Canon has pushed into some new territories with the RF mount, and they are showing no signs of stopping, with some especially interesting lenses now being tested.
Canon Rumors is reporting that Canon is testing five new DO supertelephoto lenses:
- RF 400mm f/3.5 DO IS USM
- RF 400mm f/4 DO IS USM
- RF 500mm f/4.5 DO IS USM
- RF 500mm f/5 DO IS USM
- RF 800mm f/9.5 DO IS USM
Canon has created DO (diffractive optics) lenses before, which use special lens elements that allow for smaller and lighter designs. The most notable example was the EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM. While the initial version of this lens received mixed reviews due to sharpness issues, the second version improved on this significantly and became quite the hit. Furthermore, while it isn't clear which of these lens designs will make it to market (rumor has it only one will), it is likely that its announcement (whether the full announcement or just development) will coincide with that of the upcoming EOS R1 flagship mirrorless camera. If I had to guess, we will likely see the RF 500mm f/4.5, as Canon already has two RF 800mm lenses and the 400mm f/2.8, and the EF 500mm f/4 L has yet to be replaced. We'll see what the year brings!
It would be nice if Canon experimented with affordable RF glass. It's great to have new lens innovation. It's even better when people can actually afford to buy them.
Their 600 and 800mm F11s are spectacular and more than Nikon and Sony has done at a low price. What they need is to replace the R and RP at a lower price to meet up with the Nikon Z5
Yes, more affordable glass.
Not so rugged or sealed as much, some would be nice though, but keep the same superb image quality on ALL glass.
The new f/11 lenses show that it is possible.
All Canon lenses with computers etc should never be a compromise on image quality today.
I am glad that Canon isn't giving up on Diffractive Optics development, even though it hasn't been very successful for them in the past. At some point, there may be a huge breakthrough, where the lenses are significantly lighter and smaller (not just a piddling 20 or 25 percent lighter and smaller), with image quality that is exactly as good as traditional optics, even for those who scrutinize pixels and refer to MTF charts.