EF-M vs RF: Are EF-M Lenses Promising?

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If you are new to the photography world you might step over a big confusion between canon lenses. The confusion between EF-M vs RF. Canon has many lenses of the same name but they are very different in structure and use.

The EF-M lenses are for Canon’s mirrorless cameras. This lineup was released in 2012 by canon. The RF lineup is for Canon’s full-frame EOS RP mirrorless cameras and Canon EOS R.

In this article, I will explain the difference or the structure and the use of these two lenses.

EF-M vs RF Quick Comparison Table

Here are some key comparisons between EF-M vs RF

What are the key Differences Between EF-M vs RF?

If I talk about the key difference I have to discuss what these lenses are for. And what kind of work they do.

Canon made the EF-M series only for their mirrorless systems. The Canon M50 m1 and m2 in particular.

The lineup was released in 2012 and is still not in demand in the market. There are only 8 EF-M mount Lenses on the market. But they are not that good compared to the regular EF or RF lenses.

And Here RF is the new lineup for the canon’s upcoming full-frame mirrorless camera systems. Canon has a big project with the RF mount lenses. Canon already released 26 RF lenses on the market.

Size Difference

EF-M lenses are short and small. They are made for compact mirrorless cameras. And they are very handy in size.

RF lenses are comparatively bigger than EF-M lenses.

Here is a quick look at the visual difference between EF-M vs RF lens.

They both are the 50mm lenses but the size difference shows the EF-M lens wins for being handy.

Price

If I talk about the price difference I have to mention the availability of the two lenses.

You won’t find many EF-M lenses on the market and the price is not that high.

Because the lens is made for compact budget-friendly APS-C mirrorless cameras. Canon only has two of them.

The RF has a big lineup of 26 lenses. And it goes with the full-frame mirrorless cameras. The cameras don’t come cheap, nor do the lenses.

But being so available in the market you will find various types of lenses with the RF mount.  For Price comparison the Canon EF-M 21mm lens costs around $480 and the Canon RF 50mm costs around $2300.

But I cannot say for being that cheap the EF-M lenses are the winner. EF-M lenses are only for the canon M50 series cameras. Which is not a full-frame. Mostly used for casual photography.

So it’s completely up to you which one you will choose. If you are up for serious photography the EF-M lenses won’t be an option for you to consider.

Future Availability

Here is the main point where these two mounts have major differences.

Canon does not promise anything about the EF-M mount lense. The upcoming or the update is more like rumors to them. Canon only launches the EF-M lenses for the M50 series. And there are only two m50 cameras on the market. So here canon purportedly is not promising any new lenses.

I think Canon might not produce these lenses from now on. It won’t be dead officially but they won’t get any support from Canon.

And on the other hand, Canon is marketing for their RF lenses. If you are familiar with canon’s EF lenses they are by far the best and the oldest in the market.

Unfortunately, Canon stopped producing them and shifted their interest to EF-S and RF lenses.

RF seems very promising in terms of future updates and availability.

So if I choose one score between them, RF is the winner here.

 EF-M vs RF which one to choose?

Well, if you already own a Canon M50 you have a bit of bad luck. Because you only have EF-M mount lenses to choose from.

But you are to step on your photography journey and think about the promising lenses, the RF will be the one to choose.

Not only it is newer but also it is for the new generation cameras. They are made for full-frame mirrorless cameras.

And if you ask me why Canon is focusing on the mirrorless system?

The answer is Portability and picture quality.

The mirrorless system brought the photographers full-frame cameras in a very small form factor.

That’s why The RF is the one to choose between them

Final Words

I hope from this article you got to know what the EF-M and RF lenses are. And why it is safe and recommended to choose the RF lenses over EF-M.

I have tried to cover the main difference between EF-M vs RF. If Canon wants to future proof the EF-M mounts they have to release some new cameras which are compatible with the EF-M mount. Otherwise, the lineup will be dead soon along with the cameras.

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