Top 3 Canon RF Lenses You Want
- Biggest Pro: No discernable distortion
- Biggest Con: Enormous price tag
- Price: $2,299 at Samy’s Camera
- Biggest Pro: Zero focus breathing
- Biggest Con: Average sharpness around the edges
- Price: $2,299 at Samy’s Camera
- Biggest Pro: Zero focus breathing
- Biggest Con: Average sharpness around the edges
- Price: $2,699 at Samy’s Camera
Photo by Eriks Abzinovs on Unsplash
Canon RF Lenses
Those of you that follow my articles on PhotographyTalk know that I recently picked up a Canon EOS R after having used Sony cameras for 6-7 years.
I’m loving this camera so far, and I’m loving the Canon RF lenses with it as well.
The RF line of lenses has greatly expanded over the last year, and now includes the “holy trinity” - the Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM, Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM, Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM.
Let’s dive into the details of why these are the three Canon RF lenses you want in your camera bag.
Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM
As I mentioned in my hands-on review of the RF 15-25mm lens, the build quality is matched only by the image quality it produces.
This is definitely L-series glass, with serious optics, weather sealing, and excellent sharpness throughout its focal range.
I like that it’s smaller than the EF version (though it’s still big!), and the five-stop image stabilization is certainly a bonus.
I also love the 15-35mm focal range. For my landscape photography exploits, it’s the ideal length to capture beautifully wide shots of vast scenes.
On the downside, this is a huge lens, and the sharpness, while superb in the middle, does have a noticeable drop-off toward the edges.
However, the pros certainly outweigh the cons, and professional shooters will be served well having this wide-angle lens in their bag.
Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM
Of course, no ultimate Canon RF lens kit would be complete without the uber-versatile 24-70mm f/2.8L. For many professional shooters, this focal range is the most important, so this lens represents a must-have.
Naturally, the L-series glass is a huge bonus as is the large, bright f/2.8 aperture.
Like its 15-35mm counterpart, this lens is supremely sharp in the middle with some fall off toward the edges, and, also like its counterpart, it offers 5 stops of image stabilization.
This lens is beautifully fast, thanks in part to the inclusion of Canon’s Nano USM motor, which does a masterful job of moving around the huge glass elements inside the lens. The motor is fast, precise, and Ninja quiet. That’s a huge bonus for you video shooters out there.
In fact, this lens is a dream for video work. The Dual Pixel AF system on the EOS R combined with the image stabilization, quiet USM motor, and the complete lack of focus breathing make it an ideal rig for shooting video.
Of course, this isn’t a perfect lens…
The price, like with the 15-35mm f/2.8, is quite large, and will prohibit many EOS R shooters from investing in it.
And that huge price tag makes the just-average edge sharpness a bitter pill to swallow. If you plunk down this kind of money, you expect better results around the perimeter of the image.
Nevertheless, this is still a fantastic lens that should probably be the first RF lens purchase you make. Get more details about this lens in the video above by David Lopez.
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
The final component of the top three canon RF lenses you want is, unsurprisingly, the RF 70-200mm f/2.8.
This is the newest member to the RF lens family, and also one of the most expensive at a whopping $2,700.
But, as we all know, you have to pay to play to get the best glass, and this bad boy definitely ticks all the boxes of a badass lens.
Sure, the fact that the lens extends as you zoom has caused a lot of debate and consternation, but for a zoom lens, this thing is surprisingly lightweight, and that alone makes up for the difference in handling (for me, anyway).
The length of the lens when it is not zoomed out is also excellently short, making it a much easier fit into your camera bag.
More so than in the other two lenses on this list, the five-stop image stabilization system rocks it out. The image quality is also impeccable, even when you slam the aperture open to f/2.8.
The price, though, is a huge hurdle for a lot of photographers - even professionals. And since many professionals are used to zoom lenses that don’t extend upon zooming, I can see a lot of folks skipping this lens simply due to the weird ergonomics of the base of the lens having a huge circumference and the tip of the lens being much smaller when extended.
But if you want the holy trinity of f/2.8 lenses, you’ll have to overlook some minor issues and focus on the many, many advantages of this lens.
