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Canon was again asked during CP+ about third-party support for the RF mount. They must be tired of answering these sorts of questions, but hey, if people are asking the question, there must be demand. Or they are just whining like I have been.
Canon's Executive Vice President and Imaging Group Manager, Tsuyoshi Tokura, responded to queries at the press conference on February 27, the first day of CP+ in Yohohama, Japan.
Mr Tokura responded in Canon executive-speak to questions about the full-frame release of third-party lenses, “Other companies have begun to release several RF lenses, but we have no knowledge of what types of lenses they will release; we only know that these have been released. We cannot disclose the contents of contracts, such as licenses, to the public. Right now, all I can say is that we are deciding the contents of contracts within our business strategy.”.
Last year, Mr Tokura was asked a similar question and responded, “We are communicating with third-party manufacturers. I think we're more than halfway there in terms of communication (until commercialization).” Later, in 2024, both Sigma and Tamron released RF versions of their APS-C lenses.
After the initial flurry of Tamron and Sigma announcing their APS-C lenses for the RF mount, Samyang announced later in 2024 that its Samyang AF 12mm F2.0 would be coming to the RF mount.
One problem that I'm seeing with the way Canon is going around this is that we don't know who is officially licensed by Canon. I'm going to assume that while Samyang had early versions of their lenses on the RF mount and pulled them off the market with the insistence of Canon, this lens is officially approved by Canon for release on the RF mount.
So, while Mr Tokura's comments may be discouraging, it should be noted that Canon never comes out and directly states something. When you think about it, they really couldn't. We all know what lenses Sigma and Tamron could port to the RF mount, so it wouldn't take a brain surgeon to put two and two together if Mr Tokura came out and stated, “Oh yes, two manufacturers are looking to release full-frame lenses soon”, Which could certainly interrupt those companies' marketing plans for the lenses.
If anything, we can note that he didn't say “no”.
So, for now, we can look with a little jealousy at the development announcements of the Sigma 35mm F1.2 DG DN | Art II and hope that Canon and Sigma optimize their relationship and time to market further.
I do know one thing personally: I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall during the conversations between Canon and the various third-party lens manufacturers to know what the criteria are and were and just how much Canon is charging these vendors (if anything) to create RF mount lenses.
Source: MyNavi News
Why they aren't here yet? A mix of licensing fees, mount conversions and manufacturing capabilities of the third-party? I'm only guessing.
Obviously Canon is part of the equation, but I doubt they're the entire reason we don't have them yet.
I had never looked at the numbers, but a guy on Facebook did the numbers. (I can't confirm the accuracy, but I'm sure it's close if not bang on)
Sure we have EF, but I think people want their core lenses with an RF mount.
Although I would still love the Tamron 35-150. Perfect lens for me.
I want/need options because Canon doesn't want to make the lenses that I want. I want the Tamron 35 to 150. I want to be able to carry that one lens to a shoot.
Canon and their bed buddies Apple feel like they're offerings are so good you would have to put yourself through punishment in order to get options from other manufacturers. Thankfully many photographers did that already and simply went to Sony or even nikons latest stuff. it's honestly the only reason Canon has been making so many offensive moves the last 5 years because Sony has been kicking them in the teeth and it's been great to watch but still sad to watch.
I know Panasonic's AF isn't the best but I'm going to L mount. My R5 AF is not as accurate as I would like it to be, Canon Tech told me that my r62 can focus better if I use apertures of 4.5 or 5.6, and the 50 mm situation makes me mad so I'm just going to add another amount to my kit. That's money that could go to Canon but they don't care because quote unquote business reasons.
I never get pissed enough that I would sell my existing Canon gear but I could see a ton of other people doing it because this is just nonsense already.
To clarify, this is reality:
Canon is #1 in Camera Marketshare for 2025
Ya, but they only sell R100s and it skews the numbers!
Seriously, though, it’s evident from the average unit price of MILCs ($800) that unit sales remain driven by APS-C bodies.
Canon is a publically traded company - they do have to watch what they say.
But perhaps the APS-C M hit the market at price points that weren't profitable enough.
In particular, the sleek M200 (having many of the features of the M5) and the somewhat bulkier M6MkII (basically a mirrorless, smaller 90D) both deliver a whole lotta bang for the buck/yen/ruble/pound/euro etc...and both were heavily discounted when the M's fate became known to all. I should know, for once I bought at the bottom of the market...
But I marvel at many of the pics posted in the various CR forums--utilizing top-notch glass and the latest electronics, first-rate (dare I say professional-quality?) images are produced.
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In the meantime, after COVID-related interruptions, we resumed our annual mid-February trip to central Mexico.
There are no non-stop flights from our airport to either of the airports near our destination in Mexico (layovers in either Dallas or Houston are the norm, and the Customs and re-entry process via Houston Bush [even with no checked bags] literally requires 1.5-2 hours).
Some of the planes utilized by major US-based airlines for these flights are mid-sized Embraer 175 jets (four seats per aisle, two on either side). We do not check bags, and both my wife and I each carry on one piece of standard luggage that (barely) fits in the overhead bins, and a backpack that (barely) fits under the seat.
So the full-frame gear stays home...the M APS-C devices fit quite nicely into a backpack...and I am quite satisfied with the images we brought home.
New Canon PowerShot V1 Information & Roundup
...and...(a bit of a squared-up edited [M6II + 11-22] image:
...this was our fourth visit to this area of Mexico; on all four occasions I do not recall ever seeing photographers with 'better' gear than what was around my neck or in a bag attached to my belt.
I plan to take a hard look at the upcoming R7MkII.
It better be good...