Canon Unveils Two Extreme RF-Mount Lenses

2021.09.14

Along with the new flagship Canon EOS R3 Full-Frame Mirrorless Digital Camera launched this morning, Canon introduced two new RF-mount lenses near the maximum and minimum focal-length available for the mount.

The Canon RF 16mm F/2.8 STM is an extreme-wide-angle lens with a bright maximum aperture in an incredibly compact form-factor. With its Full-Frame coverage, this tiny lens captures a 108° angle-of-view. It can focus down to 13cm which renders a 0.26X magnification. Even with its extremely wide view, the RF 16mm F/2.8 STM weighs barely 165g!

This lens measures just 4cm short and is barely the width of the RF-mount. To achieve such compact-size, Canon fit it with a single clickless control-ring that doubles as fly-by-wire focus-ring. The lens is threaded to accept 43mm filters too. This new lens is the third-widest Canon lens for RF-mount.

Jumping deeply into the telephoto range is the Canon RF 100-400mm F/5.6-8 IS USM. This new lens is the polar opposite of the RF 16mm F/2.8. Instead of being extremely wide and rather bright, this one is long and quite dim. It is also a zoom lens with triple rings rather than a prime with a fly-by-wire hybrid.

The Canon RF 100-400mm F/5.6-8 IS USM spans a long 4X super-telephoto reach, narrowing the field-of-view from 24 to 6°. Like several other lenses for RF-mount, this is a very dim lens with low maximum aperture even at its lowest focal-length. Luckily, top Canon mirror cameras offer class-leading image-stabilization. With this lens, the IBIS system in the R3, R5 and R6 can manage 6-stops of shake-reduction. For older cameras, the lens itself has a built stabilizer that is effective to 5½-stops. Its good to see Canon supporting buyers of their short-lived unstabilized mirrorless as they are likely to be brand enthusiasts.

This is the fifth-longest Canon lens for RF-mount. Both the RF 100-400mm F/5.6-8 IS USM and the RF 16mm F/2.8 STM are decidedly entry-level offerings and neither is weatherproof.

• Lens