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At the heart of the Canon EOS R
mirrorless system is optics.
Since shortly after World War
II, Canon has been an important
world player in optical
development for interchangeable
lens cameras, and it's important
to understand that this - not
simply a more compact camera -
is the driving force behind the
new EOS R system. The EOS R
series takes this to new levels,
and opens the door to incredible
lens and image quality
possibilities in the future. But
the great news is that it
remains fully compatible with
current Canon EF, EF-S,
Tilt-Shift, and macro lenses.
Any discussion of the Canon EOS
R series has to begin with the
RF lens mount. This is a new
lens mount, dedicated to the EOS
R full-frame, mirrorless system.
From the outset, let's be clear:
only RF-mount lenses can be
directly attached to the new
mirrorless cameras. All
existing, compatible Canon
lenses for digital SLRs will
require an optional
mount adapter.
In a few moments, we'll discuss
why this new lens mount and its
architecture are such an
important part of the EOS R
system. But first, let's talk
about the four RF-mount lenses
that will debut with the EOS R
camera system. These are
entirely new designs, leveraging
the advantages of the camera's
mirrorless structure. Each has
much more extensive and faster
data communication with the
camera, and each has the new,
programmable RF series Control
Ring, in addition to a manual
focus ring, and zoom ring on the
zoom lenses. Let's take a quick
look at each lens:
The RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM
The 24-105mm F4 L IS USM lens is
the first standard zoom in the
RF lens system. As with each of
the RF lenses, it's a totally
new lens design, optimized for
the new mirrorless system. It's
slightly smaller than its EF
mount sibling, and its image
quality will be improved. The F4
maximum aperture is constant
through the zoom range. Most
notably, this is the first
L-Series lens with Canon's
innovative Nano Ultrasonic Focus
Motor. Nano USM means this
lens's focus is fast, virtually
silent, but in particular it has
focus smoothness ideally suited
for video recording. This is not
simply a "kit lens," and we
expect it to be a workhorse for
many of our serious customers
who invest in the EOS R system.
The RF 28-70mm F2 L USM
Here is the flagship lens in the
first wave of optics for the EOS
R system. You heard that
correctly - this is
Canon's first constant-aperture,
F2 zoom lens. The priority here
was superb specifications, with
that F2 maximum aperture, and
the best image quality possible.
Listen to this carefully: the
result is a lens so good, we
expect some to consider it a
variable fixed focal length
lens, not just a wide-to-tele
zoom. Canon's lens engineers
anticipate this lens will offer
unprecedented optical quality,
matching the sharpness and
contrast of many pro-level,
fixed focal length lenses.
While it's certainly large
lens for its type, understand
that the RF mount architecture
makes it possible. Had our
engineers tried to design a
comparable F2 zoom lens for
DSLRs with the EF mount, the
result would have been a far
larger and heavier lens. As
we'll explain in a moment, the
wide-diameter RF mount and
mirrorless structure allow
designers to use larger lens
elements toward the rear of the
lens, and reduce the size of
optics toward the front section.
It goes without saying that this
lens will be a fixture with
quality-conscious Canon
photographers, in fields ranging
from landscape to commercial
studio photography. Anywhere a
superb-quality 28mm, 35mm, 50mm,
or 70mm lens with an F2 aperture
would fit, we expect to see
critical users working with the
RF 28-70mm F2 L lens.
The RF 35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM
Small, lightweight lenses are
one of the design paths our
engineers can take, with the new
wide-diameter, mirrorless RF
lens system. And the 35mm,
moderate wide-angle lens has
historically been a go-to focal
length to combine with a more
compact camera, for candid
street shooting, available light
work indoors, and even
photojournalism. The 35mm F1.8
Macro IS STM fits this
description well, and goes
beyond by offering macro
close-focusing capability, down
to half life size magnification.
At its closest focus distance of
just over 6 inches, you can fill
the frame with a subject the
size of a business card.
The wide F1.8 maximum aperture
makes it great for available
light shooting, and that's
backed-up by an Image
Stabilization system with up to
5 stops of shake correction.
Let's put that into perspective:
for still-image shooting in low
light, if the slowest safe
shutter speed you felt
comfortable using without IS was
1/60th of a second, a five-stop
correction means you'd get the
same stable images at speeds as
slow as one 1/2 second, with
stationary subjects. That same
IS system works beautifully for
video recording as well, and the
STM focus system means that AF
during video is smooth and
virtually silent.
The RF 50mm F1.2 L USM
This lens shows another
direction that the new
mirrorless RF mount allows our
optical designers to take.
Instead of going for the
smallest possible design, the RF
50mm F1.2 L USM combines an
extremely wide maximum aperture
with rock-solid image quality,
and directly targets
professional photographers and
critical enthusiasts. Once
again, this is a totally new
optical design, with 15 lens
elements, taking full advantage
of the new possibilities of the
RF lens mount, and putting
optical performance superior to
the current EF 50mm F1.2 lens in
the photographer's hands. This
new 50mm lens is a powerful
statement of the image quality
you can get with the Canon EOS R
system. With its combination of
terrific low-light shooting
capability, beautiful background
blurring, and sharpness, we
expect it to be well received by
photographers in fields such as
portraits, fashion, events, and
weddings.
No discussion of the optical
power of the Canon EOS R system
is complete without a look at
why this new lens mount is such
an important element in raising
the performance bar. The keys
are that the new RF mount has a
wide diameter - the same 54mm
inner diameter as the EF mount -
and, that it's positioned much
closer to the imaging sensor.
The rear reference point on the
lens mount is now 20mm from the
image sensor plane, which is
less than half the distance from
mount-to-sensor in an EOS
digital SLR.
With large-diameter rear lens
elements closer to the image
sensor, the optics at the front
of lenses can be smaller in
size, without loss of image
quality. Light rays, especially
at the outer edges of the image,
can travel a smoother path
through the lens, with less
bending or refracting. Optical
designers have more freedom to
engineer lenses with outstanding
maximum apertures - like the RF
28-70mm F2 L USM - while
maintaining superb image
quality. Or, deliver lenses with
smaller front optical designs
and reduced overall size, like
the RF 35mm F1.8 IS STM.
Wide-angle lenses, in
particular, can be designed to
deliver superior performance,
with smaller designs than would
be possible with SLR
construction.
This in turn can directly result
in shorter lens designs, with
equivalent image quality, and
reduced lens size and weight
toward the front section of the
lens. And most importantly, it
opens the door for superior
optical quality, across the
entire full-frame sensor area,
out to the corners. With large
diameter rear elements,
light at the edges doesn't need
to be bent or refracted as
strongly as it leaves the lens,
enhancing final digital image
quality. As we said a moment
ago, some lens designs can be
shorter overall. This is
especially important with
wide-angle lens designs, and
gives our engineers tremendous
freedom to develop future lenses
with outstanding sharpness and
quality. Again, optics are the
cornerstone of the new EOS R
system. The first four lenses
are just the tip of the iceberg!
Finally, with the new EOS R
system, we enter a new realm of
data communication between body
and lens as well. There are now
12 electronic contacts on the
rear of RF lenses, up from 8 on
EF and EF-S lenses. And,
electronic data itself travels
much faster than with the
previous mount system. This
means that current technologies,
like autofocus and Image
Stabilization, can be enhanced
and offer better speed and
precision. And, it opens the
door for new features, like fine
exposure control with the new
Control Ring on RF lenses, 1/8th
stop aperture control during
video shooting, moving the
distance scale from the lens to
the viewfinder, storing
sophisticated Digital Lens
Optimizer data in each RF lens,
and more possibilities in the
future.
As important as these new
developments are for the EOS R
system today, we realize that
for many prospective users,
their investment in Canon EF and
EF-S lenses has been a backbone
of their involvement in
photography. The EOS R system is
an addition to the Canon line,
not a replacement. In our next
video, we'll discuss the
outstanding compatibility the
EOS R system provides, allowing
you to use today's lenses on
tomorrow's camera.
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