A Review of the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM Mirrorless Lens

Canon's RF mirrorless lenses have been highly lauded for their impressive image quality and for pushing the limits of design. The RF 85mm f/1.2L USM is the company's mirrorless version of one of its most famous most famous lenses, the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, and it steps up another level from the EF version. This great video review takes a look at the lens and how it performs in practice. 

Coming to you from Christopher Frost Photography, this great review takes a look at the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens. This lens is the mirrorless version of the beloved EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, one of Canon's most famous lenses. While a fantastic portrait lens with a very distinctive look, the EF version still had plenty of room for improvement, particularly when it came to autofocus performance and wide open sharpness. Luckily, it has been 14 years since the release of the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM, meaning the RF version has had years of improvement put into it, and there is definitely a noticeable improvement. It certainly isn't cheap, but if you are looking for the best of the best, it looks to be a winner. Check out the video above for Frost's full thoughts. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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6 Comments

I have the EF85 F/1.4 L IS USM and it is the most amazing lens I have ever seen. The sharpness are wonderful and the light becomes warm and dreamy. It works excellent with EF RF converter and just half of the RF price. Let's see how it goes.

Marketing Hype!! To the best of my knowledge, Lenses DO NOT have mirrors inside them. Shame on writers who perpetuate this misinformation. Yes, I know, writers and manufacturers mean lenses used on mirrorless cameras. Canon's RF series lenses are specifically made for their mirrorless cameras. But guess what! Canon's EF lenses can also be used but they are not called mirrorless lenses.

Sorry for my rant. Maybe I've been cooped up too long but I do feel better now.

Go get some fresh air dude.

Don`t mirror lenses actually have mirrors inside them? Like Samyangs 300 mm thingy

Ok Kai; thanks for the reminder. Totally forgot that mirror lenses were very popular back in the '70s and '80s

Misshapen cats eye bokeh balls are surprising in a lens this expensive. Are they unavoidable at this aperture and focal length combination?