CANON RF 24-105mm f/4l IS USM

Probably the best ‘kit’ zoom lens that Canon has ever made

Available in kit form with EOS R and RP bodies, this lens takes advantage of the RF mount’s wide flange and close proximity to the image sensor, compared with EF lenses for SLRS. It’s shorter and lighter than the EF 24-105mm f/4l, at 84x107mm and 700g, making it an ideal match for a sleek mirrorless. Typical of L-series rather than more modest ‘kit’ zooms, it has excellent build with extensive weather-seals and comes with a hood.

Highlights include aspherical and UD elements, a 9-blade diaphragm and fluorine coatings. As in the RF 24-70mm lens, there’s a 5-stop image stabilizer that outperforms anything in Canon’s range of standard zooms for SLRS. Like the EF-S 18-135mm, this lens has Nano USM AF, which is rapid for stills and enables super-smooth focus for movie capture.

An extra handling benefit featured in RF mount lenses is the customizable control ring. This is mounted at the front end of the lens and operates with click-stops. Canon offers a ‘de-click’ service for videographers who will prefer stepless control. The control ring can be assigned to functions like aperture, shutter speed and ISO.

Performance

At short to medium zoom, this lens wins out over its EF 24-105mm L-series counterpart for DSLRS in maintaining impressive sharpness across the entire image frame. Centre-sharpness is better towards the long end, although both lenses are equal for corner-sharpness. The RF lens also keeps tighter control over barrel distortion at short zoom settings.