Fast ultra-wide-angle lens for Canon RF-S cameras
A fast ultra-wide-angle lens is your secret weapon for impressive photos and videos. Whether you want to capture the beauty of vast landscapes, make interiors look more spacious, or capture a skyline at dusk, a wide aperture makes all the difference. It offers better low-light performance, more creative freedom, and sharpness you can rely on. The Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 combines this power with compact design and innovative features. For those who want nothing less than the best for their Canon APS-C camera with RF mount.
Fast ultra-wide-angle lens for Canon RF-S
The Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 zoom lens is a fast ultra-wide-angle lens for Canon RF-S that offer many useful features. For example, both lenses work fully with Canon APS-C system cameras, such as the Canon R7, R10, R50 and the R100. Focusing is smooth, both automatic and manual. You can easily switch between autofocus and manual focus with a button on the lens. You can also set aperture manually via the camera.
In addition, this lens has a USB-C port. This allows you to update the firmware yourself via your computer. This makes it ready for future cameras, such as the Canon R7 MKII. These features keep the lenses usable for a long time and always up-to-date.
When do you use a fast ultra-wide-angle lens?
Ultra-wide-angle lenses offer many possibilities in situations where an extra-wide angle of view comes in handy. You can also use an Ultra-wide angle very well for video recordings. Here are some examples:
- Architecture: Capture imposing buildings and interior designs.
Landscapes: Beautiful wide panoramas, day and night. - Interiors: Perfect for small spaces where you still want to capture the whole room.
- Astrophotography: the high speed makes it easier to take clear, sharp shots of the night sky. And this also with less noise due to lower ISO values.
- Night photography: From cityscapes to atmospheric nightscapes.
- Travel photography: Suitable for capturing your travels, such as crowded markets or group shots.
- Creative perspectives: Experiment with dramatic close-ups and distortion effects.
- Ultra-wide-angle close-up photos: With a short minimum focusing distance, and a very wide angle of view, you can show the main subject plus its surroundings.
- Food: ideal for foodies who not only want a nice photo of what they are eating, but also where they are eating it. The very wide angle of view allows you to see more of the surroundings and atmosphere.
Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD Ultra Wide
The Tamron 11-20mm F/2.8 Di III-A RXD is an ultra-wide-angle zoom for Canon APS-C system cameras. The lens has a fixed aperture of F2.8 across the entire zoom range, ensuring high brightness and beautiful shots. The effective zoom range is comparable to a 17.6-32mm due to the Canon APS-C crop factor of 1.6x. This makes this lens suitable for architecture, group shots, landscapes and creative wide-angle photography.
'Your subject remains in focus, while the background becomes beautifully out of focus, but still recognisable.'
The minimum focusing distance is just 15 cm at 11mm, with a maximum image size of 1:4. This is better than many other ultra-wide-angle zoom lenses. This allows you to shoot beautiful close-ups. The lens is ideal for wide-angle macro photography and creative shooting. Your subject remains in focus, while the background becomes beautifully out of focus, but still recognisable.
The RXD autofocus motor is fast and very quiet, making the lens suitable for both stills, and video shooting. Thanks to the lens' moisture-resistant construction and the fluorine coating on the front lens, the lens is well protected against dirt and weather conditions. The lightweight and compact design makes the lens pleasant and easy to use. The Tamron 11-20mm F/2.8ens has a built-in USB-C port that allows users to update the firmware with Tamron's Lens Utility software.
Key features
- Constant aperture of F2.8: Ideal for low-light shooting and creating soft bokeh.
- Ultra-wide-angle versatility: Effective focal length range of 17.6 - 32mm, making it suitable for landscapes, architecture and interiors.
- Compact and lightweight: Only 340g and 84.2mm long.
- Advanced optical elements: Aspherical and low-dispersion elements ensure sharp shots with minimal distortion.
- Short minimum focusing distance: Focusing is possible down to just 15 cm (in 11mm mode) with a 1:4 image size for beautiful wide-angle macro shots.
Specifications Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD (Model B060RF)
| Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 RF-S | |
|---|---|
| Viewing angle | 101°44- 68°7 |
| Aperture | F2.8 - F16 |
| Minimum Object Distance | Wide 15cm / Tele 24cm |
| Maximum Magnification Ratio | Wide 1:4 / Tele 1:7.6 |
| Filter Size | φ67mm |
| Length | 84.2mm |
| Weight | 340 gram |
| Accessories | Flower-shaped hood, Front cap, Rear cap |
Specificaties Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD (Model B060RF)
| Viewing angle | Aperture | Minimum Object Distance | Maximum Magnification Ratio | Filter Size | Length | Weight | Accessories |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 101°44- 68°7 | F2.8 -F16 | Wide 15cm / Tele 24cm | Wide 1:4 / Tele 1:7.6 | φ 67mm | 84.2mm | 340 gram | Flower-shaped hood, Front cap, Rear cap |
Advantages of a fast Canon RF Ultra wide-angle lens
While Canon's own 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM is an attractive entry-level model, the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 zoom has distinct advantages that make this lens more attractive. It performs better in terms of brightness, sharpness and bokeh, making it more versatile in different situations.
More light for better low-light performance
The fixed aperture of F2.8 allows you to use faster shutter speeds, which is especially useful when shooting moving subjects. This makes this lens ideal for use indoors or at dusk, where less light is available. So you can take sharp shots without needing a flash or tripod.
Sharpness and detail at aperture
The lens offers excellent image sharpness even at wide-open apertures. As with any lens, this lens achieves the best image quality after two stops of aperture. So the Tamron 11-20mm zoom lens is already optimally sharp from F5.6 This means that you don't have to close the aperture extremely wide to get razor-sharp results.
With the Canon 10-18mm IS STM, optimum sharpness is only achievable from F9 to F12.6, meaning you have less flexibility in situations where fast shutter speed or bokeh is important.
Less affected by diffraction: With any camera, aperturing too far, smaller than F11, will cause the image sharpness to decrease more and more due to diffraction. With the Canon 10-18mm IS STM, this is already the case from F11. In contrast, the much faster Tamron lens remains sharp because this aperture does not need to close as far.
What is diffraction? With diffraction, light spreads more than normal as it is ‘squeezed’ through the very small aperture.This makes details in a photo less sharp. This can be especially noticeable in landscape or macro photos where a lot of detail is needed. While a small aperture can be useful for a large depth of field, you have to be careful not to let diffraction make your photo too ‘soft’ or blurry. So finding the right balance is important.
Beautiful bokeh and soft backgrounds
- The larger aperture of the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 makes a big difference in the quality of blur. The bokeh is softer and more natural, which is ideal for portraits, close-ups or creative photography.
- With the Canon lens, it is harder to create a nice blur effect because the aperture is smaller. This makes the faster lens better suited to situations where you really want to make the subject stand out.
Higher brightness gives longer flash range
One advantage that not everyone will use often is the longer flash range. Higher brightness allows the camera's flash to flash further, even if it is the small built-in flash. For example, the Canon EOS R100's built-in flash has a guide number of 6 at ISO 100. At an aperture of F2.8, the flash flashes to just over 2 metres away. At an aperture of F4.5, the distance is only 1.3 metres, and at F6.3 it is only 95 centimetres (these are the largest aperture values of the Canon zoom). You can increase the flash distance even further by increasing the ISO value. At ISO 400, the distance is doubled, and at ISO 1600 four times as much.
Example at guide number of 6 at ISO 100
| Aperture | Distance at ISO 100 | Distance atISO 400 | Distance at ISO 1600 |
|---|---|---|---|
| F2.0 | 3 meter | 6 meter | 12 meter |
| F2.8 | 2,1 meter | 4,2 meter | 8,4 meter |
| F4.5 | 1,3 meter | 2,6 meter | 5,2 meter |
| F6.3 | 0,95 meter | 1,9 meter | 3,8 meter |
Future-proof through firmware updates
Easily keep the lens up-to-date for future cameras such as a Canon EOS R7 Mark II. In the case of the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 zoom, this is easily done via the built-in USB-C port and the Tamron Lens Utility Software on the computer.
More applications of an ultra-wide-angle lens
An ultra-wide-angle lens is used in certain situations, both for photo and video. For example, if you want a wider image than a standard lens can give. For group photos, you want to have everyone well in focus. For vlogging, it's nice to show more of the surroundings so you can capture the atmosphere better.
Adaptable in all situations
With this lens, you can perfectly capture situations where architecture photography, night photography and travel photography come together. Think of a city trip to Paris, for example: you photograph the impressive interior of Notre Dame without a tripod and without distortion, capture the atmospheric cityscape in the evening with illuminated bridges and reflections in the water, and capture the lively hustle and bustle of a night market with beautiful detail. So you create a complete and atmospheric picture of your trip.
Vlogging and selfies
The Tamron lens is ideal for vloggers and content creators thanks to its wide compositions and versatility, both with and without a gimbal. The wide angle lets you capture yourself and your surroundings effortlessly, while the high speed ensures clear, detailed videos even in low light. If you use a gimbal, you can also capture smooth and professional shots. Whether you're vlogging a trip, recording a tutorial or taking a selfie with friends, this lens makes it easy to tell your story.
Interior photography
On Rightmove, you often see them: pictures of houses that immediately appeal to you. The aim is to make the rooms as attractive as possible, so you can imagine what it is like to live there. Good interior photos make a property appear more spacious, brighter and inviting. This is important when selling or letting a house, as the first impression is often decisive. With the right techniques and lenses, you can capture an interior perfectly and convey the atmosphere in the best possible way.
Brief summary
A fast ultra-wide-angle lens like the Tamron 11-20mm F2.8 offers excellent capabilities for APS-C Canon cameras with RF-S mounts. It is suitable for a variety of photography and video situations, such as architecture, landscapes, interior photography, food and astrophotography. With high speed, it performs well in low light and delivers sharp, detailed shots with nice background blur. Its compact and lightweight design also makes it ideal for travelling and vlogging. The lens supports easy firmware updates, keeping it future-proof.
