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RF vs EF (non-L) - 'faster' primes, but 'slower' zooms?

Started 1 month ago | Questions thread
RLight Senior Member • Posts: 4,418
Re: RF vs EF (non-L) - 'faster' primes, but 'slower' zooms?
1

Wiedehopf wrote:

Just an observation really, but on comparison with 'EF' series non-L lenses, for RF the zooms are 1-2 F-stops slower across their range while the primes are often 1-2 stops faster.

Primes: RF 16/f2.8 (no comparable), 24/f1.8 (EF f2.8), 35/f1.8 (EF f2), RF 50/f1.8 (same), 85/f2 (EF f1.8, but + macro)

Zooms: RF 24-105/f4.5-7.1 (EF f/3.5-5.6), 15-30 f/4.5-6.3 (EF 20-35 f/3.5-4.5), 24-240 f/4-6.3 (f/4-6.3), RF 24-50 f/4.5-6.3 (EF 24-85/f3.5-4.5).

A realistic cost comparison is difficult to do - inflation, list vs shop price - and probably irrelevant.

Is is marketing or design constraints (FF + mirrorless?), or some other factor, that is driving Canon to offer affordable RF zooms with slow(er) apertures, but often RF primes with a 'faster' max aperture compared to EF?

Two things, the RF mount permits more aggressive designs on fast aperture lenses. The other, having on chip auto focus means that Canon doesn’t have to maintain an F/5.6 minimum aperture for backwards compatibility with DSLRs auto focus systems. This enables them to make more compact and cost-effective lenses to your point for the masses, but also permits, more aggressive, high-end lenses for professionals.

 RLight's gear list:RLight's gear list
Canon EOS R3 Canon EOS R50 Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM Canon RF-S 18-45mm Canon RF-S 55-210mm F5.0-7.1 IS STM
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