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Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS Review (incredibly seductive bokeh, Photography Blog)

Canon RF 85mm F/1.2 DS Review
The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 DS for the EOS R system - is a less expensive 85mm lens for the EOS R on its way?

After the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L, Photography Blog also posted their Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS review. The “DS” is for Defocus Smoothing, a proprietary optical technology by Canon.

The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS is one of the boutique lenses for the Canon EOS R system, i.e. a lens that showcases what you can do with the new RF mount.

Photography Blog gave the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS a “Highly Recommended” rating and 5/5 stars. From their conclusion:

The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS is the almost perfect lens for portrait photographers looking for that extra pizzazz in their images.

With its unique DS coating, the already enthralling bokeh produced by the standard, non-DS RF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens becomes even softer and more dreamy, without sacrificing any of the outstanding sharpness that both lenses offer in spades.

The main trade-off for the buttery-smooth bokeh is the loss of light – effectively 1 1/3 stops darker when shooting at f/1.2 – which means that you’ll need to slow your shutter speed or bump up the ISO to compensate, neither of which are a great option.

The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS creates an incredibly seductive bokeh effect that’s hard to ignore once you’ve tasted it, though. It may be one of the most niche lenses that we’ve ever tested, and one of the most expensive, but it’s also one of the most distinctive…

Read the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS Review at Photography Blog

More Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS review stuff is listed here.

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS key features and description:

  • RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.2 to f/16
  • Defocus Smoothing Coating for Soft Bokeh
  • Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics Element

Prioritizing bokeh, the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS is a unique portrait-length prime, characterized by its flattering focal length, exceptionally bright maximum aperture, and advanced optical design. Differentiating itself from Canon’s other RF 85mm f/1.2 lens, this version features a DS (Defocus Smoothing) coating that helps to soften and smooth the bokeh quality when working at wider aperture settings, making it particularly suitable for shallow depth of field applications.

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