This will be an evolving blog post based on the experience we had with the Canon 90D. Why do I make such a list in the first place?

It has to do with pixel density. 32.5 MP in an APSC sized sensor translates into about an 80MP Full frame density. At a pixel pitch of 3.2 microns, a 32.5 MP sensor is one of the most tightly spaced sensors for an interchangeable lens camera at the time of this writing, tho we expect this to change with the release of the Fuji XH2 later this year.

Because of this very tight pixel density, what we have learned is that older lenses and “super zooms”, also those lenses designed for much smaller MP cameras run into resolving problems resulting in “soft images”. I also want to be clear, that the lenses will “work” meaning you can put them on the mount and they will focus and they will take pictures, this issue is specifically in regards to how sharp the images are. So if you see a “No” that means the lens cannot resolve to the full capability of the sensor.

What this means is, if you were happy with your 70D and 80D and you have older lenses for those that were perfect and you try to adapt over to the R7, you cannot expect the same sharpness result. It will depend on the lens you are using and its resolving power. There is also some subjectivity to this, what is sharp to you may not be sharp to me, so if it is a lens I am making a judgement on, you also have to know this is in my professional opinion, and we can disagree.

Because we are adopting the 90D list to this list (the density is pretty much the same), we have scores (Recommended or not) for most of them, but will be adding and updating as we go.

A couple side notes because of so many questions I am getting about this:

1. Many of these lenses have been confirmed in our 90D FB group, the R7 Group should be the target for uploading and inspecting new images: Michael’s Canon R7 FB Group

2. If a lens isn’t on this list, I strongly recommend searching our R7 Facebook group for the name of the list to see examples.

3. The general rule of thumb is that if it is both an older lens and a zoom lens, it might have issues. Older lenses mean the design of the lens is greater than 10 years. Most newer zooms and primes seem to do better generally but there are some exceptions. I talk about it in this video:

Confirmed = Multiple Users have demonstrated sufficient resolving power with images on our FB group
Unconfirmed = Verbal Only from different sources
50/50- Some good, some bad examples from the FB group, might come down to the copy you have or how stopped down your aperture is.
Italics = Likely /Likely Not (Depending on list) based on MTF Charts
NR – Not Recommended due to resolving issues.
No Mark = We don’t know yet

RF Lenses (We expect All RF lenses to be good to go, with the exception of possibly the 800 F11, which we will test and confirm):
RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM This looks good to go from what I have seen
RF-S 18-150mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM This looks good to go from what I have seen

RF 400 2.8 With 1.4x – Looks Good!

Canon’s Recommended Zoom Lenses For High Megapixel FF Cameras (Basically Recommended)

EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye
EF 11-24mm f/4L USM
EF 16-35mm f/4L IS USM
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM
EF 24-70mm f/4L IS USM
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM (Confirmed)
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM (Confirmed)
EF 70-200mm f/4L USM(Confirmed)
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM (This is the more expensive white lens)****DISCONTINUED*****
EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS II USM (50/50 – This is the much more affordable black lens, which several different models over the years. That said, Ive seen some good ones and soft ones across all models, It might come down to the copy you have, the newer copies do much better. Please carefully check the FB group for examples.)
EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM (Confirmed-Performing REALLY GREAT on the R7, also on the EF mount this was one of the best we saw)
EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM EXTENDER 1.4x

Wide angle fixed focal lenses – All of these are good to go

TS-E 17mm f/4L
TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II
EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM
EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM ****DISCONTINUED*****
EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM – Confirmed
EF 35mm f/2 IS USM

Standard fixed focal length lenses

EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Lens
EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
EF 50mm f/1.8 II
EF 50mm f/2.5 Compact Macro ***DISCONTINUED*****

Telephoto fixed focal length lenses- All of these are good to go

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/802506067-USE/canon_1056b002_ef_85mm_f_1_2l_ii.html
EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
EF 85mm f1.4 USM
EF 85mm f/1.8 USM – (Yes, but has a communication bug with the 90D in many cases)
TS-E 90mm f/2.8
EF 100mm f/2 USM ***DISCONTINUED*****
EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM***DISCONTINUED*****
EF 100mm f/2 USM(Confirmed)
EF 135mm f/2.0L USM
EF 200mm f/2L IS USM
EF 200mm f/2.8L II USMEF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM
EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM***DISCONTINUED*****
EF 400mm f/4 DO IS II USM
EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM
EF 600mm f/4L IS II USM
EF 600mm f/4L IS III USM (Confirmed)
EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM

Canon APS-C Lenses

APSC Zooms

EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM– Good, Not Great, better when stopped down.
EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM (We’ve seen good and bad examples, does better stopped down & might come down to lens copy. I prefer the Sigma 18-35 1.8)
EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM-(Confirmed)
EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM (Confirmed) – Good, Not Stellar
EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS STM (Confirmed- Get the newer version)

APSC Primes
EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM (Confirmed)
Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM (uncomfirmed) ***DISCONTINUED*****
EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM(Confirmed)

Third Party Lenses that Seem to be Working Well:

Wides:
– Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens (Confirmed)
– Tokina atx-i 11-20mm f/2.8 CF Lens for Canon EF(Some users love it, but may have Chromatic Aberration issues)
–Tamron SP AF 10-24mm f / 3.5-4.5 DI II Zoom Lens

Normal:
– Sigma 17-50 2.8 (50/50 – Many are happy with it) ***DISCONTINUED*****
– Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 (Decent but, Much better stopped down)

Telephoto:

Sigma 50-100mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art Lens for Canon EF (Confirmed)
Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens for Canon EF (Confirmed)
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD G2 Lens for Canon EF (confirmed) – Though in two cases needed to be micro adjusted
Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 for Canon EF(Confirmed)
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens for Canon EF– We have seen both good and bad examples of it. Might come down to lens copy / if it is micro adjusted.
Sigma 60-600mm f/4.5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens for Canon EF– Ive only seen a few examples from this lens. One of the images was not good, the other was acceptable. Not enough data to say for sure either way. Super zooms tend to struggle more with very tight pixel density.

Mixed Results:

Tamron 24-70F2.8 G2 – Ive seen some that look really good and others less so. Might come down to your aperture (anything over f5.2 will add diffraction / how good of a copy you have.)

Lenses That Do Not Seem to have Enough Resolving Power

Wide Angle

– Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM(Not Good)

Problem Zoom Lenses
– Tamron 16-300 3.5-6.3 Confirmed Low Resolving ***DISCONTINUED*****
– Tamron 18-270 (No)***DISCONTINUED*****
– Tamron 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD Lens for Canon EF(*We have seen both good and bad images with it, seems like a good copy will work but not at extreme ends, better when stopped down)
– Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Canon EF(50/50)
– Canon 24-70 2.8 I – (Not Great) ***DISCONTINUED*****
– Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS I USM, V1 is far worse, V2 is better but may come down to copy.
– Canon 100-400 f4.5-5.6 v1 (very soft at the 400mm Focal Length)(Confirmed Low Resolving) – this is one of the worst **DISCONTINUED*****

Primes-
– Canon EF 400mm f/5.6L USM – 50/50

Irix 150 Macro 1:1 f/2.8

Feel free to leave links in the comments that demonstrate good or bad samples and I will add them