Portrait-Length Prime for Hybrid Creators
Built for photographers and videographers alike, the Canon RF 85mm f/1.4 L VCM is a fast short-telephoto prime lens with a function-first build that caters to the hybrid nature of modern image-making, emphasizing high image quality, responsive AF, minimized focus breathing, and intuitive, silent, and customizable handling.
Optimized for Photo
A popular focal length for portraiture and events, this short-telephoto lens is also a unique option for landscapes and street applications where the narrower field of view, along with bright f/1.4 design, can isolate subjects with shallow depth of field and create flattering perspectives.
Versatile 85mm focal length is ideal for portraiture thanks to an ideal mixture of slight compression and a narrow, selective field of view; this results in a flattering rendering of full-length and half-length subjects with good subject-background separation.
Impressively fast f/1.4 maximum aperture affords control over depth of field and also greatly benefits low-light shooting, making this an ideal lens for handheld use in available lighting and indoor locations.
Optical design includes one ultra-low dispersion (UD) element and one aspherical element to reduce chromatic and spherical aberrations for impressive clarity, color accuracy, and sharpness.
Air Sphere (ASC) and Subwavelength structure (SWC) coatings reduce flare and ghosting for improved contrast.
Rounded 11-blade diaphragm creates a smooth, rounded out-of-focus rendering.
Optimized for Video
When used for video applications, the slightly long focal length and selective field of view is ideal for tight shots in two-camera setups and for working with distant subjects and more selective framing.
Manual aperture ring with de-click switch to make smooth, silent iris pulls.
Focus breathing is especially well-controlled, helping to maintain a consistent composition and field of view when racking focus.
Linear focus motor for intuitive manual focus control.
Matched design with other Hybrid series primes; all lenses have the same 67mm front filter ring and general size for ease in rigging and working with multiple lenses on a shoot.
VCM Autofocus
The focusing system has also been tuned to suit both photo and video tasks, offering a useful mixture of speed and control.
Voice Coil Motor (VCM) focusing system offers an ideal balance of speed and quiet performance that is especially beneficial to video recording.
This lens also excels with close-up subjects thanks to a 2.5' minimum focusing distance and 0.12x maximum magnification.
AF/MF switch and full-time manual focus override for intuitive focus control when needed.
Design Details
Despite being a fast portrait-length lens, this 85mm f/1.4 remains relatively compact and lightweight for regular use. Its design and size is matched to the other Hybrid lenses and is built for everyday use for a wide range of shooting applications.
Effectively the same dimensions (3 x 3.9") and weight (1.4 lb) as other Hybrid series prime lenses; these lenses also share a 67mm front filter ring diameter.
In addition to the manual aperture ring, this lens has a customizable Control Ring and Function Button, which can be programmed to control a range of shooting settings.
L-Series level durability and weather resistance for working in inclement conditions.