CANON RF 24-105MM F/2.8L IS USM Z
A standard lens is reborn
Is there a more unexciting lens than a standard zoom? For years, we’ve been limited to a 24-105mm f/4 or 24-70mm f/2.8, but with only marginal improvements to each new generation it’s hard to get too excited. Canon promised much when it launched the RF mount, with its RF 28-70mm f/2L USM being one of the few revolutionary standard zooms. Things then went quiet, but now we have the Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 IS USM Z…
This is a 24-105mm lens with a constant f/2.8 aperture, which has been the dream of many photographers. There’s more to this lens, though; instead of being a photography lens that’s also good for video, Canon has made a true hybrid lens. The company says it’s intended to be the first in a new line of hybrid lenses, but also says these shouldn’t be referred to as Z-line or Z lenses. The Z in the name stands for ‘zoom’, or rather ‘power zoom’, but isn’t to be confused with other PZ or PTZ cameras. The lens doesn’t have power zoom built in, however, and requires a Power Zoom Adapter for any assisted zooming functions – and Canon has you covered here, also announcing
the PZ-E2 (with USB-C input) and the PZ-E2B, with an extra 20-pin connector for additional accessories. It seems that this lens is trying to offer a lot, then– but is it a jack of all trades and master of none?
Build and handling
There’s no getting around the fact that the Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 IS USM Z is a big lens, making the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM look almost compact in comparison. It’s designed as a hybrid lens to straddle the world of stills lenses and cine lenses, and stills-only photographers might find the length surprising. Shooting out and about with this lens, I couldn’t help feeling a little awkward when taking 24mm landscape shots – it may even be too big for photographers.
While the 24-105mm f/2.8 is long, it doesn’t have much more girth to it than Canon’s other lenses. Due to its extended length and intended hybrid
use, the RF 24-105mm f/2.8 comes with a tripod foot as standard, which was perfectly balanced with the Canon EOS R5 in testing. The extra size is not only to accommodate the wider aperture but also to fit in the new focus and aperture rings. The focus ring on the 24-105mm f/2.8 has been moved up front, with a wider texture that’s slightly different from Canon’s other RF L-series lenses.
The lens also packs in optical image stabilisation of up to five stops, going up to a combined eight stops when used with a compatible camera with in-body image stabilisation. The lens offers some additional control over the optical image stabilisation in the same way as Canon’s telephoto lenses, with a switch to select static, panning or general-purpose OIS.
The new aperture ring currently only works for video. It’s silent, and there is no switch to turn the clicks on and off. The aperture ring turns smoothly, although a touch too easily. However, in stills mode, no matter what position the ring is in, the aperture is controlled by the camera dials.
Performance
The 24-105mm range is the standard for many kit lenses, covering everything most photographers need from wide landscapes at 24mm through to a mid-telephoto length for portraits. Usually, this focal length range is perfect for travel or reportage photographers who need to capture a range of subjects without carrying multiple lenses, although the size of this lens means I’m not sure it fulfils that purpose.
Sharpness is outstanding throughout the zoom range, with near-perfect results in the centre of the frame at every aperture. In the corners, the lens is excellent at apertures of around f/4 and above and, even at f/2.8, it produces impressive results – only the
105mm end shows some softness in the corners. There is some minor vignetting at the wide end, although this doesn’t affect the telephoto end, and is nothing that can’t be easily fixed in post.
For photographers, the big selling point is the availability of the f/2.8 aperture at the long end of the zoom range. This aperture is less prominent at wide angles for background separation, but makes for a more effective lens in low-light situations, allowing two more stops than the equivalent Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 lens. Zoom through the focal range and the maximum aperture begins to make a difference to the look of your images, with subject isolation that will make any portrait pop.
Canon’s Nano USM autofocus system has proved itself many times, but it’s worth repeating how silent and fast it is. With a Canon EOS R5,