Is Canon Finally Replacing the Legendary EF 180mm Macro for the RF Mount?

Here’s something that I know a lot of macro shooters might be interested in. It looks like Canon is working on reducing the size of macro lenses, including longer focal lengths like the RF 180mm f/3.5 in this patent.

While the RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM is a good lens, a lot of macro shooters want to see a modern take on the EF 180mm f/3.5L USM.

Japan Patent 2026-144200

Japan Patent 2026-144200 shows Canon is looking seriously at shrinking the length of macro lenses. Macro lenses have their own unique challenges compared to other types of lenses. They have to focus from infinity to 1:1, that is a big focus range.

For those that may not know, 1:1 means the image on the camera’s sensor is the same actual size as the subject.

Inside the lens: five groups, only two move

The Problem Canon is Solving

It looks like Canon is reducing how many groups move to pull focus. The diagram above shows that of the five groups, only two move. The front and rear groups stay in place, along with the middle group. L2 and L4 therefore only have to move a short distance to achieve the focus range of a macro lens.

We all remember how long the EF 180mm f/3.5L USM is. If we simply go by the lens length of lens Example 4, the new design for the 175mm f/3.5 is 168mm long, while the EF version of the lens is 186mm long. That’s a two centimeter difference, but there would also be a lot of weight savings in the design.

You’ll see below that there are 4 different lens design examples in this patent.

The other three designs are from about 90mm to 130mm, none of which would make much sense as consumer products with the RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM already in the line-up.

The 180mm-ish design would be the best candidate.

In Closing

If we’re reading this one correctly, this is a new framework for macro lens design from Canon. We think it’s highly probable that Canon is going to be bringing a longer than 100mm macro lens to the RF line-up at some point.

As we’ve stated before, it’s very rare to see the design of a consumer L lens product ahead of an official announcement, so I wouldn’t put too much thought into the 4 examples below.

However, something like an RF 200mm f/4L IS could be where this development is heading. I think they’d sell a lot of those.

As always, patents just show us what Canon is up to, and doesn’t mean any of these designs will become consumer products.

Macro Lens Examples