Is Meike Set To Announce The First Third Party RF Mount Lens With Official AF Support?

Meike

It seems that Chinese manufacturer Meike is going to release the first RF mount lens with Canon-licensed AF implementation, the Meike AF 85mm F1.4.

The is said to get released to the public in August 2023, after the 30th Beijing International Radio, Film and Television Exhibition (BIRTV) on August 23-26, 2023. These are the specifications:

  • Multi-standard, Nikon Z, Sony E
  • 13 elements in 8 groups
  • 77mm filter diameter
  • 12 aperture blades
  • Shortest shooting distance: 0.98m
  • AF/MF selector switch
  • Fn button
  • Weight: 800g
  • E/Z/RF/L mount
  • L-mount AF lens from China
  • in the hands of some photographers
  • Scheduled to be released in August

In a recent interview, Canon execs indeed said they will open the RF mount to third party manufacturers.

[via asobinet]

Yongnuo Might Soon Release A 85mm F1.8R DF DSM Lens For The RF Mount, Rumor

Yongnuo

Rumor has it that lens manufacturer Yongnuo might release a 85mm F1.8R DF DSM lens for the EOS R system.

Asobinet reports:

This lens has a new logo design, a lens configuration of 9 elements in 8 groups, a 7-element aperture, a minimum focusing distance of 0.8m, a 58mm filter, a stepping motor, 67 x 88mm, and approximately 380g.

Well, I hope the rumor is reliable :-)

Today Only: Lensbaby Pro Kit for Canon EF – $799.95 (reg. $1399.95)

Lensbaby

Only for today (12/07/2022) B&H Photo has a whooping $600 discount on the Lensbaby Pro Kit for Canon EF mounts.

At a glance:

  • Velvet 85mm f/1.8 Lens
  • Burnside 35mm f/2.8 Lens
  • Twist 60mm f/2.5 Lens
  • Nanuk 910 Hard Case

Get the Lensbaby Pro Kit for Canon EF on sale at $799.95. Compare at $1,399.95. Find a description of the included lenses after the break.

More selected deals:

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Today Only: Lensbaby Velvet 85mm f/1.8 – $369.95 (reg. $599.95, EF & RF mounts)

Lensbaby Velvet

Only for today (11/30/2022) B&H Photo has a $230 discount on the Lensbaby Velvet 85mm f/1.8 lens for both EF and RF mounts.

At a glance:

  • RF/EF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/16
  • Soft Glowing Effect at Wide Apertures
  • Inspired by Classic Portrait Lenses
  • 1:2 Magnification, 9.5″ Working Distance
  • Manual Focus Design
  • 12-Blade Diaphragm

Get the Lensbaby Velvet 85mm f/1.8 on sale at $369.95 (compare at $599.95):

There are still some BLACK FRIDAY deals that are live:

More selected deal pages:

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Canon Patent: RF 24-120mm f/2.8 IS & RF 85mm f/1.4 IS

Canon Patent

A new Canon patent application for a RF 24-120mm f/2.8 IS and RF 85mm f/1.4 IS lenses.

Canon patent application 2022175604 (Japan, published 11/25/2022) discusses optical formulas for two RF mount lenses, RF 24-120mm f/2.8 IS and RF 85mm f/1.4 IS. From the patent literature:

An object of the present invention is to reduce the size and weight of a movable group decentered with respect to an optical axis, while suppressing the occurrence of chromatic aberration due to the movable group.

Example 1

  • Focal Length: 24.72-116.36
  • F-value: 2.91
  • Half angle of view: 37.12-10.53
  • Image height: 21.64
  • Total length: 178.45-204.02
  • Back focus: 14.59

Example 2

  • Focal length: 82.47
  • F-value: 1.45
  • Half angle of view: 14.70
  • Image height: 21.64
  • Overall length: 126.52
  • Back focus: 13.50

Example 3

  • Focal length: 103.16-387.89
  • F-value: 4.64-7.30
  • Half angle of view: 11.84-3.19
  • Image height: 21.64
  • Total length: 176.10-288.59
  • Back focus: 15.98-63.01

More Canon patent applications are listed here. Some particularly interesting patent applications we think might get into production are these:

[via asobinet.com]

Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO Announced, World’s Smallest 2x Macro

Laowa 85mm

Venus Optics announced the Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO lens. The world’s smallest 2x macro lens, say’s the manufacturer.

The Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO is currently available to order on the official website of Venus Optics and their authorized resellers. Recommended Retail Price in the US is $449 (Canon RF, Nikon Z, Sony FE) and $499 (Leica M). Shipping starts from early December 2021.

Laowa 85mm f/5.6 2x Ultra Macro APO is a mirrorless-designed macro lens with 28.55° angle of view for full frame. It is the smallest 2x macro lens in the Full Frame market. It weighs just around 252g (Leica M mount without caps and hood) which is super portable and handy for macro shooters. It features an apochromatic (APO) characteristic that chromatic aberration at both ‘in-focus’ & ‘out-of-focus’ is compressed to minimum. This new lens is able to focus from 2:1 magnification to infinity which can serve as both macro and portrait lens with great image quality.