The Canon EOS R system was originally announced with 4 lenses, the RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM, RF 28-70mm f/2L USM, RF 50mm f/1.2L USM and the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS STM Macro. The second round of announcements came about 6 months later with the pair of 85mm f/1.2L USM lenses, the RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM, RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM, RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS and the RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM.
We were speaking with a personal friend about Canon’s RF lens lineup, someone that would know some things and it was mentioned that Canon will have version II of a current RF lens some time in the first half of 2024. They didn’t know which lens, but if Canon is going to do it, it’ll either be a kit lens or one of the more popular lenses. Getting people into the upgrade cycle is always addictive to companies.
We look at those original 10 lenses and we see three that would make sense for a direct update, along with a 4th that would be a nice addition over an actual version II.
Canon RF 50mm f/1.2L USM
This is a brilliant autofocus 50mm lens, one of the best to ever be made. If there’s one knock on it, it’s the size and weight. If Canon could drop the weight in a significant way, say more than 100g, it may be worthwhile for some photographers.
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM
This is a bread and butter lens that appears in countless camera bags. A version II just based on a business case makes some sense to us. Optically this lens is already great, but Canon seems to have the ability to squeeze even more performance out of already great lenses.
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
This would probably be our pick for a replacement, it’s easily the weakest of the L lenses for the RF mount optically. It’s not a bad lens, but we don’t believe it lives up to the other red ring lenses in the lineup. That said, it’s pretty consistent in performance when compared to its EF counterparts over the years.
Throw in the coming Canon EOS R5 Mark II announcement in 2024, and pairing a new L kit lens would appear to be a good bed.
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
This is a lens that we’d like to see get an update or as an addition to the lineup. We realise that the focus of this lens design was compactness, and they nailed that. That said, there are two things some shooters would like to see. First being an internal zoom, lots of photographers who use the 70-200 focal length prefer the consistent size of the EF versions of this lens.
The second thing people would love is a design that allows the use of teleconverters. While the RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM is brilliant, the cost of admission is just out of reach or wouldn’t provide enough value for a lot of photographers and they’d prefer the more affordable 70-200 option.
If an internal zoom 70-200 comes to market, we wouldn’t be surprised if Canon rolled with both f/2.8 versions of the lens. There were a lot of 70-200 options at the same time in the EF days.
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