Finally, Canon Lets Tamron, Sigma Make Lenses For Its RF Cameras

Canon has spent years being extremely closed off to any third-party lens maker creating compatible optics for its cameras, now, no more.

The company has finally allowed not only Sigma but also Tamron to have official sanction for new lenses that are fully compatible with Canon’s widely used RF mount cameras.

Apparently, the camera giant had been negotiating with both of these companies at the same time and as a result, both Tamron and Sigma have pretty much simultaneously announced their upcoming support for RF.

In Sigma’s case, this will start with the release of six “contemporary” lenses that the brand already has available for other, more third-party-flexible camera brands such as Sony.

These optics, which will be made available for Canon RF too, include:

• The 18-50mm f/2.8 DC DN
• The 10-18mm f/2.8 DC DN
• The 16mm f/1.4 DC DN
• The 23mm f/1.4 DC DN
• The 30mm f/1.4 DC DN
• The 56mm f/1.4 DC DN

In Tamron’s case, we’ll see the release of a Canon RF version of the 11-20mm F/2.8 Di III-A RXD Model B060 lens and further releases of other lens models after that.

Both of these companies and others have previously made lenses for Canon cameras, but only for the brand’s EF mount. Now thanks to Canon’s sanction, we could very quickly see a sort of mini renaissance of affordable RF lenses from the two lens makers.

Sigma has stated that its RF mount lenses for Canon will be fully supported. This will include a control algorithm for AF drive and communication speed optimization. According to Sigma, this has been specifically developed for Canon’s RF Mount.

The company claims,

“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,”

Tamron on the other hand has mentioned 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.”

Tamron’s more modest initial leap into lenses for the Canon RF Mount with just the 1-20mm f/2.8 lens (at least for now) involves a model that’s already affordably available in both Sony and Fujifilm X formats and offers compact, light APS-C compatibility.

Sigma hasn’t yet stated when it’s going to launch its planned list of RF lenses but Tamron’s single model will start shipping sometime in 2024 according to the company.

Users of Canon RF cameras will have plenty of reason to be happy with this decision by Canon. For one thing, it will mean a wider selection of APS-C optics for the brand’s RF cameras and secondly, it could mean more affordable options in this range.

We’ll keep you posted about any specific release dates. They shouldn’t be long in coming.

Image credits: Tamron, Sigma