Hi! I'm Rudy Winston, with Canon USA, and I'm here to introduce a
new and special lens for critical photographers.
It's especially ideal for portrait, wedding, fashion, and commercial
still and video imagery: the Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM DS lens,
for the Canon EOS R full-frame mirrorless system.
The DS version joins the RF 85mm F1.2 L USM lens,
introduced earlier this year.
DS stands for Defocus Smoothing,
and the DS lens gives Canon EOS R system users two
superb 85mm F1.2 lens choices, and two choices
in bokeh rendering at wide apertures.
First, let me be totally clear: this is not a Soft Focus lens.
In fact, at its widest aperture, this is the sharpest Canon-brand
85mm lens ever produced, based on Canon's MTF results.
What the Defocus Smoothing technology does is change
the character of out-of-focus areas, smoothing the edges
of blurred foreground and background areas.
In effect, at wide apertures, you can think of the DS version
as a lens delivering a more polished bokeh appearance.
A comparison of images taken at the widest F1.2 aperture shows
the difference in how backgrounds and foregrounds are depicted.
Both RF 85mm versions deliver spectacular sharpness
at the primary subject, but with the DS lens,
there's a difference in the out-of-focus areas.
Edges are smoother, they're actually a bit smaller in size,
and if you look closely, there's a bit more apparent depth-of-field
with the Defocus Smoothing effect.
The sharp primary subject can be anywhere in the frame.
Again, the smoothing effect only applies to out-of-focus
foreground and background areas.
Defocus Smoothing is a lens
coating technology, applied to two lens elements in the DS lens.
With Defocus Smoothing at two points within the lens,
the smoothness can be uniformly achieved around entire out-of-focus
highlights and other bokeh areas.
The smoothing effect varies depending on lens aperture.
You'll find F1.2 and F1.4 are the real sweet spots
with the DS lens, with the effect diminishing as the lens is stopped down.
At F3.2 and smaller apertures, images from the DS lens are essentially the
same as those from the non-DS version. Optically, the glass, size,
weight, and control placement are identical between
the two RF 85mm lenses down to the 82mm front filter size.
Along with the Defocus Smoothing, exposure and light transmission
differ between the DS and non-DS lenses as well.
With the DS lens, there's an effective light loss of about
1.3 stops when the lens is wide-open, compared to the
non-DS lens. This light loss is less of a factor as the aperture
is stopped down, with effectively no light loss at
F3.2 and smaller lens openings.
At the start of shipments to dealers, EOS R and EOS RP cameras will require
a free firmware upgrade, to properly meter with the DS lens.
This will allow seamless manual or automatic exposure when
the DS lens is attached. If you use a separate hand-held meter, a few quick
test shots will indicate any compensation needed for final exposure.
Comparing the two RF 85mm F1.2 lenses, the non-DS lens
will especially appeal to photographers who want to
maximize low-light performance.
There's no light loss at wide apertures, so it's supremely effective in dim,
available light conditions.
The DS version may be a better choice for users
who can shoot at wide apertures, but for whom bokeh depiction is
a primary part of their work — especially if they're shooting
outdoors, in good interior lighting, or in the studio.
Two outstanding RF 85mm F1.2 lenses, two choices for Canon
photographers. It's a win-win situation for the EOS R system.
For Canon USA, I'm Rudy Winston. Thanks for being with us!
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