A hand holds a Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM lens, with blue sky and sea in the background.

Review: Canon RF 70-200mm & 85mm with Harry Pope

Published 8 April 2022 by MPB

For a recent shoot in Cyprus, MPB lent travel photographer Harry Pope a couple of lenses—the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS and Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L—to use with his Canon EOS R5. How did he get on? Let’s find out. Over to you, Harry.

I was very excited to try out the lenses with my Canon R5. I focus mainly on landscape photography and have found myself reaching for my 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM most of the time. But I was longing for a lens that would allow me to compress my shots and capture a more minimal image, as well as a lens that I could use when shooting a subject and wanted a low depth of field.

A photographer wearing a black jumper reaches into a camera back to pick a Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 L USM lens.

Trying out the 70-200mm f/2.8 and the 85mm f/1.2 lenses in the field really opened up a whole range of creative possibilities for me.

A person sits on a wall near a white lighthouse, with grass in the foreground and blue sky in background.

I took the lenses with me on my recent trip to Cyprus, where I knew I’d have plenty of opportunities to put these lenses to good use. Usually, I’d only be shooting with a lens capable of going as low as f/2.8. So, having the 85mm aperture at f/1.2 was extremely helpful to create a low depth of field when photographing a subject.

A photographer wearing a black hoodie hold the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens with water in the background.

Compared to the original 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS II USM, the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 is surprisingly light for its size - weighing 2.35lbs.

A person stands on a wall behind a ship wreck with blue sky and sea behind them.

The focus on the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 was much faster than on my old Canon EF 70-200mm. It was so much easier to lock onto a subject, and get the image in focus and exactly how I wanted it. The perfect lens for the job.

A cat stood outside on a road outside a building.

At another location in Cyprus, I was blown away by the sharpness of this image I captured using the 85mm. I don't usually use prime lenses, so I was extremely pleased with the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 at this moment.

A photographer wearing a black jumper reaches into a camera back to pick up a Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 lens.

Another option would have been the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS. However, with the combination of the 70-200mm and my Canon R5, I have the option to crop during post-processing without compromising the quality of the image. This also allows me to save space and not add extra weight to my camera bag by not having the bigger 100-400mm lens.

If you’re looking for a lens capable of the things I have mentioned, both the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 and the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 are both lenses I would definitely recommend.

Thanks, Harry. You can see more of Harry Pope’s work on Instagram @harrypope Read more reviews on the MPB content hub.