Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM lens review with samples

One of the first (if not THE first) reviews on the internet of this soon-to-be-very-popular-indeed very low budget Canon RF mount lens. Even if its optical performance isn't great, at $300 it's bound to sell like hot cakes...but might as well review it anyway, haha :-)

Find it here (Amazon affiliate link - thank you for your support):

All pictures taken by me on a Canon EOS R5 camera.

Equipment I use to make my videos (Amazon affiliate links):

[ralphsaad]

Canon which was the old librarian of the camera world is lately releasing some super innovative and interesting new gear. Yeah it's not perfect but nothing is ever perfect at 300$, especially with such a small package. Might buy one myself some day!

[dlim]

Thank you for the wonderful review! It is worth noting that the test was done on a 45MP camera which puts higher demand on resolution. On a EOS R or R6 the resulting resolution obtained by the lower MP sensor will be sharper due to lower spatial sampling.

[sarahjulianne]

Wow that was a really good review. That was super helpful thanks

[PatrickRosenbalm]

Very nice video sir! I'll be adding one to my kit!

[erikgull]

Hi Christopher, I really like your unbiased and thorough lense reviews. I would very must love to see a reveiw of the RF 16mm 2.8 on one of the new APS-C R series cameras.

[gblinfractal]

this will be my preferred lens for architecture and landscape photo!

[peterebel]

Great review for a decent little lens!

[AgnostosGnostos]

Sony will never dare to create such a lens at this price.

[JohnDrummondPhoto]

This lens should be good for hand-held selfie vlogging, which would be my primary use for it. Maybe occasional night photography, too. Thanks, Chris.

[lenf]

Got this lens for my R6. Love it, so many possibilities to compliment my rf24-105 f4 L and rf50 f1.8.

[doscheid]

Canon should make it possible to turn of the jpeg/video correction for lens distortion. That distortion might be interesting in some situations.

[hunglemed]

great reviews, hope to see RF14-35F4L and vs with EF16-35F4L & RF15-35 F4L

[Axonteer]

Wish i had the money for an R5 body, but i choose the R5 to go with a lense (70-200 f2.8 to replace my old IS ii 2.8 which is rather heavy and long)
My next aim is the 100-500 once it becomes available... i had my eye on the 16mm as the 85mm was a bit dissapointing with its STM AF being what it is (very slow when the barrel is long) and... ... if they didnt overcompensate the corners so hard, this lense would be a definite carry with me in my bag.

[divergentus]

Just picked one up today for my R6. Interesting that they reused the same outer plastics as the RF50mm 1.8. Very happy with it - opens up some new photographic possibilities and some fun exaggerated pics at the close focusing distance. The corner softness does not bother me, and it's really not so bad. I'm only a hobby photographer and for the price, this is an essential lens for anyone with an RF camera.

[klochkovkostya]

Thanks for your review! I pre-ordered this lens. I'm waiting for the start of sales. In Russia, its price is expected to be about 430 USD.

[GregorBrown]

How does this compare to the Sigma 16mm prime lens ？

[PhotoGearFun]

I got this one a couple of days ago and have tested it for vlogging on my R5, R6, and EOS - R. For vlogging the R5 did pretty well but the other 2 didn't do so well with the stabilization. I haven't had a chance to use it for photos yet thanks for the review!

[TrellWest]

Is it good for vlogging? That’s the obvious use case for this lense release I believe

[danielw.]

Hey Chris, great review as always! :)
At what distance did you shoot the pictures with the test chart? I got the lens 10 days ago and realized that the corner sharpness really depends on the focus distance.

[sunnykiri]

On the average it is a good lens, great review thanks Chris