What lenses are coming next for the Canon RF mount?

Canon Rumors Guy

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As we all know, Canon officially announced the EOS R system yesterday and along with it, a new lens mount dubbed RF. Canon showcased some of their lens design muscle with these lenses and plans to quickly populate the lens lineup.
During yesterday’s launch, Canon mentioned that they’re already working on “a series of fast f/2.8 lenses and more”. The obviously didn’t give an exact roadmap, but we think there are some obvious choices coming ahead for the RF mount. We expect to see plenty of new lenses coming in 2019 for the system.
These are the lenses that we think make the most sense.
RF 14-24mm f/2.8L USM
The system will need a native ultrawide option and we think something like an RF 14-24mm f/2.8L USM is highly probable
RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM
The classic standard zoom in a smaller size and with IS. We think this is highly likely to be one of the next lenses announced. We do think it’s possible we’ll see a wider...

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Aug 19, 2018
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If Canon stated they're working on a series of fast 2.8's, then I'd imagine we'd see a 70-200mm before a 24-70mm; probably just to protect the sales of the 28-70mm f/2. And if that were the case, I'd expect a 16-35mm f/2.8 to provide a bit of overlap for the 28-70. I would also anticipate seeing an 85mm F/1.4L (or 85/1.8 USM), a 100mm F/2.8 Macro, and maybe a 24mm F/1.4L at some point in the near future. The big great white super telephotos will probably be the last of the EF lenses to get RF conversions, even though I'd love to see an RF 100-400mm F/4.5-5.6L
 
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pj1974

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Thanks for sharing your ideas CR .... In many parts I agree with you. Having a number of 'standard trinity' f/2.8 zooms makes sense. (Particularly as Canon has shown their cards, with the 28-70mm f/2 USM lens... it appears Canon is going 'definitely serious', lens wise).

I also expect there will be a number of f/4 IS lenses, in the near future too. Probably most of these will come with the Nano USM (v2) AF (as the RF 24-105mm f/4 has). For example, I could see the following possibilities:
  • RF 16-35mm (or up to 40mm) f/4 IS Nano USM
  • RF 24-70 f/4 (or perhaps it might have a wider focal range, e.g. RF 20-85mm f/4 and
  • RF 70-200mm f/4 (or again, maybe with extended focal range, say somewhere between 50mm and 300mm)
I assume the last lens listed in the original post, is a typo - and the "EF" - should be "RF"? i.e. RF 50mm f/1.8 STM IS??
I would love that lens, or even better still, a RF 50mm f/1.4 Nano USM v2 - if it has good IQ wide open, and with decent AF! ;)

Cheers,

PJ
 
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Mark D5 TEAM II

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Craig, typo:
EF 50mm f/1.8 IS STM
Should be RF.

Classic f/2.8 L zoom trio.

Classic fast prime trio, 35, 50, 85L. f/1.2 or f/1.4

A native L 1:1 Macro like an RF 100 f/2.8L Hybrid IS USM

A few f/4 L zooms in the popular ranges. A few non-L fast primes.
 
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Will we see RF mount telephoto lenses released at this early stage? Canon seem to be implying in their press briefings and publicity that RF will live alongside EF for the foreseeable future.

The shorter flange focal distance of RF mount offers advantages when it comes to wide angle lens designs that don’t necessarily carry over to longer focal length lenses (we’ve seen this already with Sony’s FE glass). What would be the reason to release a series of new RF mount telephoto lenses?

Releasing a new RF 70-200 zoom, when they’ve just done a paint job update on the EF mount version would go totally counter to the idea that Canon value their EF lens line just as much as the new RF mount lens line. I am already wondering whether it’s worth buying more EF mount glass, or whether it’s now obsolescent: new RF telephotos wouldn’t fill me with confidence.
 
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canonmike

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I think that most of us are still waiting to see real world, hands on use, accenting consistent AF speed and accuracy for both stills and video, not just a handful of R cams given to a select few to play with. We await those results. It is very pleasing to see that Canon has made an obvious commitment to FF mirrorless as we watch their offerings unfold in the coming months. Bring them on.
 
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Sounds good to me. At some point in 2-3 years I may look to upgrade my 5D Mark IV if Canon gets it right. I'd like to see IBIS, among other improvements to their sensors. I'd like to see a 14-24 or even 14-30 4L though. The only zoom I generally really have a strong need for 2.8 in is my 70-200. A 70-135 2L would be really interesting for portraiture though, but something tells me the price would scare me away when the 70-200 2.8L plus a couple even faster primes do me fine for now.

IBIS would be nice since like many of my lenses, my 18 year old 70-200 2.8L doesn't have it. At the same time if they come out with an RF 70-200 2.8 IS I'd probably still eventually upgrade to it, as I have been considering a 70-200 2.8L IS II for a bit now.

Either way, I want to see Canon get on the IBIS train, and allow it to work in concert with traditional IS even.
 
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hard to guess what Canon will bring. A roadmap would be extremely helpful.

It would help me make a decision. But maybe Canon's right not to do it, as it could make me take the decision to go see elsewhere :D.

As far as I'm concerned I have no interest whatsoever in f1.2 primes or f2 zooms. I'd welcome a truckload of primes in the vein of the 35mm f1.8 IS STM, not necessarily with a f1.8 aperture, just with one that strikes a nice balance between size, price, and optical performance (for example : 50 and 85mm f1.8, 130mm f2.8, etc.). And a new macro. Arguably the later isn't quite as important right off the bat, the EF one remains a pretty neat lens.
 
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Ozarker

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To me, the zooms make sense to get out there quickly. I could be perfectly happy with just my two Canon zooms. Canon did a wonderful job with them. I know others need the very fast primes, but I just don't use them as much for what I do. Canon's zooms are a good route to take for quality glass with lots of versatility. The fact that the RF 28-70 is an f/2 makes it even better. Still, for most people, the L line is out of reach from a practical point of view. It will be years and years before I could think of buying into this RF system. Sacrificed a lot for what I have.
 
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