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- It’s an ultra-wide zoom lens designed for full-frame cameras like the Canon EOS R8
- Its design is practically identical to that of the RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM
- It costs $1,149 / £1,249 – we’ll confirm Australia pricing asap
Canon has unveiled its latest ultra-wide-angle zoom lens for its full-frame mirrorless cameras, the RF 16-28mm F2.8 IS STM, and I got a proper feel for it during a hands-on session hosted by Canon ahead of its launch.
It features a bright maximum F2.8 aperture across its entire 16-28mm range, and is a much more compact and affordable option for enthusiasts than Canon’s pro RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS USM lens. Consider the 16-28mm a sensible match for Canon’s beginner and mid-range full-frame cameras, such as the EOS R8.
Design-wise, the 16-28mm is a perfect match with the RF 28-70mm F2.8 IS STM lens. The pair share the same control layout and are almost identical in size, although the 28-70mm lens is around 10% heavier.
The new lens is seemingly part of a move by Canon to deliver more accessible fast-aperture zooms that fit better with Canon’s smaller mirrorless bodies – the 16-28mm weighs just 15.7oz / 445g and costs $1,149 / £1,249, much less than the comparable pro L-series lens.
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The right fit for enthusiasts
Despite its lower price, the 16-28mm still feels reassuringly solid. The rugged lens, which is made in Japan, features a secure metal lens mount. You get a customizable control ring, autofocus / manual focus switch, plus an optical stabilizer switch, and that’s the extent of the external controls.
When paired with a Canon camera that features in-body image stabilization, such as the EOS R6 Mark II, you get up to eight stops of stabilization; the cheaper EOS R8 isn’t blessed with that feature, and on that camera the lens offers 5.5 stops of stabilization.
I tested the 16-28mm lens with an EOS R8 and the pair are a perfect match, and that’s also the case with the EOS R6 Mark II, which is only a little bit bigger.
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I didn’t get too many opportunities to take pictures with the new lens during my brief hands-on time, but I have taken enough sample images captured in raw and JPEG format to get a good idea of the lens’ optical qualities and deficiencies.
For example, at the extreme wide-angle 16mm setting and with the aperture wide open at F2.8, raw files show severe curvilinear distortion and vignetting. If you look at the corresponding JPEG, which was captured simultaneously, and you can see just how much lens correction is being applied to get you a clean image out of the camera (check out the gallery of sample images below).
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Those lens distortions really are quite severe, but when you look at the JPEG output, all is forgiven – even with such heavy processing taking place to correct curvilinear distortion and vignetting, detail is consistently sharp from the center to the very edges and corners of the frame, while light fall-off in the corners is mostly dealt with.
I’ll go out on a limb and suggest that the target audience for this lens will be less concerned with these lens distortions, so long as it’s possible to get the end results you like, and my first impressions are that you can certainly do that – I’ve grabbed some sharp selfies and urban landscapes, with decent control over depth of field, plus enjoyed the extra wide perspective that makes vlogging a whole lot easier.
A worthy addition to the Canon RF-mount family?
I expect most photographers and filmmakers will mostly use the 16-28mm lens’ extreme ends of its zoom range; 16mm and 28mm. The former is particularly handy for video work thanks to its ultra wide perspective, while it’s a versatile range for landscape and architecture photography.
That zoom range is hardly extensive, however, and I’m not sure if it’s a lens that particularly excites me, even if it does make a sensible pairing with the RF 28-70mm F2.8 for enthusiasts.
It is much cheaper than a comparable L-series lens, but I’d hardly call a $1,149 / £1,249 lens cheap. Also, why not just pick up the RF 16mm F2.8 STM and the RF 28mm F2.8 prime lenses instead? These are Canon’s smallest lenses for full-frame cameras and the pair combined costs half the price of the 16-28mm F2.8.
As capable as the 16-28mm appears to be on my first impressions – it’s a super sharp lens with versatile maximum aperture – I’m simply not convinced how much extra it brings to the RF-mount table, and if there’s enough of a case for it for most people.
