Canon users have never had an opportunity to use a nice autofocus lens from third-party lens makers. One of the reasons being that the company was not ready to give access to other brands. Despite the challenges, some people did rely on them and worked with manual focus instead. Things changed as the company changed its rules with the RF mount. It now appears that Canon may open doors to a new third-party lens maker, and that can be interesting for some photographers.
First reported by Photo Rumors (via Canon Rumors) reports suggest that Vistilen may emerge as the third brand that can help users for better. Reports suggest that Vistilen brand is Meike lens in disguise, and it looks identical to Meike’s existing E-mount offerings. In fact, the lenses have a lineup of autofocus lenses for Canon’s RF mount, covering both APS-C to full frame sensors. As for the focal length, it ranges from wide to telephoto.
Why would they do this? To prevent any issues with sales, of course!
The lens that may launch for RF are as follows:
- Vistilen 33mm f1.4 APS-C
- Vistilen 55mm f1.4 APS-C
- Vistilen 35mm f2 full frame
- Vistilen 50mm f1.8 full frame
- Vistilen 55mm f1.8 full frame
- Vistilen 85mm f1.8 full frame
- Vistilen 85mm f1.4 full frame
The Canon system has been criticized for its relatively expensive lenses, and with limited third-party options, such as Sigma and Tamron, only limited to RF-S systems. If this is true, then there is a possibility that APS-C cameras see further lower priced lenses, as Meike offers lenses that range between $180 to $250. This is significantly lower than Sigma and Tamron’s offering. For instance, Sigma’s cheapest offering costs $579 such as 15mm f1.4 Contemporary, and $659 for Tamron’s 11-20mm f2.8 Di lens.
In that regard, a new range of lenses from a Chinese third-party lens maker can be a great idea. Such offers can work best with Canon’s R100 and R50, or as well as R7. This gives young photographers chance to work toe-to-toe with other full frame cameras.
However, if they are working on a full frame option, it also means that this can be best fit as manual focus lenses. That’s because Sigma and Tamron do not have such options yet, and if official partners don’t, it is unlikely that others will have get that chance with ease.
It remains to be seen whether Canon allows this move or not. It is possible that is untrue, which means none of the cameras get this update. There is a possibility that Canon allows this move, but only for APS-C users.
For now, Vistilen remains a mysterious brand, and since there are no official confirmations from the parent company, this means it is also not being talked about much. But if it delivers, Canon shooters may finally have the affordable autofocus third party options they have been waiting years for.