CANON RF 70-200MM F2.8L IS USM

Many Canon RF lenses are weighty propositions but this 70-200mm is unusually compact and lightweight, with a somewhat unique design

ONE THING YOU COULD ALWAYS COUNT ON WITH 70-200MM F/2.8 ZOOMS WAS THAT THE PHYSICAL LENGTH REMAINED FIXED THROUGHOUT THE ZOOM RANGE. CANON THREW OUT THE RULE BOOK WHEN DESIGNING ITS RF LENS AND, AS SUCH, IT HAS A SIMILAR TELESCOPING DESIGN TO RELATIVELY LOW-BUDGET 70-300MM TELEPHOTO ZOOMS. THE INNER BARREL THEREFORE EXTENDS FORWARDS AT LONGER ZOOM SETTINGS. SOME MIGHT FEEL THAT THE DESIGN COMPROMISES QUALITY, NOT LEAST BECAUSE THE BARREL SUCKS AIR (AND POTENTIALLY DUST AND MOISTURE) INTO THE LENS EVERY TIME YOU EXTEND THE ZOOM SETTING, ALTHOUGH A PERFORATED SEAL GUARDS AGAINST THIS.

WHILE MANY CANON RF LENSES ARE QUITE BULKY, THIS ONE IS REMARKABLY

SHORT AT THE 70MM ZOOM SETTING, MAKING IT EASY TO STOW AWAY. IT’S ALSO

RELATIVELY LIGHTWEIGHT AT JUST OVER A KILOGRAM, MAKING IT VERY TRAVELFRIENDLY FOR A 70-200MM F/2.8 LENS. FOR THE SAKE OF COMPARISON, IT’S

ABOUT THREE-QUARTERS THE LENGTH AND TWO-THIRDS THE WEIGHT OF CANON’S

MOST RECENT EF 70-200MM F/2.8 LENS FOR DSLRS, AND ONLY A LITTLE MORE

THAN HALF THE WEIGHT OF THE SIGMA ON TEST. A DRAWBACK, HOWEVER, IS

THAT THE LENS CAN’T BE USED WITH CANON’S RF TELE-CONVERTERS, DUE TO

THE REAR ELEMENT BEING TOO NEAR THE MOUNTING PLATE.

THE FLOATING AUTOFOCUS SYSTEM BASED ON DUAL NANO USM MOTORS

IS AMAZINGLY FAST AND VIRTUALLY SILENT IN OPERATION. THE 5-STOP

IMAGE STABILISER WORKS BRILLIANTLY WELL IN ALL THREE OPERATING MODES

AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS IS BOOSTED FURTHER WHEN MOUNTED ON MORE

RECENT EOS R-SERIES CAMERAS THAT FEATURE IN-BODY STABILISATION.

SHARPNESS IS EXCELLENT BUT NO BETTER THAN FROM THE SIGMA LENS,

BEHIND THE NIKON IN THIS RESPECT. CHROMATIC ABERRATIONS

ARE MINIMAL BUT THERE’S SLIGHTLY MORE DISTORTION THAN WITH OTHER

LENSES ON TEST.