Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 DS and RF 70-200mm f/2.8 Announcements

Spencer Cox
Canon announced the RF 85mm f/1.2 DS alongside the RF 70-200mm f/2.8. These lenses will ship in late 2019 for $3000 and $2700 respectively.

Today, Canon officially announced two lenses we knew were coming: the RF 85mm f/1.2 DS and RF 70-200mm f/2.8 mirrorless lenses. The 85mm ships in early December for $3000, while the 70-200mm ships in late November for $2700.

These are the ninth and tenth lenses released so far for Canon’s EOS R full-frame mirrorless system. The ten total lenses (with the new ones bolded) are below:

So, what do we know about the two new lenses? Here’s the information Canon announced today.

RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS

The 85mm f/1.2 DS is not the first 85mm f/1.2 Canon has made for its R system, as you may notice from the list above. The other version (non-DS) has been shipping since June and sells for $2700. The one announced today sells for $3000 and sports an additional “Defocus Smoothing” designation.

Defocus Smoothing is not an additional setting on the lens – unlike Nikon’s “Defocus Control” on the 105mm f/2 and 135mm f/2 F-Mount lenses. Rather, it is simply a lens coating, albeit one we have never seen before. Whether or not it is worth the additional $300 remains to be seen.

Canon claims that Defocus Smoothing is “designed to enhance the appearance of bokeh in the images captured with the lens.” They go on to explain that DS “allows off-axis flux to pass through the periphery of the lens that gradually decreases the transmittance of light, which results in images with beautifully blurred backgrounds.” It’s hard to know exactly what this entails without seeing sample images, but there’s no denying that bokeh is a critical reason why photographers buy wide-aperture 85mm lenses in the first place.

Here are the specifications for the 85mm f/1.2 DS:

You can pre-order the RF 85mm f/1.2 DS here at B&H.

RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM

Of the two lenses announced today, the bigger news is arguably the highly-anticipated RF 70-200mm f/2.8L, which will sell for $2700. In addition to the usual interest around 70-200mm f/2.8 lenses, this one in particular caught photographers’ eyes because of how small it looked in Canon’s prototypes. That bears out with the lens’s announcement today.

Officially, Canon didn’t say how much the RF 70-200mm f/2.8 weighs, nor give the length. However, the press release states that it is “27 percent shorter and 28 percent lighter than its EF counterpart.”

That’s pretty simple to calculate, given the EF 70-200mm f/2.8 III as the “counterpart” in question. That lens is 7.83 inches long (199 mm) and weighs 3.3 pounds (1480 g). So, the new RF lens will be about 5.71 inches long (145 mm) and weigh about 2.45 pounds (1066 g). That is very impressive for a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom.

Note, however, that the new 70-200mm does extend as you zoom in. As nice as it would have been to get an internal zoom, that just wasn’t going to happen at the small size of this lens. Canon still rates the lens as dust and weather resistant.

Here are the specifications we know for the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8:

You can pre-order the RF 70-200mm f/2.8 here at B&H.

Press Release

The RF Family Grows By Two: Canon RF 70-200MM F2.8L IS USM Lens Is The World’s Shortest And Lightest Lens In Its Class And RF 85MM F1.2L USM DS Is The First Lens To Feature Defocus Smoothing

New RF L-Series Lenses Aim to Provide Impeccable Performance, Handling and Unique Features to Photographers Shooting with EOS R and EOS RP Cameras


MELVILLE, NY, October 24, 2019 – Completing the “trinity” of RF lenses for the EOS R Full-Frame mirrorless camera system, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today announced the RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM telephoto lens. Additionally, the company also announced its first lens to feature Defocus Smoothing lens coating, the Canon RF 85 F1.2L DS. The ninth and tenth lenses in the RF family are both powerful tools for photographers using the EOS R or EOS RP cameras, in particular, those shooting sports or wildlife photography with the RF 70-200mm F2.8L or portrait photography with the RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS.

Short and Light With All The Might: Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM

The new lens features a large and bright f/2.8 aperture, which, along with the 70-200mm focal zoom ranges, presents an ideal workhorse lens for professional and amateur photographers shooting sports, wildlife, wedding and event action. The new RF lens is 27 percent shorter and 28 percent lighter than its EF counterparti with a large portion of the lens element arrangement closer to the camera body. This arrangement is designed to provide photographers with a more balanced feel and experience even at telephoto end of the zoom range. Additionally, the shorter and lighter design allows the lens to be more easily stowed away in a camera bag when not in-use.

A first for Canon lenses, the new RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM features two Nano USM motors providing an even greater level of high-speed autofocus for still image shooting and quiet and smooth autofocus for video shooting. The lens also incorporates a floating focus control, another Canon first, that drives the two lens groups individually while using the two aforementioned Nano USM motors. The floating focus lens element shortens focusing distance and help reduce breathing, providing users with fast, consistent and reliable performance.

Additional Features of The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Include:

  • Customizable control ring that allows photographers to adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO
  • 17 lens elements in 13 groups including two aspherical lenses, one super UD lens and four UD lenses, that help to reduce chromatic aberration
  • CIPA standard five stops of image stabilization (IS) including three IS modes with dual-sensing and combination IS
  • 12-pin communication system
  • L-Series dust and weather resistant build with fluorine coating
  • Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC) helps minimize lens flare and ghosting
Teaching an Old Dog a New Trick: Canon 85mm F1.2L USM DS

Canon has a rich history spanning over 40 years of producing 85mm lenses with f/1.2 apertures, and the new Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS is no different, or is it? The lens ushers in a new lens coating from Canon, Defocus Smoothingii, designed to enhance the appearance of bokeh in the images captured with the lens. DS coating is a vapor-deposited coating technology that is applied to the front and rear surfaces of a specific lens element inside the lens. The coating allows off-axis flux to pass through the periphery of the lens that gradually decreases the transmittance of light, which results in images with beautifully blurred backgrounds.

In addition, the new lens features a bright f/1.2 aperture which, along with the 85mm focal length, encompasses an ideal lens for portrait photographers. 85mm is often the preferred focal length selected by photographers when shooting portraits because it provides an appropriate depth and perspective of the subject relative to the background, helping to capture high-quality imagery with beautiful and desirable bokeh. The focal length also allows for the photographer and subject to maintain optimum distance apart to support strong communication, while not being too close.

Additional Features of The Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS Include:

  • Minimum focusing distance of 2.79 feet/0.85 meters
  • Customizable control ring that allows photographers to adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO
  • One Aspheric lens and one UD Lens, along with BR optics that help to reduce chromatic aberration
  • 12-pin communication system
  • L-Series dust and weather resistant build with fluorine coating
  • Air Sphere Coating (ASC) that helps minimize lens flare and ghosting
Pricing and Availability

The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM and RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS lenses are scheduled to be available late November 2019 and December 2019, respectively for an estimated retail price of $2,699.00 and $2,999.00 respectivelyiii. For additional information, please visit, usa.canon.com.

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