Superzooms for travelling

he Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM is a smaller, lighter and more affordable alternative to the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM – the kit lens released with the Canon EOS R in October 2018. This lens’ primary features are represented by the differences to its big brother. It’s positively tiny compared with the form factor of the L-series version.

It also features an STM (stepper) motor, rather than the USM (ultrasonic) of the L lens, delivering near-silent focus but slightly slower focusing. If you’re interested in shooting video, the f/4-7.1 has the edge. It also has a closer focusing distance, able to shoot at 0.2m (or even 0.13m in manual focus) at the 24mm end and 0.34m at 105mm, compared with the L’s 0.45m close focusing distance. Like its older sibling, it features five-stop image stabilisation.

Performance

Most zoom lenses of this kind feature an f/3.5-5.6 aperture range.Canon says that, between the faster AF systems employed by the R-system bodies and their more forgiving high-ISO performance, stretching the maximum aperture to f/7.1 isn’t the problem that it once was.

However, the f/4 aperture is only available for a couple of millimetres. By the 50mm ‘standard’ focal length, you’ve already hit f/5.6, and the speed limit of f/7.1 is in play before you hit the classic 85mm portrait length. Whatever you’re shooting, you’re going to need abundant light or a willingness to crank up your ISO (or ramp down your shutter speed). The performance of the EOS R and the RP mean this doesn’t have the detrimental effect it used to.

Centre sharpness is impressive throughout the focal and aperture range, and distortion is well-controlled. The compromise, however, comes in corner sharpness, as well as distortion and fringing at the wider end. James Artaius 106

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A customisable control ring on the nose also handles manual focus at the flick of a switch.

This non-L zoom has a clickless control ring (whereas L lenses have clicked rings). This makes it suitable for video work, giving you a de facto de-clicked aperture dial.

Manual focus is toggled by flicking the Focus/ Control switch. Accordingly, manual focus is fly-by-wire but still granular and accurate.

Though its lacklustre variable maximum aperture is nothing special, Canon’s latest RF lens delivers when it comes to centre-frame sharpness. Standout sharpness is at 50mm, where at f/5.6 and f/8 it’s pretty impressive for a zoom lens.

In respect of chromatic aberration, the lens is a mixed bag. At 24mm and 50mm fringing is noticeable, but drops right down to negligible levels by 70mm.

A zoom lens with a broad focal range always struggles to avoid producing distortion at any focal length. Here bulging barrel distortion is obvious, but Canon’s engineers deserve credit for how little distortion the lens produces from 50mm through to 105mm.

Outstanding

t’s no coincidence that the Nikkor 120-300mm f/2.8E AF-S FL ED SR VR was released in sync with both the Nikon D6 and the Olympics. Obviously Tokyo 2020 has been postponed, but the target audience is clear from both the timing and the price: this is a professional-grade optic tailor-made for pro sports photography.

It has applications beyond this, of course. The 120-300mm focal length makes it one of the best portrait lenses, as well as one of the best lenses for bird photography and wildlife – though a little more reach obviously better behoves the latter.

As you’d expect of a lens aimed at professionals, the 120-300mm arrives with many of Nikon’s best optical technologies. Features like Vibration Reduction (offering four stops of image stabilisation, along with Sport mode for erratic subjects) and an electromagnetic diaphragm mechanism (which affords stable aperture control during continuous bursts) are essential for a sports lens like this.

IPerformance

There’s a reason why this lens costs almost ten grand: it has 25 massive and precisely engineered glass elements inside it. The Nikon 120-300mm f/2.8E is, in use, a virtually flawless performer. Throughout the zoom and aperture ranges there are effectively no weak spots, whether you’re shooting fast-moving sports wide-open at 300mm or a still-life scene stopped down at 120mm.

Autofocus, as you would expect (and demand), is lightning-quick, snapping to and from subjects as fast as we could frame, shoot and recompose. The image stabilisation system may only be rated at four stops, but in practice it felt far more robust. Shooting at 300mm was almost effortless, even when capturing portraits, where micro-movements are more noticeable than when trying to chase the movements of sports players running around a court. James Artaius

There are multiple coatings to eliminate ghosting, flare and incident vertical light, and to combat water, grease and dirt.

The zoom ring is firm but fair; it’s stubborn enough to stay put even with a bit of fumbling as you handle the lens, while also gliding through the range when you actually do want to push in or out.

This is a hefty lens. That’s a big issue if you’re mounting it on a body the size of a Nikon D750 – but it’s less of a problem if you’re pairing it with the Nikon D5 or D6.

Centre sharpness is excellent for an F-mount zoom lens tested on the 20.8MP Nikon D6. Particularly impressive is how consistent the lens sharpness is across the focal range and at all apertures – there are no soft spots anywhere.

There’s not a lot to see here. This is a good thing, as it shows the that the lens generates essentially no chromatic aberration at any focal length or aperture.

Unsurprisingly for a telephoto lens, the lens produces some pincushion distortion at all focal lengths. However, it is consistent, and is never pronounced enough to be noticeable unless you’re shooting very geometric subjects.

A best-in-class product

You get exactly what you expect from a professional lens with this price tag: it has no weaknesses and is outstandingly consistent in its performance. There’s remarkable sharpness across the frame, across the focal range and across the apertures.

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Whether you’re exploring city streets, trekking through the countryside or jetting off to the other side of the world, a bag full of lenses can feel like a real burden. A superzoom takes the weight off, delivering everything from generous wide-angle coverage to serious telephoto reach, all from a single and fairly compact lens. As well as being more travel-friendly, a superzoom enables you to react instantly to photo opportunities that demand wide-ranging focal lengths, with a simple flick of the wrist.

Sticking to just one lens might seem counter-intuitive if you’ve

The contenders

RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 WR LM R OIS

AF-S DX 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

Lumix G 14-140mm f/3.5-5.6 II ASPH Power OIS 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM | C 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM | C 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC bought a system camera that takes interchangeable lenses. Indeed, some superzooms can be a poor substitute for using the ‘right’ tool for the job. Inevitably, a massive zoom range comes with a compromise in outright image quality, while wide apertures are off the menu, especially towards the long end of the zoom range.

However, with advances in hightech optical design and the increasing availability of in-camera corrections for aberrations like lateral chromatic aberration, peripheral illumination and distortion, the latest superzoom lenses tend to be capable of very pleasing results. Here are the best options to suit a wide range of cameras. Matthew Richards 18-400mm f/3.5-6.3 Di II VC HLD £829/$899 £679/$899 £429/$647 £619/$598 £269/$399 £349/$399 £189/$199 £599/$549