In August of 2022, the Chinese lens company Viltrox quietly removed a lens from their online store: the Canon RF version of the Viltrox AF 85mm f/1.8. Soon, it became clear that this removal was in response to a demand from Canon that the lens no longer be sold.
It was a concrete sign of something that many Canon users had suspected for years – that Canon was not just closing the RF lens mount to third-party autofocus lenses, but actively going after companies that tried to reverse engineer the mount. In a world where so many Sigma, Tamron, and other third-party lenses are beloved by photographers, what followed was a predictable (and almost two-year-long) PR disaster for Canon.
Just today, however, the dam may have finally broken. Sigma and Tamron announced almost simultaneously that they are now developing autofocus lenses for the Canon RF mount!
The specific lenses that they’re developing are all APS-C lenses so far, and all of which are variations of the companies’ existing lenses. They are as follows:
- Sigma 16mm f/1.4 DC
- Sigma 23mm f/1.4 DC
- Sigma 30mm f/1.4 DC
- Sigma 56mm f/1.4 DC
- Sigma 10-18mm f/2.8 DC
- Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 DC
- Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8
Sigma says that the 18-50mm f/2.8 DC for Canon RF will launch in July 2024, while all five of their other lenses say “fall of 2024 and onwards.” Meanwhile, Tamron says that the launch of their lens is “planned within 2024.”
APS-C users will probably be happy to have a lot more good options, although I think it’s fair to say that these are not the most head-turning lenses that Sigma or Tamron make (no word on a Sigma 14mm f/1.4 Art or Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 for RF yet). But it’s not the specific lenses that have me so excited – it’s what this hopefully signifies. As long as Canon also opens their mount to full-frame lenses, this marks the first step in a critical change in Canon’s approach to third-party glass.
We can complain that it took too long to get to this point, but I’m glad we’re here now. I look forward to seeing Canon face some more competition – it should pressure them to continue improving their RF glass, while also being more aggressive about sales and discounts in the future. Of course, it should be a great thing for Sigma, Tamron, and other third-party manufacturers, too. Canon holds a huge percentage of the mirrorless market, and this move will allow third-party lens companies to get significantly more revenue and invest in some new lenses of their own. For many reasons, it’s something I find very exciting, even though I’m a little nervous that only APS-C lenses have been announced so far.
You can read more in the official press releases from Tamron and from Sigma.
Are there any third-party autofocus lenses you are most looking forward to seeing for the RF mount? Let me know in the comments!
