4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, Flawed, but Surprisingly Handy

2026-01-11    -Joe Lippeatt

I 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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for real estate photography!!

2026-02-17    -Cassidy VanDerBeek

I recently got into real estate photography and I was shook at what this lens could do!! Huge fan!

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely fantastic for the money.

2026-02-15    -Ean

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.

Muy buen lente!

2026-02-05    -Bernardo A.

Tiene buena luminosidad, lo compré para hacer videos y todo muy bien!

5.0 out of 5 stars Small, light, and wide! Perfect.

2026-01-24    -Daniel

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.

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Lens for Canon R8

2025-12-29    -Works IRL

Such 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

5.0 out of 5 stars Small, light, and wide! Perfect.

2026-01-19    -Daniel

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.

Objektiv für Canon Camera

2026-02-04    -dirgni neilk

Super Objektiv

16 mm

2026-03-02    -Mohamed alloune

Good one

5.0 out of 5 stars Another good pancake lens

2026-02-16    -Rad Astronaut

I 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.