Ben Funk Photography - Why you should consider the RF 85mm f/1.2 for sports

October 5th, 2024

Ben Funk

Typically, when you think of a sports photography lens you think of a f/2.8 zoom with fast, focusing servos to keep up with the constant movement. And when I say the words 85mm f/1.2 sports are the last thing that come to mind. The Canon RF 85mm lens is considered the Holy Grail when it comes to wedding photography. The Bokah is an absolute wonder on this camera and the sharpness is unparalleled. This is one of the very traditional wedding lenses that pairs really well with something like a 28-70mm f/2. But if you know me, I am anything but traditional.

When I got my hands on the 85mm lens my first thought was, "I wonder how far I can push this". I knew that lens was typically used for weddings; however, I am not a wedding photographer. I do sports and photojournalism which is just about the furthest thing from a wedding photographer you can get. Sure, you can use it for portraits on the photojournalism side, but typically you want a very fast focusing and lightweight lens, which is not the 85mm f/1.2.

Recently, I picked up work as a freelance photographer for the athletics department at the University of Denver. The first two games I took photos of were volleyball, which was a big learning curve as I had never shot volleyball before. The first game I went to I took some more traditional lenses and stuck with that; however, for the second game, I felt like I knew the sport a little bit better and decided to take the 85mm. I mainly took it to counteract the poor lighting in the gymnasium, and having such a fast aperture would allow me to keep my shutter speed up without raising my ISO too much.

The first two photos didn't really push the lens all that much. They are admittedly very clean and give a nice background blur even though I'm so far away. The background isn't too interesting as this is the second game of the season and I am taking photos looking toward the visitor's side. I feel like the blur helps draw focus into the players.

In the third photo, we finally have some action...but I backed off the aperture to f/2. I did this as I felt like the focus falloff happened too suddenly at 1.2 and if they moved, the focus on the 85mm is not the fastest in the world. Even at f/2 there is still a nice separation from the background.

All in all, the 85mm held its own through the volleyball game. It made a great secondary lens to the 70-200mm f/2.8, providing a unique composition and look that is typically unseen at events like these. It wasn't groundbreaking but provided clean and sharp images. I really didn't think the images were too groundbreaking.

I started this expecting one of three outcomes, the lens wouldn't be able to keep up, in which case oh well the 85mm isn't meant for sports anyway. The second being, it was able to keep up but didn't add anything to the images. If you could capture the look with something like a 70-200mm f/2.8 there's no reason to get the 85mm. I felt like the lens fell into this category after the volleyball game. Sure the background was slightly more out of focus compared to what you would have with a 70-200mm The final outcome I was hoping for, and why I took it to one more game; It provided a stunningly different look while keeping up with all of the movement.

R6mkii + 85mm, 1/2500s, f/1.2, ISO 2000

R6mkii + 85mm, 1/1600s, f/2, ISO 2500

Obviously, something changed, as I probably wouldn't be writing this if my opinion had stayed in those first two options. That moment came when I got to take the 85mm out for a spin at a soccer game.

To be completely honest, I almost didn't take it. I have an RF 100mm f/2.8 which I was planning on having as a secondary lens, to my RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1, which would still have the reach but just allow for a bit more separation between my subject and the background. At the last minute, I decided to take the 85mm and give it one last chance to photograph sports. I was extremely weary, though, as I was already pushing its performance with volleyball, so I had zero expectations for it to perform at a soccer game where the field is more spread out, the players are further away, and the lighting is almost too bright to use it at f/1.2

The first photo is the pregame coin flip. Both captains met and were shaking hands. The focus was on his left eye and the focus falloff still blows my mind. That being said, this is still a very comfortable place for the 85mm to operate.

Moving on to the next two photos I started to really push the lens. In fairly quick succession the team got two corner kicks. In both shots, the focus is right on point. The subject is moving but not to extreme amounts yet; however, This is where the blur started to amaze me. The lens was just able to obliterate the background detail so much faster than I was used to. The next three photos are what truly blew my mind. I was able to capture incredible detail and then have the most insane focus fall off. From the focus point, players one yard away were out of focus. Looking at some of these images it felt like the type of focus you would find on a tilt/shift lens, but not quite. It was something in between that only this lens could give.

The next group of photos are of the celebrations and endgame. In all but one of the six photos the subject is tack-sharp, and I feel like the focus is only off due to the camera body. If the 85mm was on my R3 I believe there would be no issue with the focus whatsoever.

After taking all of these images and subjecting the 85mm to some pretty demanding challenges, would I recommend buying one of these lenses for just sports photography? No. I do not think it is worth spending nearly $3000 just to be used as a sports photography lens. There are much better lenses out there if you are on a budget. But that is not the point of this piece, to argue that the 85mm is a sports lens and you should use it as such, It is to see if this already incredible lens can perform in a scenario outside of its comfort zone. I believe it needs to be given credit, as this lens can really punch outside of its weight class. I don't believe it is correct to consider this lens useful for just weddings and portraits anymore, and if you have one, it might just be fun to bring this lens to the next sporting event you go to.