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About Our Company
Canon Announces Three New RF Lenses
Published April 18, 2021
Canon has been busy. Along with the development announcement of the Canon EOS R3, Canon announced three new upcoming RF lenses for their mirrorless line.
The RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM, and RF 600mm f/4L IS USM.
It’s an interesting release overall. The 100mm f/2.8L Macro stands out to me and has a new feature that should distinguish it from other macro-options.
Although a 400mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 should be super exciting for wildlife photographers, I’ll touch on why these lenses really aren’t really ‘new’. They are, but they aren’t.
Canon has been taking the mirrorless market by storm though. We’ve now had news of the EOS R3, these new lenses, and rumors are swirling about an EOS R1. We haven’t heard much from Sony since the A1 or Nikon since the announced development of the Z9.
Let’s take a look at these lenses:
The RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM, and RF 600mm f/4L IS USM.
It’s an interesting release overall. The 100mm f/2.8L Macro stands out to me and has a new feature that should distinguish it from other macro-options.
Although a 400mm f/2.8 and 600mm f/4 should be super exciting for wildlife photographers, I’ll touch on why these lenses really aren’t really ‘new’. They are, but they aren’t.
Canon has been taking the mirrorless market by storm though. We’ve now had news of the EOS R3, these new lenses, and rumors are swirling about an EOS R1. We haven’t heard much from Sony since the A1 or Nikon since the announced development of the Z9.
Let’s take a look at these lenses:
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM
Price: $1,399
Price: $1,399
- RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
- 4x Magnification with Autofocus
- Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/32
- Minimum Focusing Distance: 10.2″
- Super Spectra Coating
- Smooth and Quiet Auto Focus
- Optical Image Stabilization; Hybrid IS
- Control Ring for Direct Setting Changes
- 9-Blade Diaphragm
- Weather-Sealed Construction
This looks like an incredible lens, perfect for some of the macro opportunities on our trips to Costa Rica.
Canon says this lens is the “world’s first medium telephoto macro lens” for mirrorless. There are a lot of medium telephoto macro lenses for mirrorless, but I think this might be the first full-frame option to offer 1.4x magnification with AF.
It features a new and exciting feature for macro photography: a Spherical Aberration (SA) Control Ring. The ring lets you effectively control the amount of bokeh and change the look of the background. That seems like it should be an awesome feature, but Canon did not provide example images.
It also has a customizable control ring that can be programmed to adjust exposure compensation, aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. It does have image stabilization too, at up to 5 stops. This can be combined with in-body stabilization (with certain models) for up to 8 stops of stabilization.
This is an improvement over Canon’s EF 100mm f/2.8 in every way. I think Canon has priced this one really well too, as I expect it to deliver professional-grade quality and the new SA feature should be great.
It also has a customizable control ring that can be programmed to adjust exposure compensation, aperture, shutter speed, or ISO. It does have image stabilization too, at up to 5 stops. This can be combined with in-body stabilization (with certain models) for up to 8 stops of stabilization.
This is an improvement over Canon’s EF 100mm f/2.8 in every way. I think Canon has priced this one really well too, as I expect it to deliver professional-grade quality and the new SA feature should be great.
Canon RF 400mm f/2.8L IS USM
Price: $11,999
Price: $11,999
- RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
- Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/32
- Optical Image Stabilizer
- Super UD and Fluorite Elements
- Super Spectra and Air Sphere Coatings
- Customizable Electronic Focusing Ring
- Two Focus Presets
- Circular 9-Blade Diaphragm
- Weather-Sealed Design, Fluorine Coating
- Rotatable Tripod Collar
Canon RF 600mm f/4L IS USM
Price: $12,999
These lenses are pretty much the same as the EF versions though, it even looks as if they just added a built-in adapter. The only change is a 0.5 stop increase in image stabilization versus the EF models, from 5 stops to 5.5 stops.
Even so, these two primes are two of the best super teles ever made. I just think I’d rather buy a used EF model and adapt it, versus paying a premium for these ‘new’ RF lenses.
I think we can expect Canon to update these with truly new RF options in the future.
This could be a marketing strategy just to say ‘hey, we have native super-telephoto primes’, and I think the Olympics might have something to do with these releases as well.
It seems like when a new mirrorless line is developed, whether it was Sony who started the craze, Canon, or Nikon, there’s a race to produce telephoto lenses, especially professional-grade super-telephoto primes. Because those lenses are key for capturing a section of the market, wildlife photographers (and sports photographers).
Price: $12,999
- RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
- Aperture Range: f/4 to f/32
- Super UD and Fluorite Elements
- Super Spectra and Air Sphere Coatings
- Customizable Electronic Focusing Ring
- Optical Image Stabilizer
- Two Focus Presets
- Circular 9-Blade Diaphragm
- Weather-Sealed Design, Fluorine Coating
- Rotatable Tripod Collar
These lenses are pretty much the same as the EF versions though, it even looks as if they just added a built-in adapter. The only change is a 0.5 stop increase in image stabilization versus the EF models, from 5 stops to 5.5 stops.
Even so, these two primes are two of the best super teles ever made. I just think I’d rather buy a used EF model and adapt it, versus paying a premium for these ‘new’ RF lenses.
I think we can expect Canon to update these with truly new RF options in the future.
This could be a marketing strategy just to say ‘hey, we have native super-telephoto primes’, and I think the Olympics might have something to do with these releases as well.
It seems like when a new mirrorless line is developed, whether it was Sony who started the craze, Canon, or Nikon, there’s a race to produce telephoto lenses, especially professional-grade super-telephoto primes. Because those lenses are key for capturing a section of the market, wildlife photographers (and sports photographers).
Canon has been absolutely on fire with releases, but I’m unsure of their plan with the super teles. I’m guessing we will see an RF redesign eventually. Also, it’s hard to justify the price for those primes when the 100-500mm is producing such excellent results.
Let us know your thoughts on these lenses!
Let us know your thoughts on these lenses!
We offer world-class travel photography
experiences around the world.
Each tour is bundled with lodging, meals, and transportation between workshops included, allowing you to focus on photography instead of the stress of traveling.
experiences around the world.
Each tour is bundled with lodging, meals, and transportation between workshops included, allowing you to focus on photography instead of the stress of traveling.
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We're proud to foster an amazing group of photo travelers, and here you can find their stories from their past adventures.BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS
"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
- Russ Nordstrand, Backcountry Journeys Founder & Director
- Russ Nordstrand, Backcountry Journeys Founder & Director
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All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLCs - Copyright 2024
BACKCOUNTRY JOURNEYS
"Backcountry Journeys offers guests the unique opportunity to explore our natural world from behind their own lens. We run a selection of hand-crafted Photo Tours, Workshops & Safaris connecting passionate people to exceptional experiences. Locations worldwide.
All Images & Content are property of Backcountry Journeys Photography Tours, Workshops & Safaris LLC - Copyright 2024
TRIP CATALOG
Download our Trip Catalog for detailed information on our many destinations for photography tours, workshops, and safaris.