This evening, Sigma and Tamron concurrently announced the development of their first lenses for Canon RF mount. For years, Canon mirrorless camera owners (particular those without professional budgets) have pined for the high-quality third-party lenses that were available for Canon EF mount, but legal issues have blocked their development. This evening, however, Sigma and Tamron have both announced that they have reached licensing agreements with Canon to produce RF mount lenses.
It is worth noting that so far, all Sigma and Tamron lenses announced for Canon RF mount are made for APS-C sensors.
Tamron’s first lens for RF mount will be the 11-20mm f/2.8 Di III-A RXD lens for APS-C cameras. The lens has been available for Sony E and Fujifilm X mounts for a few years and is well respected on both platforms.
Sigma will be offering a more ambitious initial lineup of lenses. From Sigma we can expect the following lenses in RF Mount:
- SIGMA 18-50mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary
- SIGMA 10-18mm F2.8 DC DN | Contemporary
- SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary
- SIGMA 23mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary
- SIGMA 30mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary
- SIGMA 56mm F1.4 DC DN | Contemporary
Don’t expect these lenses to be available in the next few weeks, though. Sigma hopes to have their RF-mount lenses reach the market in the fall of 2024, while Tamron simply states the lens will “launch within 2024”.
Still, it’s an exciting development for photographers who are interested in getting into the Canon ecosystem and would like the flexibility of pricing and additional options offered by these companies. This is a great opportunity for photographers, and (finally!) a very smart move by Canon.
Considering the amount of time that it has taken Canon to reach licensing agreements with Sigma and Tamron, it seems likely that these lenses will be more expensive than those made for other mounts. Hopefully the difference is not dramatic.
