# Using EF lenses on Canon EOS R



## antonioleandro (Dec 2, 2018)

Hi,

To all Canon EOS R users: how is your experience using EF lenses on the R camera so far? Does the camera display focus distance information with EF lenses as it does with RF lenses? What about lens aberrations correction? I am especially curious about Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF 85 f/1.4L IS on the R camera.


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## Otara (Dec 2, 2018)

No problems at all so far, although haven't used those specific lenses. Correction shows up fine for canon lenses. Didnt even know it gave lens range information, must check that.


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## YuengLinger (Dec 2, 2018)

Over time, I hope we learn the adapter works as seamlessly as claimed by Canon. Things are rarely without compromise in photography, but perhaps implementation here is outstanding and with few tradeoffs.

This is a great topic that I hope generates loads of user experiences.


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## briangus (Dec 2, 2018)

Looks like focus distance information is only for RF lenses
Not displayed with the EF 85 f1.4 L and menu option is greyed out


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## Viggo (Dec 2, 2018)

With EF lenses you never had distance info before either, you can use the scale window on the lens like always, no difference there.

Performance of EF lenses adapted is 100% the same as an EF body in my experience with the 35 L II and the 85 L IS.. Well, not 100%, they perform much better when it comes to accuracy on the R compared to DSLR’s.


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## dak723 (Dec 2, 2018)

Rented the R and used the non-L 24-105mm EF lens along with an older 28-105 EF lens. No distance display, but all other lens correction items worked and AF was fast. I would not hesitate to get an R to use with EF lenses.


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Dec 2, 2018)

I believe Canon indicated that distance information was a new capability due to the wide bandwith for the RF lenses.


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## eyeheartny (Dec 3, 2018)

antonioleandro said:


> Hi,
> 
> To all Canon EOS R users: how is your experience using EF lenses on the R camera so far? Does the camera display focus distance information with EF lenses as it does with RF lenses? What about lens aberrations correction? I am especially curious about Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L and EF 85 f/1.4L IS on the R camera.



I have an EOS R and bought/returned the 85mm EF 1.4 IS, so I speak from experience. One issue right away to be aware of is this: with RF lenses, there is an instant manual-focus zoom-in. If I grab the ring and move it on my RF 50, the camera zooms in to show me the focus point at 100% so I can verify proper focus. With adapted lenses, that does not happen. It's a useful feature when critical focus is required or you're using a lens with shallow DoF.


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## antonioleandro (Dec 3, 2018)

Thank you for all the info so far. I currently own a 6DII, a 7DII and several EF lenses (70-200 f/2.8L II, 70-200 f/4L IS, 24-70 f/2.8L II, 17-40 F/4L, EF 50 f/1.4, EF 85 f/1.8, EF 28 f/1.8, Sigma 12-24). I am thinking about buying a R mount camera, but I probably will not buy the R as my 6DII is only one year old. I have been offered a 50mm f/1.2L at a good price (~1000 USD used, which is a great price for my country). Would you buy it or wait 2-3 years to buy R lenses with the R mount camera?


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## Viggo (Dec 3, 2018)

antonioleandro said:


> Thank you for all the info so far. I currently own a 6DII, a 7DII and several EF lenses (70-200 f/2.8L II, 70-200 f/4L IS, 24-70 f/2.8L II, 17-40 F/4L, EF 50 f/1.4, EF 85 f/1.8, EF 28 f/1.8, Sigma 12-24). I am thinking about buying a R mount camera, but I probably will not buy the R as my 6DII is only one year old. I have been offered a 50mm f/1.2L at a good price (~1000 USD used, which is a great price for my country). Would you buy it or wait 2-3 years to buy R lenses with the R mount camera?


I dumped my DSLR and went for the R right away, and I’m enjoying it a lot more. The combination of tiltflip and place your AF point anywhere opens up a world of new possibilities. But the thing I really love is that it just works, no calibration and fiddling and the AF is precise like I have never seen before.


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## Random Orbits (Dec 3, 2018)

antonioleandro said:


> Thank you for all the info so far. I currently own a 6DII, a 7DII and several EF lenses (70-200 f/2.8L II, 70-200 f/4L IS, 24-70 f/2.8L II, 17-40 F/4L, EF 50 f/1.4, EF 85 f/1.8, EF 28 f/1.8, Sigma 12-24). I am thinking about buying a R mount camera, but I probably will not buy the R as my 6DII is only one year old. I have been offered a 50mm f/1.2L at a good price (~1000 USD used, which is a great price for my country). Would you buy it or wait 2-3 years to buy R lenses with the R mount camera?



The R is a better camera than the 6DII. If you are not buying the R now, then buying the EF 50L makes no sense. The EF 50L focused OK with the center bank of points on my 5D4, but it tended to miss critical focus with the outer focus points. The R body does a lot better in this regard. It's accuracy is the same across its thousands of focus points.

I did a quick test with the EF 50L and RF 50L on the R body, and as Viggo has stated repeatedly, the RF version kills the EF version. However, the EF version focuses more accurately on the R camera than it does on my 5D4. In my experience, the EF 50 f/1.4 had focus issues wide open and the R would also help you get the most out of it with its better focus accuracy. I don't think upgrading to the EF 50L is worth it unless you really need some attribute of it that is better than the 50 f/1.4.


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## Kit Lens Jockey (Dec 6, 2018)

I've been using my EOS R with my 50mm 1.2L pretty extensively. The operation of the lens on the camera is pretty much flawless. The only thing I've noticed is that if you have the setting on the EOS R "lens drive when AF impossible" set to off, if the lens is too far out of focus, it will not pull back into focus automatically. I felt like the 5D4 was maybe a little more tolerant of this when this setting was off. However, if you leave this setting on, it focuses perfectly. The only reason I have it set to off is that sometimes the 5D4 would throw the focus way out when it couldn't lock focus when focusing in the dark. But, the EOS R seems less prone to that, so honestly leaving this setting on in the EOS R might be the better way to go.

Overall though, I think the 50L focuses more accurately on the EOS R than it did on the 5D4. For lack of a better word, I guess I'd say it focuses more "confidently" too. With the 5D4, especially in very poor lighting, the camera would hunt around a little before it locked on focus. The EOS R just focuses right away, no hunting. And if it is too dark or not enough contrast to focus, it immediately tells you by turning the focusing point red.


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