disaster.

 

[Traveler]

The EF 85 f/1.8 is one of the two EF lenses I haven't replaced. It's very compact in comparison to the RF one (I know, it's mainly due to the macro ability and also that for longer focal length the shorter flange distance makes no advantage).