Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsAn huge upgrade from the predecessors!
Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2023
I've own several Canon 85mm throughout my days of shooting. 85mm 1.2 II EF was my go to lens. I've shot so much on that lens that I would carry it with me to all my shoots. However the 85mm 1.2 EF version did not come without any problems. The focusing speed was dreadfully slow, the purple fringing were BAD and at 1.2 the corner sharpness will fall off drastically. Upgrading to this version, the RF 85mm 1.2, all of that problems have been fixed. The lens now focus much much faster, not 28-70 f2 fast but noticeably faster than the predecessor. You can actually shoot moving subject with it much better now and with the new element they added to control fringing, the purple fringing are gone! The lens is tack sharp from center to corner. People who said they cant justify the price difference to upgrade to this lens either 1) havent shot with this lens or 2) the work they do cant justify the price difference. For me, this is an all around worthy upgrade. The only thing thats missing on this lens that would make it the perfect lens is Image Stabilizer. That would have have made this lens perfect! The lens is not cheap, but the photo quality it brings is also very good. It has a control ring which most of the Canon RF lenses have now, you can customize it however you like. If I try to find something to complain about this lens, it would have to be the build material. The plastic built doesnt feel great to me compare to the EF version, but at the same time the EF version used a rubbery materials that can degrade and deteriorate over time as well (happened to me). So I guess with a plastic built I wont have this issue anymore, but I cant help to think that Canon could have really make it feel a whole lot better than this. This is just me being picky though, overall, this is still a great lens to have, and for 85mm shooters, this is a must upgrade in my opinion.
