Canon creatives looking for a portrait-length prime now have an option that comes in at nearly half the price and nearly half the weight of the brand’s 85mm f/1.2 option. The Canon RF 85mm f/1.4 L VCM is a hybrid prime lens geared for both photo and video that joins the brand’s 20mm, 24mm, 35mm, and 50mm VCM prime series.
At $1,649 in the US, the Canon 85mm f/1.4 VCM L is nearly half the cost of the brand’s $2,999 RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM lens, which sits among the best Canon portrait lenses. While the new lens has one-third of a stop less light than the pricier prime, it comes in at a more affordable price point, bridging the gap between that high-end f/1.2 and the affordable RF 85mm f/2 Macro.
That slightly less wide aperture also gives the lens a weight advantage. While the 85mm f/1.4 is slightly heavier than the 50mm VCM in the series, it’s almost half the weight of the f/1.2 prime, coming in at 1.4 lbs / 636g compared to the 2.63 lbs / 1,195 of the brighter f/1.2 lens. Length-wise, the lens comes in at 99.3mm / 3.9 inches.
While the new VCM lens isn’t Canon’s most expensive 85mm, it’s still part of the L series, which means the lens is also sealed against dust and splashes. The lens is designed with 14 elements in ten groups and uses an 11-blade aperture design. An Air Sphere ASC coating helps reduce flare and ghosting, while the front also uses a fluorine coating to prevent the buildup of dust and fingerprints.
The Canon RF 85mm f/1.4 L VCM, as the name indicates, uses Canon’s VCM or voice coil motor for autofocus. The lens is capable of focusing on objects as close as 29 inches from the front of the lens for a .12x magnification for tightly cropped portraits. That electromagnetic system helps deliver quieter autofocus, along with reducing focus breathing, which is why Canon’s VCM series is earmarked as hybrids for both photo and video.
The new lens shares several other features in common with the other VCMs, including a 67mm thread size that allows the series to share filters without step-up rings. As the longest focal length yet in the series of prime VCMs, the 85mm is slightly heavier than other optics in the series, and gimbals will need a slight rebalance when swapping between those lenses.
The Canon RF 85mm f/1.4 L VCM is scheduled to ship before the end of September with a retail price of $1,649 / £1,799.99 / AU$2,699. Pre-orders have opened at Adorama and B&H in the US and Wex Camera in the UK.
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Read our hands-on Canon RF 85mm f/1.4L VCM review, and browse the best Canon RF lenses or the best Canon cameras.
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