A Canon RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5 Fisheye Zoom is Coming Soon

[Vilacom]

As an underwater photographer my dream EOS R3 MK2 would be the ultimate underwater camera, long battery life of the LP-E19, smaller body than the R1, high MP like the R52 with the AI auto focus chip, etc etc.

My personal pipe dream that almost certainly wont happen but GOD would I love it

 

[riker]

Just as I said but you also then say you want to use the rf zoom on R10/R50 which are crop sensors… I am confused


I also don’t follow this. At 8mm for the EF8-15/4 and at 7mm on the rumoured rf7-14mm will be circular on full frame. There is no reason not to use that ‘aspect’ underwater. I have in the past for instance…. So what is the point of using a fisheye underwater for you?

As I said, using ff lens on a crop body is a compromise. Az is "not ideal". Still, we do that often, since there's a MUCH larger ff lens selection.

I hate those images which show 360 circle. I might not be the most experienced here, but for me, the Tokina fisheye zoom was an absolute revelation for wide angle shots. Something in the foreground, but still showing background shapes, coral reef, buttom of the bot above, etc. On an aps-c sensor there just no lenses which were wide enough, since the water is magnifying everything. Some used the 14mm but even that was often not enough, plus it was heavy, expensive and lacked the flexibility of the zoom.
Ikelite is showing the possibility of making housing for R50V. Coupled with Sigma 10-18/2.8 (270g!!!) I would be very interested but still wondering if non-fisheye 10mm is wide enough on aps-c after being satisfied with 10-17 fisheye.

On ff, maaaaybe it's different and might even say I don't need fisheye anymore or maybe even worse, could be partly unusable because of the dome.
I don't have the experience.

 

[Askeladden]

Seems like the fisheye in terms of size will be about the same as the EF 8-15 with an adapter, no?

 

[riker]

I did own a Nauticam NA-R50 for the Canon R50 for about 5 months but sold it... I didn't like being locked into just using "wet" expensive lenses you bayonet on outside the fixed housing's port.

Hey, thanks a lot for the long post, appreciate the input from someone who actually has experience>
Could you please elaborate the above? I didn't quite get that.

For me, Ikelite was somehow too....simple? Not very refined. The flash arms were wobbling in the housing and were heavy and crap. The whole experience was just so uncomfortable. Ikelite's huge advantage is being cheap...but then...it's cheap.

The other thing is that travelling with 40D's housing and 2x DS-200 strobes and arms was just a nightmare. I made an oath, one day I'm putting together a compact setup. In the meantime I do NOT want a G series cam or something like that, I'm not going below APS-C. For some time I was dreaming about some EOS M setup but never realized.
Now with R50V which is hopefully not the last of it's kind, a new era might start.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm not sure if I can make it without a fisheye zoom on APS-C. And unfortunately I won't know until I try. The Sigma 10-18/2.8 with it's compact size and 270g weight is very tempting. Kinda expensive ways to learn, but I haven't found a better way yet.

I'm not a fan of kit lenses. But yet again, who knows, maybe I should try.
On that note, and please don't take it the wrong way, appreciate every word from you, but the images you posted and also the ones in the article do not really have the sharpness/detail I'm aiming for. If it's the lens or the dome or what, I have no idea.

 

[David - Sydney]

Riker and David from Sydney,

I have never felt the need for FF and shot for years with APS-C Canon and many fisheye lenses which all can be sharper in corners even with a smaller 6" / 140mm dome than most rectilinear lenses. Any middle curvature can be "de-fished" or flattened in software easily.

I only went for FF because my above body was FF. After having multiple housings for compact cameras as second systems, I got the FF housing in lieu of another compact+housing. It started with 5Diii then 5Div and now R5

The lowly Canon R100 has a Canon "standard" 5 pin TTL hot shoe as does the R10 / R7. My Ikelite Canon R100 housing has a TTL fiber optic cord transmitter which I used for an article and their new small Ecko Fiber strobes:

Yes, the new Ecko/fiber optic sync cables look to be a great and smaller option but I got my DS232s some time ago so it would be doubling up

The housing's interchangeable 6" dome port accommodates the underrated Canon RF-S 10-18mm IS STM and RF-S 18-45mm IS STM lenses. It will also allow the discontinued Tokina APS-C 10-17mm Fisheye with Canon EF-RF adapter. I have access to those from friends and may take it to Palau end of next month as a back up.

Palau was an interesting dive location. Lots of different sites but you need to tell the dive boats where you want to go otherwise they keep going out to the channels. We went to the same channel 3 times for instance. The cave and some wrecks were good. The spawning dive was crazy.... about 100 divers in the water at the same time! It was hard for me to maintain a constant depth when shooting. The vis wasn't ideal and the best shots were at longer focal lengths. Video showed the spawning the best and I ended up cropping the video in post to show the "moment".
One tour I would recommend is the dugong one... we didn't see any dugongs although the guy saw them via drone but Mandarin Lake was really special. 1-2m depth and crystal clear mirror reflections from the surface. You can see my shots/video from my facebook page from April-2025.

I could also use the discontinued EF 8-15mm L F4 with EF-RF adapter and a slightly longer dome port. But installing that large a lens requires inserting camera body from the back then lens, zoom gear and all through the front before sealing the port.
You have to do that EVERY TIME for changing batteries or memory cards. For me that's a deal breaker no matter how much sharper either the Canon EF 8-15mm F4L or new R F7-14mmL might be. I won't be justifying that cost, especially on an APS-C sensor.

I am not sure if there is space on the DLM housing but you can add a data charging bulkhead port for data and power. No need to open up the housing as long as your memory cards are big enough. You will need to re-vacuum the housing after transfer though.
https://www.ikelite.com/products/usb-charging-data-transfer-bulkhead-for-200dl-underwater-housings

 

[David - Sydney]

Underwater photography is a bit cost prohibitive, I opted to use the R7 with the RF-S 10-18 and the Tokina 11-17 fisheye, which is expensive, but decided I now want the R5, RF 14-35, EF8-15 and RF 100 Macro, so only $3000 worth of strobes crosses over to the new setup.

Underwater cost is a bottomless pit! I am lucky that we have great diving in Sydney and I could go every weekend if I wanted to besides travel to other places.
Getting a bonus from work was the only way that I could justify it.
Strobes are great but expensive and a pain to lug around. Using high ISO with macro is possible but only for depths under 10-12m.
Ikelite's new Ecko strobes with fiber optic sync cords is a lighter/cheaper option than my DS232s. Most people have much smaller strobes than me and get great shots.

 

[David - Sydney]

On an aps-c sensor there just no lenses which were wide enough, since the water is magnifying everything.

A dome will return the field of view from water/air interface back to "normal". You can get 4" domes for APS-C sensors but 6" should be a minimum. 8"dome is best for fisheye and over-under.
A flat port will magnify the focal length

Some used the 14mm but even that was often not enough, plus it was heavy, expensive and lacked the flexibility of the zoom.
Ikelite is showing the possibility of making housing for R50V.

Ikelite confirmed to me yesterday that they won't make a housing for the R50V

I am not sure if what you want exists in the market.
Very small and good quality (min APS-C) and prepared to pay for it.
It sounds like you don't actually want a fisheye but want a very wide angle lens.

Doesn't seem to be any aluminium housing for the R8 but Ikelite does make one and will probably support the new fisheye (and defish in post)
The compatible 6" dome extends the dome by 9mm from the housing. It doesn't get much smaller than that for FF.
Using 14-35/4 instead seems to add an extra inch to the port length.
Small Ecko strobes if needed.

I haven't had an issue with dodgy strobe arms with my Ikelite setup or the lack of controls.
If it is rated to 60m then strong enough for me.
I can't justify an aluminium housing at 3x the cost for Nauticam plus extra costs for ports/domes etc YMMV

 

[DSB]

If you are using drop in filters in a ef to r adapter then no, front filters are not more convenient. I can use my filter system with any of my ef lenses, including my 8-15mm fisheye, 11-24L through to my 70-200/2.8. I even used it with my TS-e 17L, way easier than any front filter.
I have less sun flare and reflection issues and I’m not interfering with my lens coatings by putting lesser glass in front of them. I also don’t need to carry different filter sizes or stepping rings. Literally, one filter fits all.
Sure it doesn’t work with RF lenses, but then again, I don’t own any!

Beat me to it, but this is exactly why I mentioned I wish Canon would include drop-in filter option in more lenses. You buy ONE polarizer and it works on all of the lenses. ONE ND - works on all lenses. ONE infrared - works on all lenses...

I have about 10 different drop-in filters and I love them to death. Mainly using them in the RF-EF adapter for my tilt shift lenses and just like you, being able to use filters on a 17mm TS-E makes a world of difference. But also swapping lenses is a breeze - I remove the 17mm and slap on a 50mm TS-E and everything stays the same, with the filter already in place.

 

[DSB]

DSB and any other underwater shooters.........

Your price estimates to buy an aluminum housing for a Canon R5 /R5 II are way low in today's world.......Even depending where you are in the world prices have increased significantly in the small underwater imaging world.

That was one reason I mentioned a great AF performing camera like the Canon R50......Look at the specs and the AF tracking performance is darn near high end models.

A friend did buy a Seafrogs housing for his Canon R50 which is unbelievably cheap but it works......He had a problem with the pop up flash not fully extending....When we were in Cozumel the built in flash lightning bolt icon would disappear past 5M / 15' depth.....

To Seafrogs credit they sent him a new front housing and he's used it successfully on several trips.

If I didn't house the dirt cheap Canon R100 for my needs I'd buy a Seagrogs housing for my Canon R50. I'd check tariffs buying from Hong Kong and delivery into the US though.

I'm not wild about the Seafrog's housing's DOME port connection but they do have a silly simple "test once vacuum system" ensuring your housing is sealed. But then you then release the vacuum, remove the little electronic test module and plug it and dive.

The housing has DUAL back o-rings and for my friend has been fine. There's one more problem if you choose the budget Seafrog's housing......

Being a light but tough polycarbonate they are extremely buoyant and I mean EXTREMELY floaty !!!! You'll need a nice metal dual handle tray and maybe attach a 2-3# or more weight underneath it to get it below the surface comfortably........Even with strobe arms and strobes or video lights it'll be a floater

If you're a snorkeler or surface shooter this might not be a problem. In fact I believe the Grand prize winner of one of the recent underwater photography contests shot a high end camera in a Seafrogs housing !

Your mileage may vary so choose accordingly.......

David Haas

Oh, no doubt that the aluminum housings are way more expensive. I know I paid like 3k for the Sea&Sea housing for the Canon 5DmkII. I'm guessing it's probably around 4k€ now for R5II... Can't fault the quality though, that thing is a beast. It's actually the only reason why I even still own a lone 5DmkII.

That's also the downside why I'm reluctant to invest into a new one. R5mkII currently really feels like a camera that would produce incredible images years down the line, so being locked up into a permanent camera + housing system doesn't seem like such a bad deal. On the other hand, I had the exact same opinion when I was purchasing the housing for 5DmkII, but now that camera feels soooo outdated. I rarely ever use it, I just bring a Gopro...

I specifically mentioned the 2k€ price because I'm realistically only considering the plastic housings. They do work fine and go down to 100m, so I'm guessing they're reliable enough to take them to 50m. Not much to shoot even at those depths, tbh. I didn't even consider the buoyancy. I never needed weights for my old housing. It was almost perfect out of the box - just a bit of negative buoyancy to help settle the rig.

I haven't even touched at the rest of the scuba gear required... Last year I invested 4k€ into a complete new Scubapro gear set. I stopped short of purchasing a new diving computer, since I really like the old Mares Icon I use. Realistically, someone starting from scratch and wanting to get personal diving gear, it's very common to be looking at 12k-15k € just for the gear + housing + flashes. Hopefully one at least has the camera and lenses...

Just crazy how expensive underwater photography can get.

 

[TexPhoto]

Pre-Ordered the 7-14 from B&H. Did not get the order done until 11:04PM. How that does not cost me too much in the line.
(kidding) (mostly)

 

[candyman]

RF7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L Fisheye STM

This fisheye zoom lens delivers a fulfilling shooting experience with distinctive perspective and practical operability. The RF7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L Fisheye STM is the ...

asia.canon

 

[PinholeR5]

Yeah, review videos starting to pop up as well. Seems like a really cool lens. I thought the VR application looked interesting:

"Equirectangular conversion is possible using Canon's EOS VR Utility, enabling you to turn your 190° circular fisheye stills or video into 2D VR content for viewing on computers or headsets. This is currently supported for photos captured on the Canon EOS R5, R5 Mark II, R5 C, R6 Mark II and R6 Mark III. Conversion is also supported for open gate video recorded on the R6 Mark III (and it's possible, probable even, that an update will extend this support to the EOS C50)."

Hands-on Canon RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L Fisheye STM review: Canon's funkiest optic is fishier than ever

From astro and sport to VR video and stills, Canon's RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L Fisheye STM might have the most creative potential of any lens

www.digitalcameraworld.com

I don't think I'd use it enough to justify a pre-order. I only recently got the EF 8-15mm F4 and that is probably good enough for me. Still, I think this is an exciting release!

 

[EOS 4 Life]

The 30th Anniversary Limited Edition G7X III is out of stock everywhere already.

 

[H2Oplanet]

That's the whole point of the lens
With f/4 you'd brake under the weight, size and price.
It's like wishing the 200-400/4 to be 200-400/2.8

So you know what is too heavy and expensive for me? Have you shot the 100-300mm 2.8? Poor attempt at breaking it down “to the point” …

 

[Steve Balcombe]

I'll be keeping a close eye on the RF fisheye zoom. I have an EF 8-15L, which takes some wonderful shots but I would love something more compact, which a designed-for-mirrorless fisheye will be.

I was wrong there, wasn't I? The RF fisheye is pretty much the same size as the EF, even allowing for the length of the adapter. It's a bit lighter, but that never was a problem. And if you have the adapter with the drop in filters, which I already do, it equals the RF on that too.

So that's just saved me £1,719!!

 

[dhaas]

Responding to thoughts in no specific order to Riker, DSB and David from Sydney.........

Small files I add to posts aren't a fair judge of sharpness but I can tell you I've made prints 16" X 20" from many files and they look great at "normal viewing" distance......

On to other topics......

Yes, Ikelite is lowest cost but please don't judge the current smaller DLM housing by long ago models. They are improved and a decent value to get APS-C and even the Canon R8 underwater.

As David mentioned trying to squeeze a download cord and file transfer gizmo in there is likely not possible.......I haven't found the Canon NB-17L batteries to be that bad whether shooting flash from the Canon TT5 Optical Flash transmitter now pretty much standard on their housings (in the DELUXE packages. Ambient light shooting gets you hundreds of flashes per battery charge.

As to lenses and APS-C versus FULL FRAME sure......Checking details at 100-200-300% zooming in you MIGHT see differences but I contend APS-C and a decent lens can win you a contest, print a big print or book from your adventures and be satisfied

As several mentioned the discontinued Tokina 10-17mm APS-C fisheye was heralded (still is) by many as a tad wider than a rectilinear lens......Until now......

Here'a a head to head comparison against the Canon RF-S 10-18mm lens by a good UW shooter.

Wide Angle Showdown: Canon RF-S 10-18mm vs Tokina 10-17mm Underwater

By Douglas KlugImages © Douglas Klug For wide angle shooting, an underwater photographer wants a lens that can capture broad reef-scapes, close focus to fill the frame with smaller subjects, and show off the broad range of colors we get to experience in the underwater world. Here’s some of the...

www.ikelite.com

I have access to a Tokina 10-17mm and the required EF-RF adapter if I want to haul another lens to Palau next month but truthfully won't bother......The RF-S 10-18mm produces great images and it's not a "cheap" kit lens being a bit over $300 here in the US. It punches well above its weight IMHO.....

You CAN go big in size, expense with FULL FRAME either a R6 II / III or R5 / 5 II and EF 8-15mm and EF-RF adapter or the new 7-14mm lens. I likely wouldn't consider either of those due to assembly constraints and shooting APS-C doesn't really gain much for MOST shooters......

When I tried two friend's EF 8-15mm lenses on a APS-C Rebel SL1 I simply set the lens at 12mm to avoid the mild vignetting and "zoomed with my fins".......If you don't shoot fisheye lenses 1' -3' away you won't gain the super wide perspective anyway......Same with the Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye......

As David in Sydney said Ikelite won't make housing for the Canon R50V.......As a still camera it offers nothing over the current R100, R10 or R7.......Even beautiful housing manufacturer Marelux has gone silent on their Canon R50 housing they said they'd be creating likely due to the Canon 21 pin cyber hot shoe (heavy sigh......)

On strobes with Ikelite housing's the Ikelite DS232 and newer RC165 all fiber optic and even little but powerful Ecko Fiber will satisfy most needs.....I actually shoot more WITHOUT strobes these days lowering my physical stress swimming around underwater but that's me LOL......Even when I mount the pair of little Ecko Fiber units many times during a dive I turn them off......

Hope my insights help those wanting to dabble shooting our Canon gear underwater......

There's usable equipment at all price points and I contend simple choices are best.....

Underwater time is so limited (scuba or even snorkeling / free diving) so getting one camera / lens / housing combination and wringing every bit of capability out of it before adding more has been my approach.

Good luck and I hope you enjoy making photos underwater!

David Haas

A new even lower configuration I'll try in a pool soon before Palau! LOL.....This is specifically to answer Riker or DSB and the mention of strobe arms (which I hate too!)

 

[Steve Balcombe]

The Sigma 300-600mm f4 is ever so slightly smaller than the Canon RF 600mm f4. And while heavier, it is almost exactly the same wight as my EF Canon 600mm f4 IS II. (still the best 600mm for use with TCs btw). Sigma even remember to cut Arca Swiss rails into the tripod foot.

The comparison with the 600/4L Mark II is what my daughter calls "girl math" - find something more expensive so that the thing she wants appears cheap! The Mark II and the Sigma are both just shy of 4 kg, but the Mark III and the RF are both considerably lighter at just over 3 kg.

 

[mimbu]

Yes, focal lengths might be covered but if you don't have 10K to spend, you only have the flimsy and dark 200-800 and the 100-500. Mid range 3-4K options are missing. Nikon looks very attractive at the moment for me, after seeing lenses like the 800 6.3 prime selling for £4K online.

Nikon has far and away the best telephoto lineup on mirrorless. From their compact PF glass to the big boy 400/2.8 and 600/4 with the 1.4x TC built in. They've really knocked it out of the park. The upcoming Z9 II also looks very promising.