The Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM lens is a bit of a legend, known for its insanely wide aperture and a favorite of numerous portrait photographers. Now that the mirrorless age is upon us, its natural successor, the RF 85mm f/1.2L USM, is here. This great video review compares the new lens to the prior EF version, and it shows just how remarkably good the latest model is.
Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this interesting video comparison takes a look at how much the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens has improved over the EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM. The EF version was quite well regarded during its time, known for its unique 3D pop, insanely wide maximum aperture, melty bokeh, and general rendering. Nonetheless, there was a lot that could be improved with it: in particular, wide open, it was not especially sharp and had a good deal of chromatic aberration and autofocus was notoriously slow and finicky. The RF version seems to have made major strides on all of these, turning in remarkably good performance, especially for how extreme its specifications are, and it looks like Canon's has the makings of another portrait photographer favorite. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Frost.
My main camera is a Sony, but every time we have a portrait shoot, I steal my wife's Canon just so I can use this lens. I honestly believe it's the best portrait lens ever made. The original was OK in many conditions but shooting into backlighting it became just unacceptable.
I'm trying to choose between saving for this or the Zeiss 100mm!
C'mon Alex....you know you want that great autofocus! :-) Having said that, my son, the wedding photographer, uses a couple of Zeiss lenses for his non action work. For the moving around stuff, he has a pair of 5DIVs and uses the ubiquitous 24-70 f2.8 and 70-200 f2.8.
That's really what I keep waffling back and forth on! Send me your son's portfolio!
The Zeiss has a better near distance, as it's macro lens, it's "just" f2 (if we're talking about the same lens, the Planar 100/2), it's pretty sharp, not too havy and feels good in the hand. Anyway, it's not that good in melting away the background (I don't have the newer EF or RF 85/1.2, but I do own the vintage FD 85/1.2 L, which is great and lightweight, just very special when shooting against bright light like most vintage lenses).
If weight isn't a problem for you then the RF might be the better option due to all the modern goodies it offers. If versatility is what you need and focusing time is not the problem, then go for the Zeiss, from near macro (1:2) to portrait and nature, this lens shines.
The DS version is ridiculously better.