Will We Finally See Third-Party Autofocus for Full-Frame RF?

This article took a couple of days going back and forth as to whether or not it should be written. The topic of third-party RF lenses for full-frame cameras has been a polarizing one.

There are a lot of Canon shooters that would never buying a third-party lens for EOS R and don’t feel there is a need, or don’t care, and then there are others that will have a bag full of them.

I really don’t have an opinion on this topic one way or another. I would gladly use a third-party lens for full-frame if it something Canon doesn’t make and that I want. Canon isn’t going to make every kind of lens that shooters may want.

Is it finally happening?

We have been told that full-frame RF mount lenses with autofocus are coming in the next year, and possibly sooner. Though the first ones won’t be from Sigma we’re told. This doesn’t surprise us too much, but may not be good news for some of you.

Which brand is going to be first is unknown at the moment. We do think it’ll be one of the Chinese brands like Viltrox, but your guess is as good as mine.

Canon and RF Mount Control

When it comes to Canon’s control of the RF mount, we have no idea what third-party agreements with Canon entail. How much money do these companies have to pay Canon? How strict is Canon as far as performance requirements? What sort of lenses might third party manufacturers not be allowed to make for the mount?

We have no idea and probably never will, Canon is notoriously coy about their business decisions.

Summary

As you all know, Canon has allowed autofocus RF mount for APS-C cameras and both Sigma and Tamron make a selection of prime and zoom lenses. I think part of the reason is Canon may not have figured out their ‘RF-S’ strategy, or they simply don’t want to make a bunch of crop lenses.

A lot of people around here agree that Canon’s current strategy is working just fine from a sales point of view, and that may be truer than not. Canon seems to be selling more and more lenses every year.

I’ll give one personal observation on the topic.

There is a possibility that third-party autofocus full-frame lenses embraced by the likes of Sony could be a factor in getting younger generations into the brand. I have mentioned before that the younger shooters I see out and about are more often carrying a full-frame Sony camera than any other brand. Again, that’s just my own observation.

I don’t want to start some kind of firestorm or beat a dead horse, I just think the information is good once I consider the source.

More to come soon…

Go to discussion…