The State of RF Lenses 5 Years In

[Tronhard]

Canon have got a lot of flak from users who, for various reasons, prefer 3rd Party lenses over the Canon native ones.  That could be performance, cost or pure bias (believe it or not), or because they felt the release of Canon native lenses is too sluggish.  Many have complained mightily when comparing the release of lenses by Sony in particular, and some threatened to switch brands because they feel that they are not being respected or supported as customers.

Earlier this year I looked at the third-party lens issue by going back to check out the release of such lenses for the Sony E-Mount, which first entered the market in 2010, so over a decade ago.  I found the makes, models and release dates of major 3rd-Party makers and listed them by year. 

What I actually found was that, not unlike Canon and Nikon, there was a period of about 5 years when there were very few, if any 3rd party lenses for Sony, and those were, not surprisingly, predominantly manual.  The pace really picked up from about 2018 when the lens mount, firmware etc. were well-established and assumedly Sony had returned a fair amount of their investment in the system.  In the last 5 years there has been a veritable deluge of such lenses and I think this is where the perception comes from comparing contemporary release levels.

I then looked at Canon and surprise, surprise, found that the pattern was very similar - but with a lower initial output, particularly of the lower-end units that might have attracted some of that 3rd-party constituency.  However, they too have picked up the pace (as have Nikon).  Since earlier on this year, both Canon and Nikon have begun licensing the marketing of 3rd-Party lenses for the RF mount, on a case-by-case basis.  So, the bottom line for me was that, especially given the disruptions initiated, and continuing to manufacturing and logistics by COVID, wars etc. the development of both native and 3rd-Party lenses is not incomparable.

I was thus interested and appreciative to see the following article posted on Canon Rumors about this subject area.  So, it's not simply my perception, there is more material to support it from other parties.

The State of RF lenses 5 Years in: Canon Rumors 

[AtticusLake]

Thanks Trevor, that's interesting!

[Waddizzle]

Yeah, I point that out to people sometimes.  Sony did not have third party lenses right away.  Never looked at how long it took.  It was a new mount.  My neighbor had a Sony.  He liked the camera but not the lenses.  Like so many others, he was using adapted Canon lenses.

Canon is actually moving faster than Sony ever did.  Third party lenses for Sony did not really start appearing until Sony had a full lineup of lenses.  Canon is following the same path.

BTW, the rumor mill announced today that Sigma will be releasing RF lenses very soon.

[Doormat]

Until canon offers small sharp fast primes for their aps-c line up I refuse to even look at the brand. 
I know it’s really strange to say this, but I honestly no longer wish to carry large bulky FF frame optics. Yet I’m supposed to be satisfied with plastic mount slow zooms. 

I’ve lost so much respect for canon  (been a loyal canon user for 30yrs) 

I’m currently shooting Pentax crop bodies. Have you seen the size of Pentax limited lenses?? The 15,21, 40 & 70 are sublime. Also shooting canon M5 with ef-m 22mm

still have a bunch of canon FF DSLR’s and L glass. But I’m really appreciating the smaller less obstrusive aps-c cameras. No desire at all to carry heavy FF glass these days. 

[Stephen]

RF16mm F2.8 STM

RF28mm F2.8 STMRF50mm F1.8 STM

[kvbarkley]

If he is "refusing to look at the brand", I wonder why he is here. But note, Stephen, he was looking for small, fast RF-S primes.

[Stephen]

We only ever made three EF-S prime lenses. 

• EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM (The Pancake) 🥞 (my favorite)

• EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM (The one with the light) 💡

• EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM (I also have this one - beautiful portraits)

[ebiggs1]

Is there a good reason to make a dedicated ‘C’ prime lens? I think not. I don’t know what the OP considers a fast lens but the fact remains fast optics are generally large and thus heavy.

[Waddizzle]

“ Until canon offers small sharp fast primes for their aps-c line up I refuse to even look at the brand. “

Canon didn’t offer a full lineup of EF-S mount primes. There really isn’t a need for or consumer demand for it.

The companies that have been offering primes for crop sensor cameras did so because they were not selling full frame bodies. 🧐 

I also want to add TREVOR’s original post. When Sony introduced the E mount they lacked the capability to build lenses for the mount.  Sony licensed Zeiss and Leica to produce Sony branded lenses until Sony could get up speed with their own lens production.

The Sony E mount was using third party lenses from the start.  Several years later when third party lenses came onto the market, they were being produced by only two companies, Leica and Zeiss. 

Three years passed before Sigma and Tamron began selling E mount primes, but no zooms. Another two years passed before Sigma and Tamron started selling E mount zooms.

That’s a 10 year period that had passed before Sony fully opened up their mount to third parties. Or did they really?

Frame rates! For many years the Sony full frame bodies had top frame rates of 10-12 fps. It’s only relatively recently that Sony has released full frame bodies capable of much higher maximum frame rates.

Here’s the caveat. If you want your Sony body to capture at the higher frame rates, then you MUST use a Sony branded lens. The Sigmas and Tamrons are not able to capture at the high speeds.  

I cannot say whether this is a limitation of the lenses, or a limitation imposed by the cameras. It is what it is. 🧐

[Doormat]

Ok

truth is I don’t actually need any new kit. Seriously..I have enough already. 
like I mentioned elsewhere I have the entire M system..all 11 body’s and all ef-m lenses plus the sigma 1.4 triplets and dozen or so chinese manual focus ef-m lenses.

Canons new direction means nothing to me, I’m not remotely interested tbh. But still have all my canon DSLR’s and ef & efs lenses. I’m actually appreciating my kit more these days than ever. I love my 6D, 5diii, SL1 etc etc

so I’m definitely a canon guy but just not remotely interested in their R system.