Buyer Beware: Canon locking out third-party lenses from RF mount?

[YellowJersey]

Think twice before you buy a Canon RF camera. It looks like Canon is locking out third-parties from making lenses for the RF mount on the grounds of patent infringement.

 My thoughts: It's this kind of anti-consumer bullshit that made me jump ship from Canon to Sony back in 2017. I have a range of third-party glass for my A7rIII and I love the options and affordability, which is one of the reasons I recommend Sony (at least for full frame, Fuji is my go-to for APS-C). Now, yes, Canon does have the legal right to do this if they want, but that doesn't make it any less slimy and distasteful. But, much like Apple, they're giving a big "fuck you" to the buying public in the process. So, if you're looking at a Canon RF camera, think about what lenses you want/need before you pull the trigger.


 

https://petapixel.com/2022/09/06/canon-confirms-its-going-after-lens-makers-for-patent-infringement/

 

 

[TempestCatto]

Hmm. That's something I never considered. I have a cheaper Canon (SL3) and the only aftermarket lens I have is way better than the crappy kit lenses. I have my eyes on a nice Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S, but that's still more than I can afford right now. I've always liked the way my photos turn out when using Canon bodies (mostly landscape and some nature) but seeing this I think I'll switch to something else when I grow into a full size sensor.

[Alex Atkin UK]

Of all devices, cameras are probably the ones where backwards compatibility has hung on the longest as the fundamental principles haven't changed.  Photographers have their favourite lenses, sometimes decades old, so I can't see this sort of thing going down well at all.  Hopefully their sales tank.

[YellowJersey]

2 hours ago, TempestCatto said:

Hmm. That's something I never considered. I have a cheaper Canon (SL3) and the only aftermarket lens I have is way better than the crappy kit lenses. I have my eyes on a nice Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM | S, but that's still more than I can afford right now. I've always liked the way my photos turn out when using Canon bodies (mostly landscape and some nature) but seeing this I think I'll switch to something else when I grow into a full size sensor.

I shot with Canon for 10 years. My first interchangeable lens camera was a Canon 10D. My whole family shot with Canon, though I'm the only one who seems interested in photography these days. It's not that Canon makes bad products; I loved my Canon lenses. But Canon has a history of holding features for ransom, particularly video features (this was the case for a very long time). But I eventually got sick of Canon's bullshit and, for the first time ever, I don't feel limited by my gear and have no need nor desire to upgrade. I have four lenses and only one is first-party. I wouldn't have gone to Sony had it not been for the third-party lenses. I think Canon's going the Apple "walled garden" approach, which I hate to see becoming more commonplace among tech.

[Vishera]

That camera will limit the amount of lenses you can fit unto it and put it in a disadvantage against the competition.

A move that comes from the thought process of "how can we squeeze more money" while failing to see the bigger picture (pun intended)

[CommanderAlex]

Pretty disappointing to hear Canon is doing this to third party lens manufacturers. I've considered an R6 if I were to go mirrorless buy Sony options are very nice, plus their ecosystem has been out for longer compared to Canon. 

 

Personal thing that bugs me is Canon's new RF 70-200mm f/2.8L is an external zoom, while their EF counterparts were all internal zoom. Once you're zoomed out to 200mm, it's the same length as an EF version as well (from flange to front of lens). I've considered instead going with Sony as their whole ecosystem appears to be cheaper, and what Canon is doing has drove another nail in the coffin for me to do so.

[Mo5]

It's funny how Canon is only protecting the RF mount like this as it shows it clearly doesn't care about the EF-M mount and wants it to quietly and quickly go away.

[YellowJersey]

1 hour ago, Mo5 said:

It's funny how Canon is only protecting the RF mount like this as it shows it clearly doesn't care about the EF-M mount and wants it to quietly and quickly go away.

The M mount is also another big "fuck you" to consumers that's a bit of a bug bearer or mine.

[Vilacom]

On 9/7/2022 at 9:39 AM, CommanderAlex said:

Pretty disappointing to hear Canon is doing this to third party lens manufacturers. I've considered an R6 if I were to go mirrorless buy Sony options are very nice, plus their ecosystem has been out for longer compared to Canon. 

 

Personal thing that bugs me is Canon's new RF 70-200mm f/2.8L is an external zoom, while their EF counterparts were all internal zoom. Once you're zoomed out to 200mm, it's the same length as an EF version as well (from flange to front of lens). I've considered instead going with Sony as their whole ecosystem appears to be cheaper, and what Canon is doing has drove another nail in the coffin for me to do so.

The Sony and Canon lenses are all extremely similar in overall pricing, depending on the lens it goes from identical to within $100, and while you may value an internal zoom it sure seems like a ton of people like having the option of a smaller lens to pack and carry most of the time as the 70-200 has received an enormous amount of praise and is extremely popular.


With regards to the actual subject of the post from what I’ve been able to find the issue seems to be the third party companies producing lenses(which according to reviews were pretty poor overall) did not have permission to produce RF glass, canon had to defend the patent in order to keep it.  European law is weird and its why you see a lot of strange lawsuits in those countries. 

Ultimately its not gonna matter a ton one way or the other, if you’re a professional then you’re gonna be buying the first party glass because the RF stuff is goddamn amazing and canon is really the only ones coming out with interesting stuff like the 28-70 F2, the new 1.2s, the F11 600 and 800, and its still the only place you can get extreme macro for reasonable prices.  Thats the reason you go Canon.  Any of the big 3(and the smaller companies) will produce fantastic images and take great video.  If your looking to get something on a budget you’re better off grabbing a used DSLR with 3rd party lenses.  

Companies like canon dont do things arbitrarily out of spite, there is a reason they had to stop these lens productions and given their recent camera releases in the R10 and R7 are both in the lower end of the spectrum, rumors are the R6 is getting the next update.  They’re clearly looking to appeal to the prosumer/casual market and I have no doubt at some point we’ll see sigma and tameron lenses come about that are actually quality for lower prices.  Canon isn’t just going to throw away the lower end market for asking.

[CommanderAlex]

6 hours ago, Vilacom said:

The Sony and Canon lenses are all extremely similar in overall pricing, depending on the lens it goes from identical to within $100, and while you may value an internal zoom it sure seems like a ton of people like having the option of a smaller lens to pack and carry most of the time as the 70-200 has received an enormous amount of praise and is extremely popular.

Not when you purchase used though. Used Sony lens are significantly cheaper than Canon's in the mirrorless market. A used Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM goes for $1799, while a Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L goes for $2746 prices both from KEH. I hardly hear from other pro photographers wanting to pay for new lens and always go the route of buying used lens, exception for the bodies. Almost $1,000 difference in price can go to another lens, say a 24-70mm f/2.8. Why pay through the nose for Canon to benefit from???

 

I would rather prefer build quality over a smaller size for a lens. 

6 hours ago, Vilacom said:

With regards to the actual subject of the post from what I’ve been able to find the issue seems to be the third party companies producing lenses(which according to reviews were pretty poor overall) did not have permission to produce RF glass, canon had to defend the patent in order to keep it.  European law is weird and its why you see a lot of strange lawsuits in those countries. 

I'm all for that, Canon has a right to defend their IP and stop others from infringing in it.

[Imbadatnames]

On 9/7/2022 at 2:53 AM, YellowJersey said:

Think twice before you buy a Canon RF camera. It looks like Canon is locking out third-parties from making lenses for the RF mount on the grounds of patent infringement.

 My thoughts: It's this kind of anti-consumer bullshit that made me jump ship from Canon to Sony back in 2017. I have a range of third-party glass for my A7rIII and I love the options and affordability, which is one of the reasons I recommend Sony (at least for full frame, Fuji is my go-to for APS-C). Now, yes, Canon does have the legal right to do this if they want, but that doesn't make it any less slimy and distasteful. But, much like Apple, they're giving a big "fuck you" to the buying public in the process. So, if you're looking at a Canon RF camera, think about what lenses you want/need before you pull the trigger.


 

https://petapixel.com/2022/09/06/canon-confirms-its-going-after-lens-makers-for-patent-infringement/

 

 

Lol jumping TO sony because of anti consumer practices? That’s a bit rich 

[Vilacom]

4 hours ago, CommanderAlex said:

Not when you purchase used though. Used Sony lens are significantly cheaper than Canon's in the mirrorless market. A used Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 GM goes for $1799, while a Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L goes for $2746 prices both from KEH. I hardly hear from other pro photographers wanting to pay for new lens and always go the route of buying used lens, exception for the bodies. Almost $1,000 difference in price can go to another lens, say a 24-70mm f/2.8. Why pay through the nose for Canon to benefit from???

 

I would rather prefer build quality over a smaller size for a lens. 

I’m pretty sure both have extremely high build quality, the difference in used prices is pretty simple…the canon one is much newer and thus there just aren’t many out in the used market yet.  Personally I’m with you, I like the all internal one and have kept my EF version 3 and just use an adapter, it works pretty damn nice.  That being said I’m getting ready to go to Africa for a safari next year and bag space is at a premium so I almost definitely am going to rent the new one for the trip.  Plenty of people are turned off by the size of an all internal 70-200, even my parents when I bought mine commented on how heavy and hard to carry it was going to be.  Like it or not its absolutely a factor lots of people consider.  Clearly canon is capable of making an all internal one as they have 3 versions of it, they though there was a benefit to doing it this way and from reviews its paid off. 

Everything is basically personal preference these days, I went canon because I love the R5, EF support isnt going anywhere for a long time thanks to its use in cinematography, they have literally everything you want like tilt shift and extreme macro that adapt flawlessly to the RF, and the interesting new RF glass just isnt being done elsewhere.  I absolutely love my 28-70 F/2 and there is no other system I can get that on.  If thats not what interests someone and maybe like you they exclusively want to have a large market of used glass available to them, then yeah Sony is definitely the way to go as they(to the point of some well known YouTubers complaining about it) really havnt refreshed their lenses in quite a while so there are lots on the secondary market.  If you want the cheapest available extreme telephoto prime for birding or something then Nikon is probably worth looking at, its just all personal preference.

 

[CommanderAlex]

29 minutes ago, Vilacom said:

I’m pretty sure both have extremely high build quality, the difference in used prices is pretty simple…the canon one is much newer and thus there just aren’t many out in the used market yet.  Personally I’m with you, I like the all internal one and have kept my EF version 3 and just use an adapter, it works pretty damn nice.  That being said I’m getting ready to go to Africa for a safari next year and bag space is at a premium so I almost definitely am going to rent the new one for the trip.  Plenty of people are turned off by the size of an all internal 70-200, even my parents when I bought mine commented on how heavy and hard to carry it was going to be.  Like it or not its absolutely a factor lots of people consider.  Clearly canon is capable of making an all internal one as they have 3 versions of it, they though there was a benefit to doing it this way and from reviews its paid off. 

Everything is basically personal preference these days, I went canon because I love the R5, EF support isnt going anywhere for a long time thanks to its use in cinematography, they have literally everything you want like tilt shift and extreme macro that adapt flawlessly to the RF, and the interesting new RF glass just isnt being done elsewhere.  I absolutely love my 28-70 F/2 and there is no other system I can get that on.  If thats not what interests someone and maybe like you they exclusively want to have a large market of used glass available to them, then yeah Sony is definitely the way to go as they(to the point of some well known YouTubers complaining about it) really havnt refreshed their lenses in quite a while so there are lots on the secondary market.  If you want the cheapest available extreme telephoto prime for birding or something then Nikon is probably worth looking at, its just all personal preference.

 

Yeah I own the EF version 3 of the lens as well and I love it to death, probably my go-to and walkaround lens wherever I go. Too bad they couldn't make both versions-external and internal zoom. The Canon R5 would be my dream camera but not until my DSLRs die, would I move over and use the EF adapter. Otherwise, the R6 would fit best for me and probably get a vertical grip. 

[Vilacom]

50 minutes ago, CommanderAlex said:

Yeah I own the EF version 3 of the lens as well and I love it to death, probably my go-to and walkaround lens wherever I go. Too bad they couldn't make both versions-external and internal zoom. The Canon R5 would be my dream camera but not until my DSLRs die, would I move over and use the EF adapter. Otherwise, the R6 would fit best for me and probably get a vertical grip. 

You’re gonna love the R5 when you make the jump, it really is just flat out amazing.  Eye tracking is just a game changer and just the feel of the camera is fantastic.