# Stock Notice: Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM in stock at Adorama



## Canon Rumors Guy (Dec 2, 2020)

> Adorama has stock of the brand new Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM, I don’t expect these to stay in stock very long.
> Key Features
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Continue reading...


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## usern4cr (Dec 2, 2020)

Since this is a post on the 85mm f2, I thought I should post this here.
I just got the RF 85mm f1.2L and thought I'd post a single photo I took today with my R5, and show how I adjusted it and what resolution the 85 1.2L can get out of the shadows.

This is the original 14.7MB (compressed) CRaw photo at f1.2, iso 100, 1/8000", mechanical 1st & 2nd shutter (no modifications and no de-noising, resized to 2.5K pixels tall to post here):




I then adjusted and cropped it to taste in DXO Photolab4, with "deep prime" de-noising:



I then took a square 1:1 640x640 pixel crop of the untouched original around the eye, which is here:



I then took the same 1:1 640x640 crop of the eye from the version I adjusted in PL4, which is here:



If you look at the above 640x640, you can see a pretty clear reflection in the eye of my house on the right, my neighbors' house on the left, and between them is me, hunched over holding the camera in portrait mode just above the ground to take the photo. Since this was with a compressed raw file, I wonder if a regular raw file would get even more out of the shadows?

I just thought I'd post it here in case you wonder what the R5 with animal eye AF and a 85mm f1.2L at f1.2 might be able to get out of the shadows.


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## bvukich (Dec 2, 2020)

Aaannnndddd it's gone


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## Kiton (Dec 2, 2020)

The 85 f2 is a very nice lens.
I have been using it a fair bit and am very happy.
Not so great with video, slow to focus, but very good for stills!


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## renlok (Dec 3, 2020)

Kiton said:


> The 85 f2 is a very nice lens.
> I have been using it a fair bit and am very happy.
> Not so great with video, slow to focus, but very good for stills!


How does it compare to the ef 85mm F1.8?


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## navastronia (Dec 3, 2020)

usern4cr said:


> View attachment 194262



I thank you, but my bank account hates you


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## Daner (Dec 3, 2020)

renlok said:


> How does it compare to the ef 85mm F1.8?



Gordon Laing does a nice comparison here: 




I was happy with my EF 85 f/1.8 when using it with my 70D and 7D2. It seemed a bit soft for portrait work when I upgraded to a 5D4, but I just assumed that was due to my not nailing focus. Stopping down to f/2 seemed to help a tad, but despite my efforts to micro-adjust the focus point, it was still not enough to get the sharpness that I was looking for when pixel-peeping. Switching to the EOS R and using eye-AF helped my hit rate, but it became evident that I was up against the limits of resolving power for that lens.

The RF is noticeably better in that respect.

I haven't yet used it for video, so I can't address that point. Just took delivery of the ET-77 hood for it, so I'll be more likely to bring it with me on rainy outdoor shoots here in Stockholm.


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## usern4cr (Dec 3, 2020)

navastronia said:


> I thank you, but my bank account hates you


Right now, mine's not too fond of me, either!


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## dwarven (Dec 3, 2020)

Just got this a few days ago. Man it has a noisy and slow focus motor, but the IQ is outstanding.


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## Kiton (Dec 3, 2020)

renlok said:


> How does it compare to the EF 85mm F1.8?



Well, depending on your tastes, MUCH better or a little worse! 

It is much sharper and stays sharper and brighter in to the corners far better than the old 1.8, which I still have and will keep.
That said, I like the old 1.8 just for that reason. Shooting portraits, I like the way the old glass gets soft and dark in the corners.
But for everything else the RF is superior and the focus is faster.
But, honestly, I would reach for the new one 99% of time and maybe pull the old one out if I was shooting portrait of senior woman. 
Sort of like a reaching for a Softar 1 by comparison! 

The old glass was really nice at f4
This one is really nice all the way though. I am surprised how often I use it.

But it tanks out focusing indoors for video. the 24-105 is far superior for video but at 85, I would reach for the prime first.
i dont shoot much video, I actually hate video, but must shoot it for work at times, so that mean nothing to me, just mention for others who may like video.
It was $850 here in Canada and 45 for the hood!
I swear canon is extracting whatever they paid to the ransomware bandits by adding to the new gear. The 70-200 f4 is just over $300 more than Sony's.

If I lost it, would I buy it again? 
YES
And I would still swear at Canon for the price of the lens and the fact the lens hood is $45 extra.
But, I would certainly replace it if I lost it.

Hope that helps a little,


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## drhuffman87 (Dec 4, 2020)

Kiton said:


> Well, depending on your tastes, MUCH better or a little worse!
> 
> It is much sharper and stays sharper and brighter in to the corners far better than the old 1.8, which I still have and will keep.
> That said, I like the old 1.8 just for that reason. Shooting portraits, I like the way the old glass gets soft and dark in the corners.
> ...



Speaking of the $45 lens hood... Does it have the same spring loaded release button that the rf24-105 F4L has? Whether or not it does may be the deciding factor as to whether or not I purchase the Canon lens hood or a 3rd party lens hood.


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## Kiton (Dec 5, 2020)

drhuffman87 said:


> Speaking of the $45 lens hood... Does it have the same spring loaded release button that the rf24-105 F4L has? Whether or not it does may be the deciding factor as to whether or not I purchase the Canon lens hood or a 3rd party lens hood.




The RF 85 has a twist lock lens hood that seems to work well.
Love hate relationship with those too, the 50 EF STM fell off so much I bought a screw in rubber hood.
But in fairness to Canon, the new 85 hood stays on well.
The lens hood on my EF 85mm is duct taped in place it falls off so often, it looks like they fixed that on the RF 85.

What me go ahead and pay the insane fee Canon asks for a 1 dollar piece of plastic is, it protects the lens a little more than a screw in hood.


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## drhuffman87 (Dec 5, 2020)

Kiton said:


> The RF 85 has a twist lock lens hood that seems to work well.
> Love hate relationship with those too, the 50 EF STM fell off so much I bought a screw in rubber hood.
> But in fairness to Canon, the new 85 hood stays on well.
> The lens hood on my EF 85mm is duct taped in place it falls off so often, it looks like they fixed that on the RF 85.
> ...


Thank you very much for your detailed response good sir. I appreciate it!


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## renlok (Dec 11, 2020)

Kiton said:


> Hope that helps a little,



Thanks Kiton, helps AlOT!.


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