The Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM ($2,299) is one of a few zoom lenses for the system that covers a standard range, practical for everything from landscapes to portrait work. Its bright aperture makes it especially appealing for wedding pros and others who need to snap candid shots in difficult light, and optical stabilization allows you to push shutter speeds farther than IBIS can manage alone. It’s everything you’d expect from a lens made for Canon’s best cameras, and a PCMag Editors’ Choice award winner.
Canon L Series
The RF 24-70mm F2.8 measures 5.0 by 3.5 inches (HD), is just shy of two pounds, and supports 82mm front filters, in line with similar lenses for Nikon and Sony systems.
It’s a more sensible zoom to carry when compared with the RF 28-70mm F2 L USM, a high-end lens that’s unmatched in other systems. We love the shallow depth of field you get from the big F2 zoom, but it adds 3.1 pounds to your kit.
The other in-system rival to consider is the RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM. It covers more focal length, but is only half as bright. It’s still capable of shallow depth of field, one of the benefits of a full-frame system, but event photographers and others snapping photos in dim light will have to push the ISO higher.
The other zooms, the low-cost RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 and RF 24-240mm F4-6.3, are geared more toward beginners and photographers who value a light kit. They offer more zoom power for fewer dollars, but don’t gather as much light, and aren’t built to the same standards as Canon L lenses.
Third parties haven’t jumped onboard the RF mount as of yet, so there are no Sigma or Tamron alternatives. If you’re moving to a Canon RF body from an SLR, you can bring your current lenses along with the EF-EOS R adapter.
The RF 24-70mm is part of Canon’s L series and is built to the lofty standards that come with it. The polycarbonate barrel is sealed to protect the system from dust and splashes, and the front element is protected with anti-smudge fluorine. A lens hood, front and rear caps, and a soft carrying pouch are included.
Handling and Controls
The barrel extends when zoomed in, making the lens about an inch longer at 70mm than at 24mm. A lock switch keeps the lens set at its shortest position. There’s also a switch to change between manual and autofocus, and another to enable or disable stabilization.
The lens includes three control rings—one for zoom, another for focus, and a third with a flexible function. The flexible control ring is at the front, manual focus is in the middle, and the zoom ring is closest to the mount. Focus and zoom rings are finished in rubber, but the control ring is bare, with a rough diamond pattern so you can find it by touch.
I typically set the control ring for EV compensation, but you can use it for aperture, shutter, ISO, or other sundries if you prefer. The ring clicks as it turns, a downer for videographers who record sound in-camera. If you prefer silent control, you can send the lens to Canon and have the click stops removed for a $79.99 fee.
The lens is a good fit for video use. There’s some slight focus breathing visible at wide angles, but it’s really only noticeable when racking from a close to distant subject or vice versa. The lens is a fine fit for studio or handheld vlogging. When zoomed in the breathing effect goes away—there’s no change in angle of view when shifting focus at 70mm.
It includes optical stabilization, something most 24-70mm lenses skip. Canon’s R line includes a couple of models without in-body stabilization (IBIS), so photographers who jumped on early with the EOS R will reap the benefits.
The second-generation R5 and R6 include IBIS, and the two systems work together to deliver up to eight stops of correction. In my tests I netted consistently blur-free handheld shots at 1/4-second, and was able to push the lens to a full second with some care.
Autofocus is quick, confident, and quiet. Attention is paid to manual focus, too. Like most made-for-mirrorless optics, this one focuses electronically, without any mechanical coupling. You wouldn’t know it, though, as there’s no lag in response and the ring turns with a little bit of resistance, better for precise control.
The close focus distance changes along with the focal length, but you’ll achieve similar magnification at 24mm and 70mm. You can get get right up to subjects at the wide angle (8.3 inches) for a dramatic close-up perspective, or zoom in for a bit more working distance between camera and subject.
In the Lab
I paired the RF 24-70mm with the 45MP EOS R5 for testing in the field and in the lab. Imatest shows that the lens delivers very good results at 24mm f/2.8 (3,900 lines), and crosses into excellent territory when set to f/4 through f/11 (4,300 lines).
You can set the aperture down to f/16 or f/22, but results aren’t as sharp—they’re just okay at f/16 and soft for a 45MP sensor at f/22. Light scatters as it passes through the small aperture, a fact of life with any modern lens. You may still want to use the smallest settings, as the lens draws its best-looking sunstars when stopped all the way down.
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Resolution ticks up slightly at the 50mm focal length. The lens scores in the excellent range wide open, and continues to deliver strong results through f/11. Lab scores are a little lower at 70mm, falling into the top of the very good range at f/2.8, but rise back up to excellent at f/4. Looking at resolution alone, this is a lens that snaps images with ample detail, even with the high-resolution R5.
Photographers who use JPG or HEIF capture should leave all of Canon’s lens corrections turned on. They compensate for some visible distortion, vignette, and chromatic aberrations automatically. You’ll need to take care of those using software if you work in Raw format. Our standard for conversion, Adobe Lightroom, includes a profile that does the job automatically.
The 24-70mm F2.8 isn’t quite the bokeh monster as the bigger 28-70mm F2, but is still capable of netting images with pleasingly defocused backgrounds. Bright highlights are mostly circular, even when shot wide open. The lens does an excellent job minimizing the cat’s eye effect, so defocused highlights toward the edges and corner of the frame are more circular.
There is a hard, squared cut-off at 24mm f/2.8, an oddity that may detract from an environmental portrait. You can avoid it by working at f/4, or zooming slightly. You’ll also note the onion skin effect in defocused highlights in certain images. It’s not something that’s visible in every shot, just images with bright specular highlights.
The Zoom for Canon Pros
Canon pros moving from an SLR to the EOS R system are certain to be shopping for a standard zoom lens. The RF 24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM fits the bill for most, with a focal range that covers wide angles and tightens for portraits, and F2.8 optics to feed more light to your camera’s sensor and blur backgrounds.
It includes optical stabilization, absent from the more exotic RF 28-70mm F2. If you pair the 24-70mm with a stabilized sensor, you’ll have no problem making longer handheld exposures, opening up tripod-free creative opportunities. Optics are strong, too—images are sharp, the lens can focus to near macro distances, and the breathing effect is minimal, a plus for video use.
At $2,300, it’s priced for serious hobbyists and professionals. Third parties haven’t jumped on to support the RF mount as of yet, so if you want to spend less you’re limited to adapting SLR lenses. It’s an option to consider if you already own an EF mount 24-70mm, but I wouldn’t recommend buying a new SLR lens to go with a mirrorless camera, especially one that’s going to get as much use a standard zoom. We’d love to see third parties support RF; Sigma’s latest 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN Art is an outstanding value lens, but one only available for Sony and L-mount cameras.
The RF 24-105mm F4 L IS USM is a better budget alternative, and budget is a relative term—it costs $1,100. Its optics are just as good and it’s built to L standards, but it doesn’t gather as much light. If you can’t spend that much, the RF 24-105mm F4-7.1 is a better lens than you’d expect for $400, though it isn’t in the same class.
We’ll continue to recommend the RF 28-70mm F2 to photographers with an eye for portraiture, especially wide environmental shots where working at F2 nets some background separation. It’s a lens you can’t get for any other system, but its price and bulk make it a specialty tool. The RF 24-70mm F2.8 L IS USM is more practical for everyday photography, and our Editors’ Choice winner for Canon RF system owners.
Thanks to LensrentalsLensrentals for providing equipment for this review.
