Review: Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3

Friday 15 May 2020, 22:33 by Michelle Peeters | 8,467 views | 4 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Canon Netherlands gave me the opportunity to test the Canon EOS R. This included the RF 24-105mm, RF 24-240mm and RF 15-35mm lenses, as well as the control ring mount so I could also attach my own lenses. In this article, I share my findings on the RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 lens.

The Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 came onto the market in September 2019. It seems like an ideal all-round lens to take with you on a trip. Thanks to its wide range, 10x from wide angle to a substantial telephoto zoom, you will never need to change lenses again.

It is suitable for landscapes, portraits, street photography and many other genres. It is, of course, designed for the full-frame EOS R and RP. Professionals will not really have been waiting for this lens, but all other EOS R photographers certainly will have! It weighs just 750 grams, and the optical image stabilisation gives you 5 stops of shake reduction.

Specifications

- Focal length: 24-240mm
- Maximum aperture: f/4-6.3
- Lens mount: Canon RF
- Suitable for full-frame: yes
- Weight: 750 grams
- Length: 122.5mm
- Dust and splash resistant: no
- Image stabilisation: yes
- Minimum focusing distance: 50cm
- Magnification: 0.26x
- Filter size: 72mm
- Release date: September 2019
- Price: 899 euros at CameraNU.nl

The RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM lens gives you an enormous range and plenty of possibilities, but what about the quality? The eternal dilemma comes into play here: do you choose versatility or optimum quality? But what is the quality actually like?

Handling

The handling is very pleasant in practice. It has a zoom ring that can be locked and an adjustable control ring. You can use the control ring to adjust the aperture, shutter speed and ISO or exposure compensation. With this lens, you can take razor-sharp photos extremely quickly and quietly thanks to the built-in Nano USM focusing system.

This lens is not particularly fast, so the 5-stop gain from the built-in image stabilisation is very welcome. This allows you to work with slower shutter speeds.

Autofocus

You can focus quickly, quietly and smoothly with this lens, thanks to the Nano USM motor. The autofocus is fast, virtually silent and accurate, even with fast-moving subjects. You can also focus quite close, at 50cm, so close-up photography is also possible.

Speed

It seems a little slower than the RF 24-105mm f/4L lens, and the sharpness also seems slightly lower.

Distortion

The lens does show quite pronounced vignetting and distortion, but you will not notice much of it when shooting JPEGs, because these flaws are automatically corrected in the camera. As with most superzooms, you need to have the various lens correction options switched on to smooth out this lens's optical shortcomings.

Image quality

The optical performance is surprisingly good. Photos are sharp enough and also make a good impression in terms of contrast and colours. For a superzoom, the performance is undeniably impressive. Considering the price, target audience and versatility, the image quality of this superzoom is perfectly good enough.

The bokeh is attractive because the aperture has 7 rounded blades. Considering the price, target audience and versatility, the image quality of this superzoom is at a good level. It is not, however, a lens for professionals, who will choose a number of high-quality and/or prime lenses.

Performance is best in the centre, even at the maximum focal length of 240mm and with the aperture wide open. Performance at the edges of the frame is less good, especially at the longer focal lengths, but that is a common complaint about this type of superzoom lens.

That good image quality, despite the enormous zoom range, which is above average for this segment, does rely heavily on digital lens corrections.

Conclusion

With this lens, ambitious hobby photographers have a good compromise between quality and flexibility. The EOS R cameras are compact, so a compact lens suits them well. Canon has put 10x optical zoom into a travel lens while keeping performance at a good level. That is quite remarkable!

If you spend a lot of time on the road or travelling and do not like changing lenses, this is a very attractive lens to use with the EOS R or RP. It is also ideal for a flying, cycling or walking holiday, as you can travel light. And if you want to photograph inconspicuously as a street photographer, it is a great solution.

I would recommend this lens to many photographers with the EOS R system. However, if you want maximum image quality, you would be better off choosing a different lens, possibly as an additional one.

Most photographers will be happy with the sharp images, ease of use and compactness offered by the RF 24-240mm. Even the price is reasonable. For many photographers, this will be the only lens they will ever need.

The optical performance is very good for a superzoom lens of this type. It is brought up to this level with a lot of help from digital corrections, but for a superzoom it is genuinely exceptionally good.

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