Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM coming May 9, 2019

PureClassA

Canon since age 5. The A1
CR Pro
Aug 15, 2014
2,124
827
Mandeville, LA
Shields-Photography.com
They are from 2012. Practically infants in terms of lens age. :p
Yes I was being a bit silly and sarcastic with that one because I selfishly would like to have some RF primes. I just acquired the 351.4 mk2 and 85 L 1.4 EF lenses in the last couple years.

That’s why I’d like to see some more like the RF 35 Macro. Basic non-L glass of great quality and lower tier pricing. Not to mention RP owners need some cheaper glass asap. The mount adapter works great, but adds a lot of extra length to my L glass on there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

Michael Clark

Now we see through a glass, darkly...
Apr 5, 2016
4,722
2,655
What I'd love is a slot to stick in your own filter, and have a suite of filters with transmissions of say T/2, T/2.8, T/4, etc. Even for a given T there are infinite different gradations you could use giving different highlight shapes. There's no one best answer.

You're a century or so late.

184191

184192
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Michael Clark

Now we see through a glass, darkly...
Apr 5, 2016
4,722
2,655
Right.

One substantial difference is that they didn't bother with the EOS-1 until there were enough EF lenses that a pro would actually buy an EOS-1.

In contrast, since all EF lenses (and Leica M and many other!) lenses can be used on the RF, there are actually far more lenses for an RF camera than an EF camera at this point. I don't think it will be a 30 month wait. More likely by next Jan 2020 so pros can get used to them before the Olympics.

BTW the "pros" don't just include telephoto users at the events themselves but videographers doing interviews and so on.


Nowhere did I predict a 30 month span between the EOS R and the first "pro" RF body. I just made an observation about what happened 30 years ago.

Nowhere did I say pros "only" use telephoto lenses. But in the Canon system, only telephoto lenses accept Canon extenders. So in the context of Canon extenders, pros and amateurs alike may only use telephoto lenses with extenders.
 
Last edited:
Upvote 0

Michael Clark

Now we see through a glass, darkly...
Apr 5, 2016
4,722
2,655
I remember when I started shooting (maybe a decade ago) that caring more about the body than the lenses was supposed to be the mark of a newbie. That caring more about bodies has become the norm is... interesting.

I see more impressive shots from old bodies with excellent lenses than vice versa, though of course skill is the biggest predictor of quality.

Most advanced shooters still understand that great lens plus mediocre camera will almost always get much better results than mediocre lens and great camera.
 
Upvote 0

Michael Clark

Now we see through a glass, darkly...
Apr 5, 2016
4,722
2,655
Not exactly. The EOS-1 was introduced in 1989. Also introduced that year was its holy trinity of lenses: 28-80 f/2.8-4, 20-35 f/2.8 and 80-200 f/2.8. The first four lenses introduced for the EOS system, in 1987, were the 50 f/1.8, 35-105 f/3.5-4.5, 35-70 f/3.5-4.5 and 100-300 f/5.6, definitely not high end. There were some very high end lenses introduced between 1987 and 1989 but in 1987, the Canon F1 using the FD lens mount was king and Canon was introducing lenses for both the FD and EOS mounts. There was even an 85 f/1.2 for the FD mount. The 50 f/1.0 was the first lens that Canon introduced for the EOS mount while stating that it could not be made for the FD mount. That was in 1989.

In 1987, I owned a serious FD system and was extremely annoyed that Canon didn't see fit to make an FD body that had an in-focus indicator in the viewfinder. It wouldn't have been difficult, although there was no way that an FD lens could have been controlled by an FD body. There simply wasn't room in the mount.




You're placing 21st century expectations on lenses created in the late 1980s to claim that lenses considered "premium" then weren't because they wouldn't be considered "premium" today.

Several 1987, 1988, and 1989 EF lenses released months before the EOS-1 in September of 1989 were considered higher end lenses.

EF 100-300mm f/5.6 L (1987)
EF 135mm f/2.8 SF (1987) was considered an "advanced" lens
EF 300mm f/2.8 L USM (1987)
EF 50-200mm f/3.5-4.5 L (1988)
EF 600mm f/4 L USM (1988)
EF 200mm f/1.8 L USM (1988)
EF 28-80mm f/2.8-4 L USM (April 1989) is the equivalent of today's 24-70/2.8. It was out half a year before the EOS-1. It was the 24th EF lens released.

The EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM and EF 85mm f/1.2 L USM were released at the same time as the EOS-1, as were the EF 80-200mm f/2.8 L USM and EF 20-35mm f/2.8 L USM.

But at the time, a "Holy Trinity" was a set of fast (i.e. f/2.8 or wider) 24 or 28 or 35/50/85 primes. The EF 35mm f/2 didn't hit the market until 1990, but the EF 28mm f/2.8 had been out since 1987 and the EF 24mm f/2.8 came in 1988. The original EF 50mm f/1.8 (1987) was also a little better build quality than the cheaper "plastic fantastic" EF 50mm f/1.8 II.

Other than the TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L, there was not a "premium" 24mm or 35mm "L" until 1997 and 1998, respectively. That ought to tell you all that you need to know about the acceptability of "non-L" primes for use by many pros back in the early EOS era.
 
Upvote 0

Michael Clark

Now we see through a glass, darkly...
Apr 5, 2016
4,722
2,655
That was 30 years ago when cameras were released at a snails pace and Canon was first in everything. Its not 1989 any longer and its this type of thinking that has Canon trailing WAY behind Sony in everything.

Actually, Minolta was the first to introduce a new mount with all electronic lens communication and AF in 1985, two years before Canon finally got around to introducing the EOS system.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0

Michael Clark

Now we see through a glass, darkly...
Apr 5, 2016
4,722
2,655
Well, look at the resolution. Higher resolution would rule the a7iii out. Look at the noise. Low noise in dark shots, or high dynamic range would rule the EOS R out, as would a stabilized 24/1.4 shot. I agree it's not a Velvia vs. Kodachrome difference.

When did using an EF 24mm f/1.4 L on a solid tripod become no longer possible? That's as stabilized as it gets.
 
Upvote 0

Bob Howland

CR Pro
Mar 25, 2012
917
588
You're placing 21st century expectations on lenses created in the late 1980s to claim that lenses considered "premium" then weren't because they wouldn't be considered "premium" today.

I am??? That was not my intention. I was trying to point out that Canon's rollout strategy for RF bodies and lenses is more than slightly weird. If you don't believe me, look at this:


I did lie about the FD lenses introduced between 1987 and 1989. There was only one, the 200 f/1.8 in 1989. Canon stopped FD lens development after 1985. Does that sound familiar?
 
Upvote 0
Jul 21, 2010
31,095
12,857
I did lie about the FD lenses introduced between 1987 and 1989. There was only one, the 200 f/1.8 in 1989. Canon stopped FD lens development after 1985. Does that sound familiar?
Are you suggesting that the lack of an EF lens release in the 6 months since the release of the EOS R means that Canon has stopped development of EF lenses? If so, that seems premature...and you’d be calling Canon liars with that assertion.
 
Upvote 0

Bob Howland

CR Pro
Mar 25, 2012
917
588
Are you suggesting that the lack of an EF lens release in the 6 months since the release of the EOS R means that Canon has stopped development of EF lenses? If so, that seems premature...and you’d be calling Canon liars with that assertion.
Ask me again in 3 years. There was no easy upgrade path from FD to EF and there were enormous advantages of EF over FD. This is not true going from EF to RF. My guess is that the tilt shift lenses and big whites will be EF for 10 years or more.
 
Upvote 0

PureClassA

Canon since age 5. The A1
CR Pro
Aug 15, 2014
2,124
827
Mandeville, LA
Shields-Photography.com
Are you suggesting that the lack of an EF lens release in the 6 months since the release of the EOS R means that Canon has stopped development of EF lenses? If so, that seems premature...and you’d be calling Canon liars with that assertion.

Let’s also not forget Canon just re-upped a lot of the larger telephoto EF glass. They wont be rushing to make RF versions of these things either. Unlike my 35L EF, a mount adapters extra inch of length makes little to no appreciable difference on lenses like those. The EF library is also extremely diverse and broad. Not easily replaced. We are still at least several years away from any serious cessation of EF development.
 
Upvote 0

Michael Clark

Now we see through a glass, darkly...
Apr 5, 2016
4,722
2,655
Are you suggesting that the lack of an EF lens release in the 6 months since the release of the EOS R means that Canon has stopped development of EF lenses? If so, that seems premature...and you’d be calling Canon liars with that assertion.

It probably is the case, though, that EF lens development has been placed on the back burner as Canon devotes a large portion of their lens development resources to filling out the RF line.

To mistake a hiatus from major EF lens announcements while the RF lens line is created as a permanent cessation of EF lens development seems to be the mistake many are making.

The fact that we haven't seen similar updates to the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II and 500mm f/4L IS II close on the heels of the 400mmm f2.8L IS III and 600mm f/4L IS III updates the way we did with the introduction of the "II" Super Telephotos a few years ago does indicate that EF lens development is not getting the resources it was before RF became such a priority, at least for now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0
Jul 21, 2010
31,095
12,857
It probably is the case, though, that EF lens development has been placed on the back burner as Canon devotes a large portion of their lens development resources to filling out the RF line.

To mistake a hiatus from major EF lens announcements while the RF lens line is created as a permanent cessation of EF lens development seems to be the mistake many are making.

The fact that we haven't seen similar updates to the EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II and 500mm f/4L IS II close on the heels of the 400mmm f2.8L IS III and 600mm f/4L IS III updates the way we did with the introduction of the "II" Super Telephotos a few years ago does indicate that EF lens development is not getting the resources it was before RF became such a priority, at least for now.
Agreed and perfectly logical.
 
Upvote 0

koenkooi

CR Pro
Feb 25, 2015
3,574
4,109
The Netherlands
lol

I'm actually looking for some insight.
traditionally, how far out after announcement date, does canon take?
3 weeks? 6?

The TS-E updates where announced August 2017 and from what I can google up started shipping in December, first online reviews in January.

From wikipedia:

The EF 35 mm f/1.4L II USM is a successor of the EF 35 mm f/1.4L USM. It was announced at the 27th of August 2015 and is available since October same year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Upvote 0