Canon RF16mm F2.8 STM Lens, Ultra Wide-Angle, Fixed Focal Length Prime Lens, Compatible with EOS R Series Mirrorless Cameras,
4.7 | 939 ratings
Price: 299
Last update: 12-10-2025
About this item
- Canon’s first ultra wide-angle, fixed focal length RF lens
- High image quality and bright, fixed f/2.8 maximum aperture
- A stepping motor (gear-type STM) that provides smooth and quiet continuous AF during video recording
- Supremely lightweight and compact, for an ultra-wide lens for full-frame cameras
- Minimum focusing distance of 5.11 inches and maximum magnification of 0.26x
Top reviews from the United States
- The Sideout RockerExcellent Lens, Especially for The PriceLet me get this out of the way first. I had to place an order twice because the first lens I received kept coming up with an "Error Code 01" which meant there was a faulty connection between the lens and my Canon EOS-R body. I knew it was not the body because my only other RF lens (the 24-105mm f/4L) worked perfectly fine with it. I did some trouble shooting and still could not get the lens to work. So, I set up a return through Amazon and placed another order immediately for the same lens. The second one arrived the next day and has worked without any issues.
The lens build is what I expected for their inexpensive line. The body is mostly plastic, lightweight and comes with a lens cover. On a side note, I recommend getting a lens hood as it is not included. It will not only help reduce lens flare, but will also protect the lens when inadvertantly hitting/bumping into things (which I tend to do more often than not). The RF lenses, especially their less-expensive lineup, produce excellent image quality. And I purchased this lens to help tie me over until I can eventually get the premium level Canon 15-35mm f/2.8L lens.
I use this lens mainly for large group photos because I do a lot of event photography and sometimes I don't have enough room to take a wide enough shot using my 24-105mm lens. As with lenses this wide, there is a fair amount of barrel distortion that can be fixed in post-processing, if needed. Images are clear and sharp with excellent color quality. Maybe not quite the same image quality as the premium L-series lenses (when doing some extensive pixel-peeping) but at $279 plus tax, I am more than pleased with the results and so are my clients. This is a solid lens to add to your RF lens lineup. Especially, if you're starting out and have a limited budget and/or you're slowly changing your lenses over from the EF and/or EF-S models. Great quality images and a great price. - DanielSmall, light, and wide! Perfect.Love this little wideangle! Bough it to use on my gimbal but now I'm no longer using my heavy 16-35 anymore. Great range on a full frame for event photo and video.
- Rad AstronautAnother good pancake lensI love that Canon makes affordable, reasonably fast pancake lenses for their cameras. I had the 24mm & 50mm EF pancake lenses for my old camera.
Now for my RF full frame I have the 85mm, the 50mm and now this 16mm. It’s quick to focus, and the quality is fantastic for the price. Are their better lenses out there? Sure… for 4x the price.
This lens definitely has some distortion, and gives a little bit of that fisheye look (but not circular and without vignette). But I bought this specifically for the “look” of the distortion. I shoot mostly portraits and I wanted something dynamic for fashion and lifestyle portraits. As long as you know how to use it, it’s great.
The center has little to no distortion, and the edges are much more distorted (as is with all ultra-wide lenses). But distance to the subject also matters. If you’re shooting landscapes and environments, you’ll notice less distortion.
It also has a nice shallow depth of field and bokeh when wide open, though I haven’t shot much under f4 or f5.6. This lens has performed exactly how I wanted it to, once I played around with it. - Joe LippeattFun, Flawed, but Surprisingly HandyI picked this up as a lightweight alternative to Canon’s more expensive wide-angle lenses, and it’s been a fun addition to my gear. The RF 16mm f/2.8 STM is incredibly compact, lightweight, and surprisingly capable for the price. It’s sharp in the center, has a fast f/2.8 aperture, and the close focusing distance makes it more versatile than I expected.
That said, this lens absolutely needs post-processing. Out of camera, you’ll see strong vignetting, noticeable barrel distortion, and chromatic aberration—especially along edges and in high-contrast areas. Fortunately, most of this can be corrected in Lightroom using the built-in lens profile, but if you don’t plan to edit your images, this probably isn’t the lens for you.
A few other things to note: autofocus can be a little slow in low light, there’s no physical focus switch, and it’s not weather sealed. Also, the 43mm filter size is uncommon, and it doesn’t come with a hood.
Despite the quirks, it’s a solid option for casual photographers, vloggers, or travel shooters who want an affordable ultra-wide—just know that a little extra effort in post is required to get the best results. - Works IRLGreat Lens for Canon R8Such a great lens for capturing huge buildings and expansive city scapes of. Chicago. Also does a great job on Canon R8 getting camera close enough to pick up good audio and not make subject to close on-screen for video, too
- EanAbsolutely fantastic for the money.I'm a full-time, working professional shooting on the R platform, so I picked this up.
And honestly, I'm a little bit blown away. Image quality isn't like what you would find from an L lens, but that shouldn't be expected for the money. But, it is good enough.
F 2.8 is bright enough to keep your ISO and noise level down, and the focus speed on this is never been an issue even when shooting sports.
This thing is so small, it's hard to argue with its capabilities and functionality. A small, wide angle is perfect for a gimbal, and I particularly loved using this and not only my R6 ii, but my R7 wheel it was a 24mm equivalent.
It's a great little lens, and I think it serves as a perfect entry level wide-angle lens, or a backup or niche use case lens for professionals.