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Grevillea speciosa. EOS R5 with RF 85mm f2 |
An 85mm f1.8 appeared in FD mount in 1974, then in New FD mount in 1979 and in EF mount in 1992. Remarkably the EF mount version remains current to this day, a testament to it’s acceptance by Canon DSLR users.
There has also been a line of 85mm f1.2 lenses beginning with the EF version in 1980. Some of these have had a soft focus feature intended for use in portraiture.
The subject of this review, the RF 85mm f2 is the logical successor to the EF 85mm f1.8.
Comparing the EF f1.8 with the new RF f2
The RF is larger, heavier, has a slightly smaller maximum aperture but gains a more complex optical formula with more elements, an image stabiliser and much improved close focus capability.
EF f1.8 | RF f2 | |
Elements/groups | 9/7 | 12/11 |
Diaphragm blades | 8 | 9 |
Max magnification | 0.13 | 0.5 |
Filter size | 58mm | 67mm |
Mass | 425g | 500g |
Length | 72mm | 91mm |
Stabiliser | No | Yes |
Block diagrams
Price
As I write this in May 2021 advertised prices from a Sydney retailer, GST paid are
EF 85mm f1.8 AUD534
RF 85mm f2 AUD1098
RF 85mm f1.2 AUD3988
Who and what is it for
85mm is the classic portrait focal length however the RF lens has wider appeal. I use it to photograph wildflowers close-up, often hand held. The stabiliser and close focus capability make the 85mm very suitable for this use case.
The lens could also be useful for some types of street photography and for indoor activities, stage shows and weddings.
The lens is good enough for professional use and inexpensive enough for enthusiast amateur users.
Description and operation
Like most RF lenses the 85 f2 has an understated appearance in black with clean lines. There is a clicky control ring at the front with user assignable function and a focus ring in the middle of the barrel. Both these operate by-wire, which means turning the ring actuates an electronic signal to a drive motor or other function.
On the left side of the barrel (as viewed by the user) we find a focus limiter switch (more on this below), an AF/MF switch and a Stabiliser On/Off switch. As usual in the RF system the stabiliser switch controls both lens IS and body IBIS (on bodies so enabled) together. You get both on or both off.
As usual with non-L Canon lenses, no lens hood is supplied. A Canon ET-77 hood is available as an accessory. Alternatively the JJC LH-ET77 is available at a lower price.
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Sydney heath EOS R5 with RF 85mm f2 |
Autofocus
This is one of Canon’s RF front focussing lenses. Canon’s promotional material says focus is achieved by movement of the front group. Whether that refers to the front two elements or just the front element I do not know. In either case the whole non rotating inner barrel has to move back and forth with focus. This means the focus motor is pushing a significant mass of glass and structural polycarbonate back and forth every time the lens focusses.
As a result autofocus is not as fast or as quiet as any of the zooms which use a small inner element for focussing. I tested the 85mm f2 alongside the RF 24-240mm superzoom which focusses much faster and in near-silence.
The benefit of the front focussing optical design is the availability of “half macro” close up focus. The downside is the relatively leisurely speed of the focussing process.
Focus speed is entirely adequate for the intended purposes of the lens including portraiture, weddings, studio, some street and documentary work and close-ups. On my tests however it is not the best lens for sport/action with a lower rate of sharp frames on fast moving subjects than the zooms.
I have occasionally experienced some focus hunting in low light. Setting the focus limiter switch to an appropriate position can help to minimise the likelihood of this. The options are All / 0.5m -infinity / 0.35m -0.5m.
Manual focus
There has been some adverse comment in reviews about the manual focus characteristics of this lens. Some reviewers have complained about the number of turns of the focus ring required to go from close up to infinity. Others have complained that there is no way to return focus to a previous position.
Users of this lens should note on the EOS R5 AF menu screen 5 [RF lens MF focus ring sensitivity]. This allows the user to choose between rotation speed and rotation degree for controlling the focus distance. I use and recommend the second option, rotation degree.
With this setting manual focus is straightforward, however the focus ring requires three full rotations to move focus from infinity to the closest possible setting. I generally move the focus ring about a quarter turn per action so the full range requires 12 actions. This is not a process to contemplate if one is in a hurry.
The focus limiter switch has no effect in manual focus.
Close focussing
At the closest point of focus, the front of the lens extends 27mm. This gives a distance of 20cm from the front of the lens to the subject and a distance of 35cm from the focal plane to the subject. At this point the subject magnification is 0.5x which is suitable for close up photos of a wide range of subjects. I use the lens for Australian wildflowers many of which are small and highly complex in structure.
Sharpness
At normal operating distances of about 3 meters from a test chart, sharpness and contrast are very high in a large central area of the frame right from f2, with a small drop off in sharpness at the edges at this aperture. From around f2.8 sharpness is very high right across the frame and into the corners.
This is an excellent result for sharpness.
Bokeh
The out of focus rendition appears smooth and unobtrusive in both normal and close up ranges. This is important for the main uses to which this lens will be put.
Flares
I found the lens more resistant than most to flaring against the light. Flares of various kinds can be induced deliberately of course but overall I found the flare resistance of this lens very good.
Distortion
Negligible.
Color fringing
Minimal, occasionally observable at high contrast transitions on foliage and similar in the corners of the frame.
Corner shading
Mild and easily corrected.
I test stabiliser effectiveness by photographing a test target at a distance of about 5 meters hand held at a range of shutter speeds with stabiliser on then off. I then view the resulting files and assess each as sharp, slightly blurred or blurred. I find that I can get sharp pictures hand held with this lens at a shutter speed on average about 3.5 EV steps slower with the stabiliser on than with the stabiliser off.
This figure of about 3.5 EV steps on average is what I get from every RF lens tested to date.
I have no idea whence Canon derives figures of 5-8 EV steps put about in their promotional material.
By the way, Canon states that this lens has “Hybrid IS” Whatever that means, which is supposed to be configured for optimum effect with macro work. I did not specifically test this function although I often use the lens hand held for wildflowers and find the stabiliser works well in this situation.
Summary
The RF 85mm f2 is not an all-purpose prime like the RF 35mm f1.8 or the RF 50mm f1.8. The 85mm focal length is best suited to a more limited range of photographic usage cases. However within the envelope of its suitability the lens delivers excellent results and is easy to recommend.