Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 DS lens review - is this the best bokeh ever?

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The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS (Defocus Smoothing) is the closest Canon will ever get to making a Lensbaby lens - its bokeh is just next-level wow. The question is, will it replace the standard RF 85mm f/1.2 as my favorite lens for the Canon EOS R?
I put them through some side-by-side shooting comparisons to show you exactly how unique the bokeh is on this lens, and to help you decide whether it's worth that 3K price tag. If you want to know the difference between the two lenses, this Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 DS review is for you!
Special thanks to Faith Roswell for being one of my stunning models:
/ theroswellist
Standard Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM review:
• Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L r...
Full Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM DS review:
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KIT
Video: Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Lens: Olympus 12-40mm f/2.8 Pro
Tripod: Manfrotto Befree Nerissimo
Audio: Cheap and nasty eBay lavalier mic

Опубликовано:

28 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 103

@T-Slider 3 года назад

Parameter: If you are indeed shooting a portrait, then the person should be your subject. But with the standard 1.2 those sharp big bokeh balls seem to be in the same focal plane as the supposed subject. Worse, they are fighting for your attention! Detracting from the person/subject of your photograph! If that busy look is what you want in a photograph, your not shooting a portrait. The DS by contrast clearly separates the portrait subject from the scene. A 3D look actually. What you see in any portrait painting! The DS creates a much more painterly, artistic image than the standard. Portrait Paintings by the masters never include any element competing with the subject for the viewers attention. The choices are clearly defined: a tool maximizing artistic expression vs flawless photographic technique!

@charlesjames9783 11 месяцев назад

I’m so glad you commented. I have a few 1.8 lenses and I always felt like the bokeh balls competed with the subject. It was the traditional look so I went with it. I prefer the soft DS bokeh look better too.

@GableVision 4 месяца назад

Who are you trying to convince? If it is about painting then the non-ds version does a better job in my eyes. Just because of the more brushlike contrasts in the out-of-focus area. Detraction? Is it a good thing that our eyes can’t escape the subject/person because everything else is wiped out? I’m now testing a DS vs an EF 85mm 1.2L II. And while the RF is sharper, better, I like the bokeh of the EF more. So I think I have to go for the non-DS version. In the second hand market they are more expensive already as the DS-versions, they differ from the new price the other way around, I got the DS like new for €1.900 and am looking for a non-DS like new for €2.250: why do you think that is?

@T-Slider 4 месяца назад

@@GableVision Wow, “time travel?” Because the 1½ stop light loss was a sacrifice many weren’t able to accept. Less marketability equals lower price overtime.

@vivalasvegas702 4 года назад

I’ll still pick the DS for smoother(LESS harsh, creamer, dreamer) bokeh, the 1.3ev difference will taken care off in post, by pulling shadow details, Canon can easily provide the dynamic range required to pull 1.3ev of light lost in the DS version. Besides, where I live, it’s always sunny(clear blue skies), like what you said, the DS coating will act as an ND filter so my images are not blown out. Harsh or convoluted bokeh is never a desirable character for fast primes, EVER. The DS version is sharper because the bokeh is creamer(better separation), the photo has that 3D pop to it! Hopefully Canon will put this DS coating on their 50 F1.2 as well.

@djack41 4 года назад

For weddings, the DS the absolute winner!

@kevincab 4 года назад

Out of the videos I watched about these lenses yours was the only one that I can tell the difference. And you explained it really well. Thanks you!

@jamescope8858 4 года назад

As good as it is I agree that ultimately it’s a matter of taste and the “vanilla” 85 1.2 seems to give the results I prefer. Dare I say it but the initial results of the DS bokeh look a little too much like a software blur - it’s technically impressive but a little uncanny. Would like to see some daylight outdoor portraits as it might work really well there to really soften vegetation or similar. Either way it’s fantasy land for me as I can’t justify either lens at the current prices, but the 85 1.2 is absolutely going to be mine one day...

@Artaius 4 года назад

Aye, the DS does have a very artificial feel. I was actually using my iPhone earlier and I noticed that the effect is pretty much the same as when you double-tap the home button and it brings up all your apps, with the icons on the home screen blurred to buttery bokeh in the background - it looks just like the DS lens! Hoping to get out over the holidays and do some proper daytime shooting…

@kane01337 4 года назад

@@Artaius Great comparison - would love to see some daytime / outdoor shots if you still have access to both lenses!

@patrick.munich 4 года назад

@@Artaius or if you use the "portrait mode" on the iPhone ;) just too smooth...

@jasona59 4 года назад

Agreed. I greatly prefer the look of the standard RF 85mm 1.2, which is hands down the best 85mm I have ever used.

@Artaius 4 года назад

It really is a phenomenal lens, isn't it! Star of the RF system for me, so far.

@whiterock1865 4 года назад

Supposedly the ds is sharper than the standard 85mm, Canon says it’s the best lens they’ve ever made

@anmolsethi8840 4 года назад

@@whiterock1865 How do you know that?

@whiterock1865 4 года назад

@@anmolsethi8840 It was in a review I saw, where Canon said it was the best lens they've ever made to this point. Sorry I don't remember which one though, was a while ago.

@anmolsethi8840 4 года назад

@@whiterock1865 I actually just heard it too. It's in one of Canon's announcement videos. They say the RF 85mm f/1.2 in general is the best though, not just the DS.

@Junpyo 4 года назад

I purposely go for fast lens to get that lemon oval looking bokeh, so definitely the standard 85mm RF f/1.2 is my choice. I was waiting for a comparison, and although DS version looks alright, I feel like the bokeh effect is very similar to the smartphone software blur, something that is not of my favorite choice. Both great lens, but as an owner of 50mm RF F/1.2, I would be interested in picking up the 85mm non-DS version. Thanks for the great review :)

@chriswheelington6592 4 года назад

I’m a simple man. I hear a british accent. I push like 🤷🏽‍♂️😌

@paulhenry7 6 месяцев назад

There are many British accents.

@davidwatchesyoutube247 11 месяцев назад

A+ review as I decide between the two. I remain undecided - the killer of the DS is the low light 1.3 stop loss

@GableVision 4 месяца назад

I think the killer of the DS is the bokeh.

@efreutel 4 месяца назад

1.3 stop light loss. Not a big deal; very little noise with faster ISO bump- ups.

@RayValdezPhotography 4 года назад

i knew Kai would be the first one to compare these.

@whiterock1865 2 года назад

I'm just gonna say it, if you can afford the 85mm f/1.2 non DS, then you can squeeze an extra $300 for the DS. With all due respect if you are a professional, $300 is chump change for the lifespan you will get out of said lens and money you'll make from it. To say one has more character over the other is completely subjective. You either like the smoothing or you don't. But for outside shoots I like the reduced light as that make it a bit easier to get that f/1.2 in bright conditions. Now the harder edges can be quite jarring when seen side by side with the DS, just like most won't particulary notice other issues unless they are actively seeing them side by side. Soooo get the lens whose rendering is more pleasing to your eye.

@JaredRibic 3 года назад

Thanks for doing this video. I've been on the fence about which one to get and I think I'll go with the 'standard' 85mm f/1.2L rather than the DS version.

@dahaizang 2 месяца назад

The relentless pursuit of smooth bokeh has little to do witht photography but more to do with optical lust. Good points made.

@vaskoobscura_ 4 года назад

Very good review. Really made me look at things a little differently.

@mariap6271 4 года назад

I prefer the look of the DS ultra creamy it needs to be on a body with ibis to use its full potential

@Artaius 4 года назад

Definitely agree with that! All these RF lenses demand an IBIS body worthy of them!

@southerncharity7928 4 года назад

Tripod = 100 stop ibis

@TT-dz8zf 4 года назад

Now with IBIS on the R5.

@mindcave 29 дней назад

The DS is my answer to a 6 stop ND filter falling short by one stop when shooting flash in bright sunlight.

@brianchu8147 4 года назад

RE: the sharpness difference, Canon has publicly stated that the apodization process in the DS grants it noticeably more apparent depth of field than the traditional RF non DS version. I'm guessing that's at least partly what you're noticing. See 1:50 mark of this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Cir5Y4U09Gw.html

@thosewholeft 4 года назад

Love love love the standard bokeh, good job trying to explain your personal taste

@Artaius 4 года назад

Thank you very much! It's such a subjective thing, and it was really hard trying to articulate what I prefer and why!

@whiterock1865 2 года назад

10:16 I heard from other reviews that Canon said the DS is the sharpest lens they've ever made. Well, coatings make a huge difference and if more precision is put into the DS then perhaps all those wavelengths align better yielding better sharpness.

@davidbrown_au 4 года назад

I think I prefer the standard 85mm1.2 lens as it has a higher t stop, & I like the look of the larger bokeh balls & the subtle textures created when they overlap. I also think I would prefer the 85mm 1.2 lens with a screw on apodization filter that could be fitted to give that effect when required with out the limitations of the ds lens.

@Artaius 4 года назад

Agreed, it took me a lot of playing and experimenting and comparing, but I think the standard 1.2 is where my heart is. That loss of light really is hard to stomach!

@whiterock1865 9 месяцев назад

Yes the DS coating is basically a radial neutral density filter. So it reduces the brightness of the bokeh edges. Which is also why the Boca looks perhaps a little bit smaller is because it’s radially dimming the edges of the bokeh circles in a smooth gradient.

@y0utube5uxx 4 года назад

The smoothness is very helpful when you have a busy background and shoot a full body portrait. The DS version helps to produce a 3d-like picture, while the regular one really sucks. Otherwise the regular lens is a winner.

@RWAquariumPages 3 года назад

great video, i wonder how is the DS bokeh vs the 200 F2, i personally have the 200F2 but the 200mm range for full body shots can be challenging to use, i like the 85mm focal range, or even a 135 if and when canon comes out with one. then my other struggle is to figure out how to use a 35mm for lifestyle portraits that tells a story instead of bokeh everything

@HungNguyen-yg6dq Год назад

Buy the RF85DS already dude 😀

@ramonbril 4 года назад

That's an interesting opinion, on the charcter of the harder bokeh balls. I have the opposite taste. Nice to hear this view.

@MartinSc76 4 года назад

Besides which one is more in favour....hey, thank you so much for explaining an impressive bunch of hands-on and practically mattering facts. I can see clearly now :). Very much appreciated, great work IMHO. All the best!

@meibing4912 4 года назад

Bokeh is a matter of taste - so get what you prefer. For those saying it looks like Photoshop I can only laugh - there is no way to replicate the effect in photoshop because it’s an optical effect. It’s not like a soft filter lens at all. Just look at the RF 85mm pictures side by side and ask yourself how you would go from the normal lens result to the ds lens result using photoshop...

@PA-gt1dd 3 года назад

gaussian blur

@scottjones1932 4 года назад

Helped offer me a unique perspective. We all talk about images with texture and contrast. Think I'll buy the non-DS too. if i need more cream, I'll gaussian blur it in PS. thanks. good job. AND>>> i want 1.2 because of low-light, primarily. DOF and bokeh takes a back seat. primarily

@janplexy 18 дней назад

7:00 - they seem to reproduce the colors differently

@ericfreutel8240 2 года назад

Great review! Food for thought, certainly.

@James-ee1pk 2 года назад

Excellent comparison. The bokeh balls do look better to me with the non-DS version.

@robo3915 Год назад

Great review, thanks! definitely made up my mind

@owenhall5742 4 года назад

It gives me the feel of the new iPhones 11 pro background bluring software? The iphone blurs the background all the same with little character bokeh just like if you took a blur tool to the back ground?

@patrick.munich 4 года назад

Yeah... I have an iPhone 11 and that is exactly my problem with the DS. It looks like an AI software blurr, while the look of the non-DS version can't be reproduced by software

@kent2000100 4 года назад

Nicely done review.

@Artaius 4 года назад

Thank you very much, Kent!

@forgewire 4 года назад

You are right DS looks like m.Zuiko 1.2 PRO lenses with "feathered" bokeh which I had. I prefer regular 85 with big bokeh balls.

@TT-dz8zf 4 года назад

I agree with many comments in here. I would choose the non-DS too since it’s bokeh has a little more “character” than the blurb spots on the DS. Honestly, portraits with nice little light balls in the background looks nicer than blurry spots. Just my opinion.

@LCBear 2 года назад

you get the same bokeh with any prime rf lens. they don’t have character…

@taotaoatnyc 4 года назад

nicely done and explained! thanks for the clarification!

@puredistancegolf Год назад

Great review. Thanks.

@johnvidol5555 4 года назад

Really good and very helpful!!! Thank you!!!!

@DavidMcMeakin 3 года назад

Great review, thank you.

@thirumuruganstudio5124 3 года назад

Very good review👍

@mechpade 4 года назад

Would it be possible to have all the lens with apodization filters in one review? Sony 100 f2.8 STF, Fuji 56 f1.2 APD, Laowa 105 f2 STF, and the Canon 85 f1.2 DS

@Artaius 4 года назад

You know, that's something I'd really love to do… I'll see if it can be done!

@y0utube5uxx 4 года назад

You forgot the Sony 135/2.8 STF A-mount

@CatherineHall 2 года назад

great review!!! Thank you.

@laurajot8861 Год назад

Hi, DS version - darker but ISO can go higher, can't it? Would be great to see the higher ISO in DS vs. standard 85mm and I guess, lower ISO? The gaussian filter can do the thing in standard 85mm when it comes to making ,,creamy,, bokeh? The DS is tempting as its kinda modern and sharper, as you said. Is it really worth paying more? Aww.. :)) P.s. Thank you for the review :)

@chirag4 4 года назад

Thanks. nice comparison review

@Artaius 4 года назад

Thanks very much, Chirag!

@justin117710 3 года назад

I’m stuck on choosing which one to get , I sold my Rf 50mm and loved that lens but I want to switch to the 85mm focal length, I like having that extra low light aperture but I also like how the DS version makes the subject pop in a 3D way more. What do you guys think I should get?

@alexng8679 4 года назад

How about if you shoot with a body with IBIS, would you swing for the DS instead? My guess for the shaper effect with the DS lens is becoz the DS elements act as slightly closed down apertures. I do find the Fuji 56 1.2 APD is more contasty than the normal version as well.

@Artaius 4 года назад

I've been thinking that - I'm definitely upgrading my EOS R in the new year when the EOS R Mark II / EOS Rs / whatever it ends up being called is released, and the IBIS would definitely play a factor in the decision. I've only played with the Fuji 56 once - I must remedy this!

@davidbrown_au 4 года назад

I was thinking the same, about the ds being sharper. I think you would find that sharpness of the ds wide open would be similar to the standard 85 1.2 stoped down to say f2.2, as the aberrations from the edges of the lens elements would be partially blocked.

@danielson_9211 3 месяца назад

Will be getting one next week and think I'll go with the reg version not because the money difference, but the DS version feels like you are shooting with a f 2 lens not a 1.2 lens and that greenish tint on it doesn't help, the bokeh being smoothed out feel fake to me and seem more defined as a ball than a nature bokeh.

@R0dan 2 года назад

Very helpful👍

@kikezurek34 4 года назад

Is it worth buying the Canon EF 50mm f/1.2 L USM in 2020

@rayxu6030 4 года назад

absolutely NO! unless you will never own any RF systems in the future.

@watermelon548 4 года назад

I’m trying to figure out which one I should get and still can’t make up my mind. I like both but don’t have enough money for all of them😟

@DB-nl9xw 4 года назад

I would like to see a video of the lens

@kfotoprm 3 года назад

$300 = £450 ?? I don't think so! Who changes your Money! ? But very good Vid though, well done! On the point of why the DS lens, seems to loose the "Stand out" effect, as opposed to the non DS lens, I think that the subject, looks better separated, when the background is sharper, as when not, it kind of, "Merges" with it. Just my opinion. If one is torn between the two, buy them both, and go on a diet, and stop drinking for a year, to pay for them!

@Photoshopuzr 2 года назад

buy both problem solved.

@robertm3951 2 года назад

Ever so slight correction. It is T1.3 vs T2.2

@efreutel 4 месяца назад

Nah, DS everytime, simply as a standout lens. All my other lens have the sharp bokeh balls. Good to have the unique DS lens in my arsenal…

@lesstat2012 4 года назад

so u adive the ds version over the usm version ? (my usage is photo and video)

@theroffness 4 года назад

What light do you use for portrait shots?

@grimmjo410 4 года назад

I don't like that much separation it looks weird to me i get why people love it but its kinda weird to me plus i feel like this is the wave

@gerardferry3958 4 года назад

I think you have to state the T number of the unsmoothed lens, try dxo

@Artaius 4 года назад

To the best of my knowledge, the standard RF 85mm is a true 1.2 lens.

@mr.v5918 4 года назад

Just call it a apodization filter

@jamesnetherian4981 3 года назад

We have RAW, we have IBIS, we have cameras you can shoot with high ISO settings. And you shit yourself because it's a 2.2 in terms of light transmission? haha

@nessviggo 4 года назад

The lack of personality you’re talking about, could it be as easy as it looks a bit more fake and made in photoshop? I had that feeling when using the TS17 tilt shift lenses, when I corrected the images to where all lines were completely straight it looked way too weird, I was not used to seeing it that way. So I just, almost fully correct the lines and it looked more natural. Just a thought 👍🏽

@Artaius 4 года назад

It's really interesting you mention that - I think the 'artificiality' is definitely a thing. I was showing my partner some of the images and her literal reaction was, "It doesn't even look real - it's like the background has been replaced in Photoshop!" And I totally understand what you mean with TS lenses - that definitely takes some getting used to!

@mariap6271 4 года назад

I feel like you can’t judge it by photoshop because it’s extremely easy to photoshop sharp bokeh balls and practically anything . It’s definitely more natural than a typical digital blur

@DecoyJayc 2 года назад

Half the light of f/1.2 is f/1.8

@SNAPAVELI 4 года назад

I agree! The ds just looks like it’s out of focus areas has been photoshopped, doesn’t look natural

@markdbey 4 года назад

J. Marcus Photography Hey Everybody it’s Marcus! Lol Love your videos man! Your partially the reason I’m getting the RF 85 next week! 😎

@SNAPAVELI 4 года назад

Markus Klemons LoL Thank you brother!! Man, you won’t regret it either! I’m hooked!!

@markdbey 4 года назад

J. Marcus Photography Oh I’m sure! I’ve bought 5 other 85’s and this one seems like it’ll be the best yet! Lol if you’re ever in Atlanta, give me a shout man. Would love to shoot with you. @md_photoz

@MrPinokkijo 3 года назад

The reason why the DS seems sharper is because it is a T2.2 and not f1.2. Stop down the not DS to f2 and you will see. Something totally overlooked in every review is the fact the DS doesn’t have the extremely shallow f1.2 dof, but a rather normal 85mm F2 dof. I would like to see examples of the difference of dof on a zoomed in face, both lenses full open.

@grimmjo410 4 года назад

Viltrox 85mm 1.8 it is lol #Broke