Admiring Light
Menu
  • Home
  • Review Index
  • Shop Talk
  • Technique and Vision
  • Opinion
  • Portfolio
  • Site Index
  • About
    • Privacy Policy
Menu

Review: Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM

Posted on February 27, 2021March 11, 2021 by Jordan Steele

Contents

  • 1Construction and Handling
  • 2Autofocus and Stabilization
  • 3Image Quality
  • 4Conclusion
  • 5Image Samples

Conclusion

Pros

  • Extremely compact and lightweight
  • Good overall construction quality with great control feel
  • Very sharp from f/4 and excellent cross frame sharpness at smaller apertures
  • Pleasing bokeh
  • Great control of longitudinal chromatic aberration and low lateral CA
  • Distortion and vignetting are well controlled
  • Flare performance improved from EF version
  • Effective Image Stabilizer

Cons

  • Field curvature limits corner sharpness at close focus and small apertures
  • Can’t take teleconverters
  • Expensive

The Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM is an outstanding telephoto zoom lens. It’s extremely compact, built well, and produces images with very high quality. The lens is sharp, with good bokeh, low chromatic aberration and good control of other lens aberrations. It’s really an excellent little package.

As with a lot of RF lenses, the biggest downside is the price. At $1,599, it’s a very expensive lens for an f/4 telezoom, and $300 more than the newest EF version of the lens. What you get in return for the price is what is perhaps the ultimate travel telephoto: a constant aperture lens that is barely larger than an f/4 standard zoom and will fit easily into almost any bag. It’s another great addition to the RF lens lineup.

Image Samples

Click on an image to enlarge

Pittsburgh – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 98mm, f/8, 1/160s, ISO 100 (3 image panorama)
Lights in Reflection – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 141mm, f/4, 1/50s, ISO 100
Columbus at Sunset – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 70mm, f/8, 1/25s, ISO 200
Ice Stalagmite – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 116mm, f/4, 1/10s, ISO 100
Mischief – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 200mm, f/4, 1/640s, ISO 100
Cave Pigeons – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 200mm, f/4, 1/10s, ISO 3200
Bridal Shop – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 188mm, f/8, 1/125s, ISO 100
High Street – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 70mm, f/8, 1/400s, ISO 200
Helicopters – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 191mm, f/4, 1/50s, ISO 400
Ash Cave Icicles – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 104mm, f/9, 1/2s, ISO 100
Snowy Fields – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 114mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 100
Madisons – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 161mm, f/8, 1/50s, ISO 200
Barroluco – Canon EOS R5 with Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM @ 171mm, f/4, 1/80s, ISO 250

If you enjoyed this review, check out my other reviews in the Review Index

Pages: 1 2 3

1 thought on “Review: Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM”

  1. Martin says:
    May 31, 2021 at 12:34 am

    Thanks for the review, very helpful. The photographs are very nice as well.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow Me:

Follow Us on FacebookFollow Us on RSSFollow Us on InstagramFollow Us on Mastodon

Most Popular Posts

  • "Full Frame Equivalence" and Why It Doesn't Matter (288)
  • Fuji X-Pro 2 vs. Sony A7 II: Noise Comparison (70)
  • Fuji 56mm f/1.2 vs. Panasonic Leica 42.5mm f/1.2 Nocticron (63)
  • Review: Metabones Speed Booster (Canon FD to Fuji X) (56)
  • Review: Olympus OM-D E-M5 (48)

Recent Comments

  • Eric Wojtkun on My Favorite Photos of 2022
  • Jordan Steele on “Full Frame Equivalence” and Why It Doesn’t Matter
  • Leon on “Full Frame Equivalence” and Why It Doesn’t Matter
  • Clarke jones on Review: TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 ASPH (RF Mount)
  • Anonymous on Sony A7 III vs. A7 II – Noise Comparison

Archives

©2023 Admiring Light | Theme by SuperbThemes
We use cookies to personalize content and ads and to analyze our traffic. We also share information about your use of our site with advertising and analytics partners who may combine it with other information that you’ve provided to them or that they’ve collected from your use of their services. You may consent to the use of cookies or opt out. Accept Reject Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled

Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.

SAVE & ACCEPT