The Canon RF 70-200mm F4 L IS USM ($1,599) is, at its heart, a more affordable version of the RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM, a top-end lens that sells for $2,700. It’s just as well made, and takes up less room in your camera bag thanks to a retractable design. It doesn’t gather as much light, so you’ll still want to pay for an F2.8 lens if you work in dim light or cover events. For the rest of us, the RF 70-200mm F4 L IS USM is a fantastic performer that pairs perfectly with pro and enthusiast Canon R cameras, and an Editors’ Choice award winner.
Telescoping Barrel
Like the RF 70-200mm F2.8, the F4 edition features a retractable design. It’s in contrast to 70-200mm lenses for SLRs and other mirrorless systems, which almost exclusively use internal zoom. It makes the lens as small as a typical 24-70mm when retracted, about 4.7 by 3.3 inches (HD).
The F4 lens is a little smaller all around than the RF 70-200mm F2.8, and lighter—1.5 pounds versus 2.6 pounds. The lighter build means you don’t need a tripod collar either, further reducing bulk. Bother inner and outer lens barrels use polycarbonate materials.
A reversible lens hood is included, along with a drawstring pouch. The front element supports 77mm filters and has the expected anti-reflective and anti-smudge fluorine protection. The lens itself is protected from dust and splashes, just like others in Canon’s L series. Its light gray finish is a hallmark of the L series.
Handling and Controls
It’s easy enough to cite the retractable design as a benefit when it comes to finding place in a camera bag, but there is a compromise in handling. The zoom action requires a bit more torque than lenses with internal zoom, so you’ll need to get a good grip on the barrel to set it; you won’t enjoy the fingertip zoom adjustment that internal zooms allow.
The telescoping action is nothing new to camera systems, it’s something that you see in nearly every zoom that goes longer than 200mm. If you must have internal zoom, you can still look to a Canon SLR lens and the EF EOS R adapter.The EF 70-200mm F4 and Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 DG HSM Sports are priced similarly and zoom internally, but are heavier and take up more room in your camera bag.
In addition to the zoom ring, the lens includes discrete manual focus and control rings. The control ring is located at the front. It turns with detent clicks and can be used to adjust nearly two dozen functions—I find it most useful for EV adjustment. Videographers may prefer silent control—it’s available as an option, but you need to pay a modest fee, $79, and send the lens in for service to get it.
The focus ring is rubberized, just like the zoom control, and turns with a little bit of resistance. It’s nearly as pleasing to use as mechanical manual focus systems, but the focus throw is a little short for my liking. You can still focus with precision, but it takes a bit of care.
Autofocus is nearly instant and absolutely quiet. There is a bit of breathing—the effect where the angle of view blooms and shrinks along with changes to the focus distance. It’s not a concern for still imaging, but can distract from video, especially if you’re recording a shot that racks focus from one subject to another.
Focus is available to just about 2 feet (0.6m) throughout the zoom range. It’s good enough for 1:3.5 macro magnification at 200mm, close to what we consider the macro range for a zoom.
Optical stabilization is included. It works in conjunction with cameras that include IBIS, like the EOS R5 that I paired with the lens for testing, and is a big benefit if you use a model without a stabilized sensor, to date just the EOS R and EOS RP.
With the R5, I netted handheld exposures with no blur with 1-second exposures without too much effort, right in line with the 7.5-stop CIPA rating. I didn’t have the opportunity to test on a body without IBIS, but Canon promises about five stops of correction there—still good enough for 1/6-second exposures at 200mm.
Stabilization, focus, and other settings are configurable. The lens has a control panel on its side with focus limiter, AF/MF toggle, and stabilization controls. You can turn stabilization on and off with one switch and change the way it works with another. Mode 1 is useful for most situations, Mode 2 is used when panning along with moving subjects, and Mode 3 is for following subjects moving in unpredictable directions.
In the Lab
I paired the RF 70-200mm F4 with the 45MP EOS R5 and software from Imatest to check its resolution.
At 70mm f/4, the pair nets resolution that’s considered excellent for the R5 (4,000 lines). Edges are a little softer, but still good for a 45MP camera. The overall resolution ticks up at f/5.6 and f/8, where we see the clearest detail (4,400 lines). You can stop down all the way through f/32, but you should avoid going past f/16—optical diffraction cuts into detail at the narrowest f-stops.
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Resolution holds steady at 135mm, and ticks up a bit at 200mm. This is a lens that’s perfectly suited for the highest resolution Canon sold today, and will deliver excellent results on the 20MP EOS R6 and 26MP EOS RP.
There’s some distortion in Raw images, but in-camera corrections remove it from JPGs. It’s not overwhelming, with some barrel distortion at 70mm and pincushion at 135mm and 200mm. Adobe hasn’t yet added a correction profile for the lens, though it’s all but certain to come in the next Lightroom update.
Vignette correction is also included in-camera, but it’s barely needed for this lens. There’s very little fall off in illumination through most of the zoom range. Corners are noticeably dimmed at 200mm f/4, but that’s it. It’s easy enough to correct manually while we wait for a correction profile.
Even though this isn’t an f/2.8 lens, it still blurs backgrounds with ease. Defocused highlights take on the typical cat’s eye shape toward the edges of the frame when shooting at the maximum aperture, but are round through most of the frame. Narrowing the aperture to f/5.6 nets rounded highlights across the board.
The Compact Telezoom to Get
Photographers invested in the Canon EOS R system now have two excellent midrange telezooms available. Pros covering events and weddings, or specializing in portraiture, can justify spending $2,700 on the RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM. But aside from the f-stop, you don’t miss a thing by spending less on the F4 edition.
The RF 70-200mm F4 L IS USM is just as stunning a performer as the F2.8. It captures images with exquisite detail, even on Canon’s most demanding camera, and blurs background with ease. The light build is perfect for travel, and outdoor photographers will appreciate its near macro focus and weather protection.
The telescoping design may still be divisive, especially if you have years of experience using a 70-200mm with an internal zoom. Canon’s EF 70-200mm F4 remains a solid alternative if you prefer, but you’ll need a lens adapter. I don’t mind the telescoping action, though, and there are plenty of 100-400mm zooms that work the same way.
We’re naming the RF 70-200mm F4 L IS USM an Editors’ Choice winner. Photographers using the Canon R system should take a close look—aside from the f-stop, there are no compromises versus the F2.8 edition. Wedding pros can certainly justify spending more, but we think most shutterbugs will get just as much out of this lens, for a good deal less than the cost of the F2.8.
