Canon's RF lens lineup skews expensive — the L-series primes and zooms that dominate the catalog often run well over a thousand dollars. The RF 16mm F2.8 STM is the outlier: announced in 2021 at a fraction of the cost of Canon's professional glass, it's also the widest prime lens Canon has built for the RF mount, and one of the smallest, at just 165 grams.
That combination makes it a favorite for vloggers shooting selfie-style video, where the wide field of view keeps more of the surroundings in frame without needing to hold the camera at arm's length. Reviewers have consistently landed on the same conclusion regardless of the wider glass in Canon's catalog: it's "amazingly compact and lightweight" and delivers "unbeatable value for money" — a lens built to be carried everywhere rather than reserved for special shoots.
