After years of the RF mount remaining “closed,” Sigma and Tamron have both finally broken through and will each release lenses for Canon’s mirrorless mount.
Canon has made good on its statement from earlier this year when it said that it was actively working to bring third-party lenses to RF mount. Conversations with Sigma and Tamron appear to have been conducted simultaneously, as both companies announced support for Canon RF at the same time.
Sigma’s entry into the RF mount comes in the form of six “Contemporary” lenses that are all currently available for other mirrorless camera mounts: the 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN, the 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN, the 16mm f/1.4 DC DN, 23mm f/1.4 DC DN, 30mm f/1.4 DC DN, and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN.
Tamron will also release optics for Canon RF mount starting with the 11-20mm F/2.8 Di III-A RXD (Model B060).
Sigma says that its lenses will be fully supported on Canon RF. Its lenses include a control algorithm for the autofocus drive and communication speed optimization, which Sigma says have been developed specifically for Canon RF Mount interchangeable lenses.
“In addition to realizing high-speed AF, the lens also supports AF-C (Continuous AF), in-camera aberration correction, and in-camera image stabilization. The mount is rubber-sealed to cater for use in a variety of environments,” Sigma says. The company did not provide a timeline for the release of the lenses.
For its part, Tamron says that after “receiving many requests from customers to offer lenses compatible with the Canon RF mount, Tamron made the decision to develop a lens for the Canon RF mount under a license agreement.”
The 11-20mm f/2.8 is described as a fast aperture zoom that is compact, lightweight, lens made for APS-C cameras (it is currently available for Sony E and Fujifilm X mounts).
“Despite its small, lightweight design, it also delivers high-level imaging power with an uncompromising optical design,” the company says. Tamron expects to launch the lens sometime in 2024.
While Canon appears to only be licensing access to its RF mount to support its APS-C cameras and not its far more popular full-frame options, it is at least a start. Canon has previously said that its choice to keep the mount closed is a business decision and it is unlikely that mentality has changed. That said, it must agree (at least to some extent) with its APS-C users that the lenses it has offered thus far for crop sensor bodies have not been enough to satisfy demand. With the addition of six Sigma lenses and one Tamron lens, that changes the moment the optics become available.
