Best lens for the Canon R50
Buy the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM first. It weighs 160g, it frames like 80mm on the R50, and it gives you the blurred backgrounds a kit lens cannot. If you want one lens to replace the kit lens, get the RF-S 18-150mm instead.
Canon's APS-C sensors have a 1.6x crop. Multiply by 1.6 to see how a lens will frame: 50mm becomes 80mm, 18mm becomes about 29mm.
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STMFirst upgrade · from ₹18,400
Canon RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STMOne lens for all · from ₹49,995
Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STMWide · from ₹35,495
Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STMSmall and wide · from ₹25,490What each lens is for
People and low light. The RF 50mm f/1.8. F/1.8 lets in far more light than the f/4.5-6.3 range of the RF-S 18-45mm kit lens that Canon sells the R50 with. It has no IS, and the R50 has none in the body, so keep your shutter speed up.
Travel on one lens. The RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM frames like 29-240mm at 310g. You get stabilisation and a long reach. At the long end it is f/6.3, so expect grain indoors.
Rooms, landscapes, vlogging. The RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM frames like 16-29mm at only 150g. It is the widest and the most useful for filming yourself. The RF 16mm f/2.8 at 165g frames like about 26mm, and it is much brighter but has no stabilisation.
Birds and distant subjects. The RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM frames like 160-640mm. At 635g it weighs far more than the 375g body, and it needs good light at f/8.
What will feel wrong
The RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM is a good lens, but on the R50 it frames like 136mm and at 500g it outweighs the camera. It suits portraits outdoors, and it is awkward in most Indian living rooms, where you cannot back up far enough.
Lenses as heavy as the RF 24-70mm f/2.8L at 900g make little sense here. You would be paying for a full-frame zoom and carrying more than twice the weight of the camera.
Budget order
If money is tight, buy in this order: the 50mm f/1.8, then a V30 card, then a wide lens only if you need one. The full list of RF lenses for the R50 shows what the stores have today.
Before you buy
Ask the shop whether the price includes the kit lens or is for the lens alone. If you own the R50 already, take it with you and try the 50mm on it. Five minutes with the lens on your own camera tells you more than a spec sheet.
Talk to the shop before you pay
These are camera stores in India, with the price and stock from their own websites. Pick one you can phone, ask your question, then decide.
Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM
Your message is written for you. Press send in WhatsApp, come back, and tap again for the next store.
Out of stock at a store? Most can arrange it quickly. Call or WhatsApp to ask.
Canon RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM
Stores change prices often, so confirm on the store's page. See every store we track.
Questions
Do full-frame RF lenses work on the R50?
Yes. The R50 uses the RF mount, so RF and RF-S lenses both fit. RF lenses frame 1.6 times longer on it.
Does the R50 have in-body stabilisation?
No. Canon's specification lists in-body stabilisation as No, so look for IS in the lens name if you want it.
Where the specs come from
- asia.canon
- Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM
- Canon RF-S 18-150mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM
- Canon RF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM
- Canon RF 16mm f/2.8 STM
- Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM
- Canon RF 85mm f/2 Macro IS STM
- Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM
These are the manufacturer pages behind the specs here. How we check them.
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