Melville, NY—Canon introduced four RF-mount lenses as part of its EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera system. The lenses feature Canon’s RF mount, which has a 54mm diameter and shorter back focus distance than on current EOS DSLRs. Canon says this mount enables new possibilities in optical design and lens formulation, allowing faster, lighter lenses with higher performing optics.
Moreover, with more than 130 million EF lenses in circulation, Canon announced three RF lens mount adapters that expand the capabilities of existing EF lenses when paired with the EOS R.
“Knowing exceptional optics are a vital tool in shaping the image a photographer captures, Canon designed the EOS R camera system from the ground up with optics as the starting point,” said Kazuto Ogawa, president and chief operating officer, Canon USA, Inc. “Canon is very excited about the world-class optics we have developed to marry with the new RF mount. With our rich history and more than 130 million EF lenses being used across the globe, Canon optics will continue to be at the forefront of our digital imaging development now and into the future.”
Three of the RF lenses are L-series optics with dust- and water-resistant construction. All four have a customizable control ring that lets photographers adjust exposure compensation, shutter speed, aperture or ISO.
Canon RF-Mount Lens Specs
The RF 28–70mm f/2 L USM standard zoom has an f/2 aperture. Its large aperture captures landscapes, weddings and portraits with artistic bokeh. Initial testing by Canon showed it produced better optical image quality and sharpness over similar focal length EF lenses. $2,999.
For portraiture, the RF 50mm f/1.2 L USM has an ultra-large-diameter f/1.2 aperture. It features Air Sphere Coating technology to reduce flares and ghosting. $2,299.
The compact RF 24–105mm f/4 L IS USM is an all-around utility lens. It is 9% shorter than the EF 24–105mm f/4L IS II USM and employs 5 stops of IS (CIPA standard). It’s also the first L-series lens with NANO USM technology. The small chip-shaped ultrasonic motor helps deliver high-speed and smooth, near-silent operation. It also provides full-time manual focus (one-shot AF). $1,099.
The RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM is a fast, wide-angle single-focus lens. The compact lens has a 0.5x maximum shooting magnification to capture flowers, food and even insects. It also provides 5 stops of IS and is compatible with hybrid IS, compensating for angular and shift camera shake. $499.99.
Enhanced Performance for EF Lenses
Thanks to the new large lens mount design, existing EF and EF-S lenses that are mounted via an adapter on Canon’s EOS R camera will have enhanced capabilities. EF as well as EF-S lenses can pair with the EOS R using one of three RF mount adapters.
The Canon mount adapter EF-EOS R is a standard adapter that provides full compatibility with EF lenses. Autofocus, metadata as well as optical image stabilization on EF lenses all continue to work with the EOS R camera through this adapter. $99.99.
The control ring mount adapter EF-EOS R continues full EF lens compatibility with the addition of a customizable control ring. Assignable functions include aperture, shutter speed, ISO speed and also exposure compensation. $199.99.
In addition to EF lens compatibility, the drop-in filter mount adapter EF-EOS R allows for lens filters to be used behind any EF lens. As a result, it helps photographers utilize variable ND and circular polarizing filters with any EF lens. This adapter is scheduled for a February 2019 release. It will retail for $399.99 with a variable ND filter or $299.99 with a circular polarizing filter.
