Canon Working on Nifty Fifty, Pancake Lens, and 135mm f/1.4 for RF Mount: Report

A reliable report from Canon Rumors, as well as a newly discovered patent, has revealed some of Canon’s exciting plans for the RF Mount. Not only is a nifty fifty 50mm f/1.8 lens in the works, the company is also working on a pancake lens and has designed a 135mm f/1.4L.

Canon recently made it very clear that RF mount lenses are the priority, putting a halt on EF lens development, which begs the question: what’s next? According to multiple reports, the camera company is actually working on lenses on both ends of the spectrum.

On the affordable end, Canon Rumors reports that Canon has two new RF lenses in production: a so-called “nifty fifty” 50mm f/1.8 lens and an f/2.8 pancake lens. The pancake lens will come first, arriving in the “first half of 2020,” with the 50mm f/1.8 following sometime later, possibly also this year.

On the (much more) expensive side, Canon News has uncovered a Japanese patent application that describes an RF 135mm f/1.4L USM lens—essentially the RF-mount version of Canon’s popular EF-mount 135mm f/2L. Despite this being a patent, Canon News is very confident that the lens will become a reality, writing that it “essentially completes the professional prime portrait lens kit.”

Of course, nothing is official until it’s… well… official. But all three of these lenses would be a welcome addition to the RF mount, with the Nifty Fifty and pancake lens filling in some much-needed affordable glass, while the 135mm f/1.4 provides what can only be described as a “drool-worthy” addition to the lineup.

We’ll keep our fingers and toes crossed.

(via Canon Rumors via Fstoppers)


Image credits: Header image by Scott Gummerson, CC0

Discussion