Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM

£669/$599 An immensely versatile prime

Lens mount Canon RF

The RF 85mm f/1.2 lens and its DS (Defocus Smoothing) edition are Canon’s top dogs for portraiture, but the prices are way out of range for most of us. The f/2 lens is much smaller and is less than a quarter of the price.

Smart features include a five-stop hybrid image stabiliser, a customisable control ring and an autofocus range limiter that can lock out the range either side of 0.5m – useful given the lens’s 0.5x macro magnification factor at its closest focus distance of 0.35m. Build quality feels robust and the lens features weather-seals but, as usual for non-L-series Canon lenses, the hood is sold separately.

Performance

As we’ve come to expect from STM lenses, autofocus is quick and virtually silent. The image stabiliser lives up to its claims and handling is a dream.