Home / Photography

Canon Releases Popular Portrait Lens for Its Mirrorless Full-Frame Cameras

By Jessica Stewart on May 9, 2019

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase, My Modern Met may earn an affiliate commission. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Proving its commitment to providing quality lenses for its full-frame mirrorless cameras, Canon has released the RF 85 mm 1.2/f L USM lens. This not only expands the offerings for the EOS R full-frame mirrorless system, but is the first RF lens to feature Blue Spectrum Refractive (BR) Optics. It's an upgrade that enhances this lens, which is already a favorite of portrait photographers, by reducing chromatic aberration.

As the fifth lens in the RF family, the 85mm 1.2/f L USM provides the depth and perspective that photographers seek when taking portraits. Canon's EF 85mm f/1.2L II is one of the company's most popular lenses, so it comes as no surprise that they've made this focal length a priority for the RF family.

“Optics is at the core of Canon’s heritage. It is engrained in our DNA and the top priority when developing the EOS R Camera System around the RF mount and accompanying lenses,” says Kazuto Ogawa, president and chief operating officer, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Canon is very enthused to now bring the lenses we shared in the RF lens development announcement, starting with the RF 85mm F1.2 L USM. We envision this product as being the quintessential workhorse lens for portrait photographers of all skill levels.”

The lens works well in low-light conditions and provides soft backgrounds to make subjects pop. By working in tandem with EOS R's in-camera digital lens optimizer, image deterioration and aberrations are kept to a minimum. But surely the greatest feature is the Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics, which was first incorporated into Canon's EF 35mm f/1.4L II. The system works by refracting blue light from its position between convex and concave lenses. This results in the entire wavelength of light converging in one point, thus keeping high quality across the entire frame of the photo.

Additional features include Air Sphere Coating to cut down on flare and ghosting, L-Series dust and weather resistant build with fluorine coating, and a customizable control ring that allows photographers to adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO.

The RF 85 mm 1.2/f L USM lens is currently available for pre-order for a suggested retail price of $2,699, with an estimated ship date of June 2019.