{"id":9238,"date":"2020-10-31T11:51:05","date_gmt":"2020-10-31T16:51:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/?p=9238"},"modified":"2020-10-31T11:51:10","modified_gmt":"2020-10-31T16:51:10","slug":"review-canon-rf-24-105mm-f-4l-is-usm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/admiringlight.com\/blog\/review-canon-rf-24-105mm-f-4l-is-usm\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS USM"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Canon’s full-frame mirrorless system launched with one camera, the EOS R<\/a>, and four lenses. After two years, the workhorse standard zoom released in that initial batch, the RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS, is still one of the more desirable lenses for the system. As of this writing, it’s also the only really affordable L series lens in the RF lineup.  The 24-105mm is a lens that covers an extremely useful range from the quite wide angle 24mm to a moderate telephoto 105mm, at a constant f\/4 aperture.  Canon’s excellent image stabilization makes this lens an attractive all-around zoom lens for travel or general use. Let’s dive in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
The Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS on the Canon EOS R<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Construction and Handling<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS is built very similarly to the other Canon L series lenses of late.  The lens is constructed predominantly of high-grade polycarbonate on the exterior, with solid metal internals.  The result is a reasonably lightweight lens that feels solidly built.  The switches on the side of the lens for focus mode and image stabilization click positively.  The lens barrel extends when zooming towards the long end of the zoom range, and there is a touch of wobble in the extending barrel, which is a bit out of character for a high end lens, but it doesn’t appear to cause any issues in usage. This has been the case for both examples of this lens I have used. I am surprised at this, given that even Tamron’s  more inexpensive lenses have no lens tube wobble when extending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zoom feel is excellent, however. The zoom ring turns with a smooth but weighty damping, and is perfectly consistent throughout the zoom range. The focus ring sits above the zoom ring and turns very smoothly and with nice damping. Like all RF lenses, the manual focus is by wire. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
The RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS extends about two inches during zooming<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The 24-105mm handles well on the EOS R<\/a> and R6<\/a>, and balances nicely without adding too much weight. On the EOS RP, the lens is heavy enough that it becomes slightly balanced to the front, but still handles fine.  The end of the lens features the control ring that is standard on all of Canon’s RF mount lenses. The control ring spins smoothly with satisfying clicky detents that denote each step of operation in whatever function you have set to the control ring.  The mount is metal, and solidly locks onto the camera with a gentle twist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like all L-series lenses, the RF 24-105L comes with a lens hood, which is a typical plastic with a matte finish. The hood locks securely to the end of the lens barrel and has a locking button to prevent the hood from coming loose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS with lens hood<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The RF 24-105mm f\/4L has three switches on the barrel, with one to switch between autofocus and manual focus, another to turn the image stabilizer on and off, and a third switch on the right side which will lock the lens at the 24mm position to prevent zoom creep during transport. This switch can come in handy when pulling the lens out of a bag that is a little tight, but I don’t have any issues with zoom creep during normal use, so I typically do not use the lock switch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Autofocus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The RF 24-105mm f\/4L features Canon’s new Nano-USM focus motor, which is fast and quiet. I’ve found the lens to focus extremely quickly and very accurately, especially on the EOS R6, where focus tracking works brilliantly. Nothing to complain about here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L on the EOS R6<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Image Stabilization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The RF 24-105mm f\/4L has optical image stabilization built in, and it works quite well. Canon rates the IS to around 5 stops of stabilization, and I’ve generally gotten between 4 and 5 stops of shake reduction when using it on the EOS R and EOS RP. This allows for shots of around 1\/6-1\/4 second at 105mm, which is excellent. When used on the new EOS R5 or R6 with IBIS, you can expect to get an additional 2-3 stops of stabilization on top of IS unit alone. On my R6 I can regularly achieve 1 second exposures at 105mm and at the wide end of the zoom range, I’ve been able to achieve sharp shots hand held in the 2 to 4 second range. Remarkable!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue: Image Quality<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Image Quality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The 24-105mm f\/4L is a 4.4x zoom, and usually when you get beyond around a 3x focal range, quality starts to dip a bit. While you do have some sacrifices here and there with this lens, the overall optical quality of the RF 24-105mm is on a very high level, and it’s one of the better expanded range standard zoom lenses on the market. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharpness<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Images out of the RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS show very good to excellent sharpness right from f\/4, throughout the zoom range. Central image sharpness is excellent at all focal lengths and apertures, and even edge sharpness is quite good through most of the focal range, with a bit of softening at 24mm and 105mm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Massies Creek Watefall – Canon EOS R6 with Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS @ 61mm, f\/11, 13s,<\/em> ISO 100<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Stop down a stop or two and you’ll bring the edges and corners up to very good territory at the extremes of the zoom range, while the middle focal lengths are truly excellent edge to edge. Below is a 100% crop from the upper right corner of the above image. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS 100% crop, Upper right corner<\/em> (click to view full size)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I really couldn’t ask for much more in a zoom with such a versatile zoom range. The lens works very well for both isolating details as well as for landscape use. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bokeh<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

While the RF 24-105mm has a moderate f\/4 aperture throughout its zoom range, at the longer focal lengths the lens is certainly capable of blurring the background to a reasonable degree, and the versatility of focal lengths allows for detail isolation and portraiture. The bokeh produced by the lens is actually quite good for a moderate aperture standard zoom. Overall rendering is pleasing and reasonably soft, while specular highlights are predominantly evenly lit. There can be a slight hint of a bright ring outline in certain situations, but it doesn’t occur very often. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
Autumn Leaves – Canon EOS R with Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS @ 105mm, f\/4, 1\/20s, ISO 100<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Because of the f\/4 aperture, you won’t be obliterating the background with this lens, and the bokeh isn’t overly creamy, but it does strike a nice balance between depth of field and subject isolation and the falloff to the background is fairly smooth. Like a lot of lenses in this class, bokeh does become a bit more nervous as the focus distance increases, but it never becomes objectionable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When stopping down for additional depth of field, the rounded 9 blade aperture maintains an extremely round entrance pupil, leaving specular highlights very round with only a hint of the aperture shape, even when stopped down to f\/8 as can be seen in the close-up shot below. Overall, a surprisingly good performance for such a lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
Grass at Sunrise – Canon EOS RP with Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS @ 105mm, f\/8, 1\/2500s, ISO 100<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Color, Contrast and Chromatic Aberration<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Like most modern high quality lenses, the RF 24-105mm f\/4L produces images that have solid contrast throughout the focal range and aperture range. Contrast dips very slightly when shooting near its minimum focus distance, but it’s still quite good. Color is typical for Canon L lenses, with good color saturation that isn’t over the top. There’s a nice balance to the color response that I find quite pleasing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a>
Pool on Massies Creek – Canon EOS R6 with Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS @ 58mm, f\/16, 30s, ISO 100<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With regards to chromatic aberration, the RF 24-105mm puts in a solid performance. Lateral chromatic aberration is visible at the edges of the frame, but is easily correctable during RAW conversion. Longitudinal CA is well controlled, and I have yet to really see it crop up on any real world examples. The slightest hint of purple fringing is present on very high contrast edges at wide apertures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distortion, Flare and Vignetting<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS shows a somewhat typical distortion characteristic for such a zoom lens. The wide end of the zoom range shows moderate barrel distortion, which changes to pincushion distortion partway through the focal range. It’s not too severe, and can be corrected with a profile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the negatives with the RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS is its relatively poor performance against bright light. When bright light sources like the sun are in frame and in focus, flare ghosts can be very prominent and often image-ruining. Care must be taken when shooting with the sun in frame to place the sun to minimize ghosting. Often, if I’m shooting at the wide end of the zoom range, I’ll switch to my ultra-wide zoom due to its better flare performance. Veiling flare can also occur with the sun just out of frame, reducing contrast throughout the image. Thankfully, as can be seen in the third image on this page, when the sun is out of focus in the frame, flaring is not really an issue. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Canon<\/a>
Flare can be an issue with the sun in frame – Canon EOS RP with Canon RF 24-105mm f\/4L IS @ 24mm, f\/8, 1\/160s, ISO 100<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Vignetting is visible at f\/4 throughout the focal range, and it can be relatively prominent at wide apertures. It never fully goes away when stopping down, but eases by f\/5.6 to more moderate levels. It’s not a great performance, but is par for the course for this type of lens, if not even a little better than most 24-105mm lenses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, image quality is very good, and exceeded my expectations considerably. While the lens does poorly against bright light, the overall image rendition is excellent. Images are sharp and contrasty with very good color, good bokeh and well-managed chromatic aberration. Even distortion, while present, is only moderate. It’s a very versatile lens with optical quality that makes it an excellent landscape lens as well as a one-lens solution for daily shooting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Continue: Conclusion and Image Samples<\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pros<\/h4>\n\n\n\n