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RF-S Lenses on Full Frame EOS R Bodies

Bbarn
Contributor

Has anyone used one of the new RF-S lenses on an EOS R series full frame body?  I'm wondering how the IS and Focus/Control ring functions are controlled with no switches on the lenses. Doesn't seem clear in the full frame body manual since it's a new scenario (since all the FF lenses have lens switches).

18 REPLIES 18

shadowsports
Legend
Legend

This is possible, but not something I would consider.  You lose much benefit of the FF sensor.  Your image will also be smaller since a RF-S lens will use a much smaller area in the center of the sensor.      

~Rick
Bay Area - CA


~R5 C (1.0.6.1) ~RF Trinity, ~RF 100 Macro, ~RF 100~400, ~RF 100~500, +RF 1.4x TC, +Canon Control Ring, BG-R10, 430EX III-RT ~DxO PhotoLab Elite ~DaVinci Resolve ~Windows11 Pro ~ImageClass MF644Cdw/MF656Cdw ~Pixel 8
~CarePaks Are Worth It

Tronhard
Elite
Elite

Totally agree with Rick.  If you put an RF-S lens on a FF body, you will reduce your sensor capacity by a factor of over 2.5: thus your R5, which would normally be 45 MP will be reduced to 17 and the R6 @ 20MP will be reduced to just under 8MP.  It's in the relevant camera manuals.


cheers, TREVOR

"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

Bbarn
Contributor

Looks like Canon needs to step up their game in this community.  Can't get an answer to a simple product question.

We are answering your question but the answer is not as simple as you might want.
So, you can physically connect the RF lens to your FF R body  BUT:
It will reduce the effective resolution of the output by a factor of 2.56 because the lens is designed for a smaller sensor and will not fill up all of the area of the larger FF sensor, so the camera will automatically go into crop mode and reduce the sensor to correct this.   It is clearly explained in the manuals for the cameras if you choose to investigate that.


cheers, TREVOR

"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris

My questions were regarding control/focus ring and IS functionality of RF-S lenses on full frame bodies.  Neither of those questions have been answered.

I would suggest downloading a copy of the full user guide for one of the crop sensor bodies or lenses to see how those bodies handles it. 

--------------------------------------------------------
"The right mouse button is your friend."

Had to contact Canon CS directly to get the answers.  According to them, when an RF-S lens is attached to a FF body two additional menu items are enabled.  One allows setting the lens ring function, the other permits IS to be turned on or off.  So those additional menu items replicate the IS and Focus/Control switches present on full frame lenses (but absent on RF-S lenses).

The R10 and R7 crop sensor cameras, for which the RF-S lenses are designed, have the AF/MF switch on the body instead of the lens. Using the RF-S lens on a full frame R-series camera will need to enable a means of AF/MF control in the camera's menu. This is already there, since some of the full frame RF lenses also don't have an AF/MF switch. 

The control ring function assignment will simply need to be disabled if these lenses are fitted to any of the full frame cameras. Note that at least two of the full frame capable RF lenses... the 16mm and the 50mm f/1.8... have a control ring that becomes a manual focus ring at the switch of a button. Using those lenses in MF mode must also disable the control ring function in the camera.

User control of Image Stabilization also is in the menu of the crop sensor cameras, so will need to be there in the full frame cameras too, if these lenses are attached to the FF camera.

BUT IT MAKES LITTLE SENSE to use the RF-S lenses on any of the full frame R-series cameras. It's possible to do so, but the camera will "self crop" to APS-C format, which hugely reduces camera resolution. For example, the highest resolution R5 will be reduced to 17MP in APS-C mode, compared to 45MP in full frame. The low resolution R6 with only 20MP full frame will be reduced to less than 8MP when cropped to APS-C! 

It would be a big waste of those full frame cameras' capabilities to use them with an APS-C crop lens.

***********


Alan Myers
San Jose, Calif., USA
"Walk softly and carry a big lens."
GEAR: 5DII, 7DII (x2), 7D(x2) some other cameras, various lenses & accessories
FLICKR & ZENFOLIO 

 

Alan, agree with you - your latter point was one I also made and that alone, to me, precluded any idea of putting an APS-C lens on a FF body, especially given the availability of comparable FF lenses that will do the job and retain the sensor capacity.

At this time, the only two APS-C lenses available are :
18-45, and the 18-150 - one of which at least the OP is considering attaching to their FF body.   
The actual Field of View of these lenses, as they combine with the crop sensor, will render 28.8 - 72mm, and 28.8 -240mm respectively.   Considering there are FF lenses of 15-30mm, and 24-240 that will render those exact focal lengths and not cause the camera to go into crop mode, thus keeping the original sensor capacity, it beggars belief that anyone would want to consider this!  I have the 24-240 and it's an excellent lens, and I have used it on my R5 with decent results.

As people consider crop R-series bodies as an alternative to the M-series platform, they likely look at the two most popular lenses: the 15-45 and 18-150 lenses and are attracted to roughly the same range on the R-series bodies.  However, there is no RF-S15-46, only a 18-45.  Given that even if there was, it would render an FoV of 24-72mm, thus the 24-240 will cover both this range and that of the 18-150 lenses in one unit.  That is one lens the OP should consider. 

If they want to vlog (which I suspect is the purpose), then the RF 15-30 would be the way to go and it has a manual focus control ring, and switches for that and IS! See that HERE 

The OP is obviously blind to the points you, I, and others have tried to make here.   This is why I make an effort to explain crop factor and its implications.  It wasn't an issue with Canon EF and EF-S lenses before, but it sure is now.  I have come across this in a couple of my classes in various guises, and this is the first time I have seen it on this forum, but I fear we will encounter it more frequently in the future - it's a trap for young players...


cheers, TREVOR

"All the variety, all the charm, all the beauty of life is made up of light and shadow", Leo Tolstoy;
"Skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase" Percy W. Harris
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