A New Canon Macro Longer Than 100mm With Variable Magnification? Yes Please.
An anonymous source claims that Canon is planning a new macro lens, longer than 100mm, and with variable magnification ratios. No focal length. No aperture. No timeline. Just a dangling carrot for the macro crowd, and honestly? That’s enough to get people excited.
Canon’s Macro Legacy (The Good Old Days)
Let’s take a quick trip down memory lane, because Canon has made some genuinely wild macro lenses in the past.
The EF 180mm f/3.5L USM Macro, a telephoto macro that gave you true 1:1 reproduction and a generous working distance, meaning you didn’t have to shove the lens two inches from a bug’s face to get a sharp shot. Beloved by macro shooters. Discontinued. No RF replacement has appeared. Macro fans are still waiting.
The MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro, now this was something special. A manual-focus-only lens capable of magnification from 1:1 all the way up to 5:1. Five times life size. At 5x you’re essentially photographing the cellular structure of a gnat’s wing. A deeply weird lens that attracted a deeply passionate following. Also discontinued. Also without an RF successor.
Both lenses are gone from Canon’s active lineup, but you can still find them new-in-box if you look hard enough.
The New Rumor: Combining the Best of Both
Here’s where it gets interesting. The source suggests a lens that would combine:
- Focal length longer than 100mm (the 180mm territory)
- Variable magnification ratios (the MP-E 65mm territory)
- Potentially with autofocus — which the MP-E 65mm notably lacked
The rumor source floats the idea of something like an RF 200mm f/4L with variable magnification as one possibility. That’s entirely speculative, no specs were provided, but it’s a plausible direction given Canon’s recent RF lens design philosophy.
What About the RF 100mm f/2.8L?
Canon does have a current macro for the RF mount: the RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM, which features 1.4x maximum magnification (slightly beyond 1:1) and excellent hybrid IS. It’s a good lens. But some shooters have noted a focus shift issue when stopping down, and it doesn’t scratch the itch of the longer working distance crowd or extreme magnification enthusiasts.
A 100mm macro is great. A 180mm+ variable-magnification macro with autofocus would be on a different level entirely.
Fact Check
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| Canon EF 180mm f/3.5L USM existed | ✅ Confirmed — real lens, now discontinued |
| Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x existed | ✅ Confirmed — real lens, MF only, now discontinued |
| Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM exists | ✅ Confirmed — current RF macro, 1.4x magnification |
| RF 100mm focus shift issue | ✅ Reported by multiple shooters |
| New macro longer than 100mm planned | ❓ Single anonymous source, unverified |
| Variable magnification on new lens | ❓ Same anonymous source, unverified |
| RF 200mm f/4L specifically | ❓ Canon Rumors speculation, not from source |
| Timeline | ❌ None given |
The Verdict
Low confidence on specifics, but Canon absolutely should make this lens. The EF 180mm and MP-E 65mm communities were passionate and underserved. A modern RF macro that merges long working distance with variable magnification, and adds autofocus, would be a statement lens.
Whether it actually happens is another question. As Canon Rumors admits, the source is anonymous and confidence is low. But hey, a macro shooter can dream.
Source: Canon Rumors
