Lens options for Canon APSC mirrorless cameras October 2025

 

 Canon released their first two APSC crop sensor mirrorless models, the R7 and R10 in 2022. At  the time there were only two dedicated Canon RF-S lenses for the new RF mount APSC sub-system

These are the RF-S 18-45mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM kit lens which is a new design and the RF-S 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM which uses the same optical design as the EF-M 18-150mm f3.5-6.3.

This is possible because the flange back distance of the EF-M mount is 18mm and that of the RF mount 20mm. So by setting the optical elements 2mm further back in the housing a lens originally designed for 18mm flange back can be re-housed to fit a 20mm flange back body.

EF-M lenses cannot be adapted after market to the RF mount as the required adapter would have to have a thickness of only 2mm.

A year later the RF-S 10-18mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM ultrawide zoom  and the RF-S 55-210mm f5-7.1 IS STM medium tele-zoom came along.

In 2025 Canon released the vlogging oriented R50V camera together with the RF-S 14-30mm f4-6.3 IS STM PZ  zoom lens primarily intended for video and vlogging. However it is also a very usable lens for still photos on any of Canon’s crop sensor bodies. 

These lenses have drawn criticism from bokeholics not so much for what they are but for what they are not, which is pro grade optics with a constant f1.8 aperture.

I think these people miss the point which is that these are utility lenses, aimed more at getting the shot than getting the perfect shot.

My tests and general usage show that within their limitations of focal length and aperture range these are very good lenses with very good image quality, very good autofocus and very good stabiliser function.

All Canon RF and RF-S lenses can be mounted onto all Canon mirrorless RF mount bodies. So we can mount any full frame RF lens onto any crop sensor RF mount body. Which might seem like a tempting option until we discover that only a select few such combinations are in practice a good match.

There are two main reasons for this. The first is that some of those full frame lenses are very big, heavy and expensive so mounting them on a crop sensor body defeats the smaller. lighter, cheaper ethos of the crop sensor sub system.

The second is that crop sensor cameras have much higher pixel densities than full frame ones. A full frame sensor with the same pixel density as the EOS R10 would have 61 Mpx.  The EOS R7 sensor would have 82 Mpx.  As I write this in September 2025 no Canon RF mount full frame cameras have such high pixel counts.

I have and other reviewers have discovered that some lenses which deliver good rsults on full frame are much less impressive on the crop sensor. Some are not as good as RF-S kit lenses on the smaller sensors. This applies even to some expensive L grade optics.

I have seen a comparison by a reputable reviewer between the Canon RF 24-105mm f4 L IS USM and the Canon RF-S 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 STM on the R7 body. He rated the RF-S lens slightly better for optical quality on the crop sensor.

Here is my little list of full frame Canon RF lenses which I have used and tested and found to be a good match for either the R7 or R10 bodies.

* RF 28mm f2.8 STM,  Not stabilised. Full frame equivalent focal length on crop sensor bodies 45mm.  This lens is super sharp across the frame at any aperture. It is also super compact, extending only a few mm beyond the front of the handle. Very good for all general photography especially on the R7 which has IBIS. By the way this lens is proof that plastic moulded aspheric lenses (it has three of them)  can deliver excellent optical performance.

* RF 50mm f1.8 STM “nifty fifty”. Unstabilised. This is the least expensive Canon branded lens for the RF mount and one of the most compact. It is quite good wide open and excellent from about f4. It gives a full frame equivalent focal length of 80mm making for a very capable budget portrait lens on the R7.

* RF 100mm f2.8 L Macro IS USM. Stabilised. Full frame equivalent focal length 160mm. This super sharp lens is probably overkill for crop mount bodies as some of the kit lenses such as the RF-S 18-150mm have semi-macro capability. However this lens works very well on crop sensor bodies and makes hand held macro work very much easier than it ever was in the EF mount  era.

* RF 100-400mm f5.6-8 IS USM. Stabilised. Full frame equivalent focal length 160-640mm. This is an excellent super tele lens on either the R7 or R10. It is sharp enough to handle the high pixel density with very fast AF and very good stabiliser function.  It is also compact for a super tele-zoom and relatively inexpensive.  

* RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1 L IS USM. Stabilised. Full frame equivalent focal length 160-800mm. This is an outstanding although rather expensive lens which is easily sharp enough for crop sensor bodies. With excellent AF and stabiliser it works very well on the R7 for wildlife and birds.

Canon RF Lenses which I have tested and do not recommend for APSC cameras include the RF 16mm f2.8 and the RF 24mm f1.8 both of which are very weak at the edges of the frame.

In due course Canon opened up the RF mount to selected third party lens makers with Sigma taking the lead role.  We now have four fast primes and four zooms from Sigma for RF mount APSC bodies.

The four primes are the 16mm, 23mm, 30mm and 56mm f1.4 DC DN Contemporary. These lenses had been available in Sony and other mounts for several years and have now been re-housed for the Canon RF mount.  Bokeholics rejoice. Canon crop sensor camera users now have the fast primes which some have been requesting.

Like all recent model Sigma lenses these primes are very well made with excellent fit and finish. However they are unstabilised, rather large and optically very good but not outstanding.  I have tested the 23mm f1.4 DC DN and found it no better optically than the 18-50mm zoom with each at the same aperture. No doubt these fast primes will find a place in the camera bag of those who absolutely must have the f1.4 aperture for low light or bokeh requirements.

The four zooms currently available in September 2025 are:

* Sigma 10-18mm f2.8 DC DN Contemporary. Unstabilised. This constant aperture lens is really excellent on the R7, delivering top quality results at all apertures and focal lengths. It is also remarkably compact for an ultrawide zoom.

* Sigma 18-50mm f2.8  DC DN Contemporary. Unstabilised. Here is another compact constant f2.8 lens from Sigma with excellent optical performance.

* Sigma 16-300mm f3.5-6.7 DC OS Contemporary. Stabilised. This almost 19x ultrazoom is aimed at users who hate changing lenses but still want a full range of focal lengths from very wide to long telephoto. I think this one could find many happy homes particularly as the camera industry appears to have abandoned the bridge camera genre. It is very well made with excellent fit and finish.  However it is rather large especially when zoomed out and is not really sharp at the long end.

My preferred all-purpose lens for Canon crop sensor bodies is the Canon RF-S 18-150mm which is much more compact than the Sigma 16-300mm, less expensive and better optically. My tests show that cropping the 18-150 at 150mm gives almost the same resolution as the uncropped Sigma 16-300 at 300mm.

* Sigma 17-40mm f1.8 DC Art. Unstabilised. Lens reviewers are currently raving about this recent release from Sigma. One announced he is in love with it. I wonder what his wife, who posed for test photos, thinks about that. But I digress.

Sigma offers three lines of lens. Contemporary is the regular general purpose grade which I have to say usually offers excellent optical and mechanical quality.

Art is the top grade for professional lenses and Sports is self explanatory, mainly consisting of fast high quality long zooms.

So we have the Sigma 17-40mm Art as the only top tier lens available specifically for Canon crop sensor bodies at the present time, there being no L series RF-S Canon lenses yet.

The Sigma 17-40mm f1.8 embodies most things that enthusiast and professional photographers have been asking for all wrapped up in one high quality lens offering prime level sharpness and constant wide aperture with weather sealing and internal zoom versatility. I think that portrait and wedding photographers will find this lens very appealing.

However it is considerably larger, heavier and more expensive than the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 which is almost as sharp at f2.8 and just as sharp by f5.6-8 according to several published reviews.

Tamron now has an ultrazoom for Canon Rf mount APSC bodies in the form of the 18-300mm f3.5-6.3 Di III-AVC. I have not tested this although I have seen one review suggesting it might not be quite as good as the Sigma. Time will tell.

There is a multitude of alternative third party lenses for Canon RF mount. Most of these are manual focus only although some might apso offer autofocus with or without approval by Canon. Brands such as Samyang, Rokinon, 7 Artisans, Laowa, Yongnuo and many others offer several RF mount models for APSC.

I have seen good reviews of the Samyang 12mm f2 AF for Canon RF APSC bodies.

Summary

In the three years since the R10 and R7 were released the number of autofocus lenses made or approved by Canon and well suited to the Canon RF mount crop sensor sub system has grown from 2 to 16+.  No doubt there will be more in the years to come.

There are plenty of rumors about an upcoming R7 Mark 2 coming maybe in 2026.

In 2006 Canon released the EF-S 17-55mm f2.8 IS USM zoom which was a popular companion to models like the EOS 40D and 60D. I used this lens for several years with reliably good results. 20 years later, I think there is a reasonable expectation from enthusiast buyers that Canon will at some stage offer a modernised RF-S version of this lens or a similar constant wide aperture standard zoom. One lives in hope. In the meantime there are plenty of excellent options to keep almost everyone happy.