Canon may be sketching the replacement for one of its oldest RF L primes. A patent discussed by Canon Rumors shows fast full-frame lenses with two decoupled focus groups — the same idea behind today’s VCM primes — and several examples sit near 85mm / f/1.2 territory.
That is a hint, not a launch date. Canon Rumors is careful to say the drawings are probably not the final RF 85mm f/1.2L formula.
What the Patent Actually Shows
Unlike a traditional floating-focus design, the interesting examples move two middle groups on independent paths. That matches how Canon’s hybrid L primes work: a VCM usually drives the heavier group, a Nano USM the lighter one (the RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM uses two VCMs). The patent itself does not name the motors.
- One example: 73.7mm F/1.24, three groups, 21.63mm image height
- Another: 82.45mm F/1.45, four groups, two independently moving focus units
- All 18 listed designs cover full-frame (21.63mm image height) and appear to correct distortion optically, rather than relying on the in-camera profile used on some VCM primes
- Overall length is described as close to the current RF 85mm f/1.2L USM
- None of the layouts look like the existing RF 85mm f/1.4L VCM
The only true f/1.2-speed example is that shorter 73.7mm design. Canon almost never publishes a finished L optical formula in a patent before the lens ships, so these are research embodiments.
Why People Are Connecting It to an 85mm V2
The RF 85mm f/1.2L USM and DS versions launched in 2019 and still use ring-type USM. Canon Rumors has previously noted inventory quirks on both that lens and the RF 50mm f/1.2L — the last native ring-USM primes Canon introduced. Super-tele RF L lenses after that reused EF designs.
If those f/1.2 L primes get a second generation, a dual-motor VCM-style drive is the obvious upgrade: faster AF, better video breathing control, and a cleaner fit next to the lighter 85mm f/1.4L VCM that already sits in the hybrid lineup.
Most optical patents never become store SKUs. The useful takeaway is narrower: Canon is still filing dual-group, optically corrected fast primes, and an RF 85mm f/1.2L successor is the rumor that fits the paperwork best — for now.
Via Canon Rumors / Japan Patent Office.