Looking for lens knowledge for EOS RP

[zilongur]

Hi guys. I’m wanting to get back into photography and I have SO much to learn and brush up on again. But anyways, I feel as if my 50 mm lens limits me and so I wanted advice on what sort of lens is compatible with my canon eos rp. I have been googling but I’m overwhelmed from all of the options. My focus is portraits and creative portraits

[p4pictures]

All of the RF lenses will be compatible with your EOS RP camera. RF-S lenses will fit, but you will only be able to capture images with the 1.6x crop mode which limits the resolution too. You didn't mention budget so I will provide some options at different price points.

For portraits you may want a longer lens than your 50mm, there are three 85mm lenses in the lineup. These provide a flattering effect for portraits. There is a wide range of pricing too. The size and weight of the large more expensive lens may be a challenge with a lightweight camera like the EOS RP. I have used the less expensive RF 85mm F2 lens for portraits a lot and it is very good. 

An other more flexible option would be to choose a zoom lens such as the RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM or RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM. These give a lot of flexibility for composition both indoors and out. My preference would be the F2.8 version. 

RF85mm F2 Macro US STM RF85mm F1.2 L USM Lens RF70-200mm F4 L IS USM 

[stevet1]

Zilonger,

It would help to know a) What kind of photography you like to do, e.g. long range telephoto vs. indoor portraits for example and, b) how much you want, or are willing, to spend.

Steve Thomas

[ebiggs1]

" I feel as if my 50 mm lens limits me and so I wanted advice ..."

I agree. The 50mm FL is a hard one to use unless you have a specific requirement. As a GP lens it is just in that middle area where it is always to long or too short.

"For portraits you may want a longer lens than your 50mm, there are three 85mm lenses in the lineup"

For portraits you need to know the distance from subject before you order a FL lens. People always try to put names on everything and the 85mm seems to have got the "portrait" nomenclature. Just like 28mm got "landscape lens" put on it. The truth is you need more info than just the FL. Most of the guys I know use the 70-200mm f2.8L lens for portraits so it is a portrait lens. Right? I myself used one near the end of my career.

A good lens to start would be the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens. If the price doesn't scare you the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens would be better and a super lens for sure. These are going to do 80% of you general photography requirements.

[John_SD]

"A good lens to start would be the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens. If the price doesn't scare you the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens would be better and a super lens for sure."

You have it right. As an RP owner myself, I got mine with the RF 24-105 f/4-7.1 kit lens. That is what I would have recommended to the OP, especially for his use case. I was new to mirrorless and new to full frame. So it was a decent combo to start with. The f/4 L version is a superior lens, which it should be at 3 times the cost. But I say to the OP go with the kit lens inasmuch as you are just getting back into photography. In a year, you will have learned plenty, certainly enough to determine which would be a good second lens to purchase. 

[Tronhard]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Like my colleague Steve, it would really help us to help you to know a $ budget limit and what you want to photograph.

Give your desire for flexibility, the most flexible RF lens around is the rather amazing RF 24-240. There are sample images I have shot with this unit in the share your photos section.  Canon has not produced a super zoom lens like this for almost 20 years, and that was an L lens, the EF 28-300L, made of metal and built like a howitzer.  This model is much lighter, with good quality engineered plastics and metal mount, image stabilization and a surprisingly excellent sharpness across the range of focal lengths.  Here are a couple of quality reviews:

Canon RF 24-240mm review SUPER-ZOOM for EOS R! (youtube.com) and
Canon RF 24-240mm F4-6.3 IS Definitive Review | 4K (youtube.com)

Here are a couple of links to sample images I have shot and posted on this forum:
https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Share-Your-Photos/Trying-out-the-RF-24-240-on-Wildlife-with-the-R... and
The most underrated Canon lens! (photo/video samples) (youtube.com)

https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Share-Your-Photos/Moody-Morning-the-the-R6-amp-RF-24-240/m-p/3815...
https://community.usa.canon.com/t5/Share-Your-Photos/When-you-want-to-take-just-one-lens/m-p/429172

Note that this lens uses computational photography corrections for the lens, which is finally applying technology that has long given a benefit to cell phones.  It is appearing on a lot more lenses as the combination of optics and firmware allows lenses to offer outstanding performance at a much lower price, and with much less weight and bulk, compared to a purely optical design.  It shares this tech with the RF 14-35L lens, so it's not a function of its price point.   Correction is done in-body for JPG files (and you see it corrected in the EVF,) and if you import RAW files to Adobe LR or PS, the corrections are applied on import. (Something that early reviews missed as they did not emphasize. It works by shooting at a slightly wider aperture and using that wider view to apply the corrections and render a really square and optically correct image at the specified focal range.  Why anyone would turn off auto lens corrections is beyond me...

It's a great match for the RP and actually has sold as a kit lens for it.

[AtticusLake]

If you want info on lens compatibility generally, I wrote an article about that: https://moonblink.info/MudLake/gear/lenses

The EOS RP has an RF lens mount, with a full-frame sensor.  (So it's RF, not RF-S.)  Plug that into the table in my article and you'll see what's possible.