Canon RF 24-240mm review SUPER-ZOOM for EOS R! 

Looking for an EOS R super-zoom? Here's my review of the Canon RF 24-240mm f4-6.3! Check price at B&H: bhpho.to/37enmf6 // WEX: tidd.ly/347HLRi Buy Gordon a coffee: www.paypal.me/cameralabs Gordon's In Camera book at Amazon: amzn.to/2n61PfI / Amazon uk: amzn.to/2mBqRVZ Like Cameralabs? Get the merch: redbubble.com/people/cameralabs/shop

Hi Gordon Thank you for this review, as always, your reviews are very good and thorough. I ended up buying this lens a while ago, and I found it to be better than expected and I also use it more than I anticipated. I use it on my R5 as a grab to go, all-rounder lens, that I use when I don’t want to carry several other heavier L lenses. And this lens is fun to use. Yes, canon made some compromises in this lens, but I can live with those. Verry simplified I would put the RF 24-240 image quality above my old EF 24-105 F/4L. It actually performs quite decent on my R5, and very very few people would be able to tell if I used the RF 24-70/70-200 f/2,8 or the rf 24-240 at a similar aperture and in conditions favourable for the 24-240. Since the lens is quite sharp in the centre, it also performs decently in the R5 crop mode, the 1,6 crop mode gives approx 384mm, with 17,26 megapixels (my old 60D had 17,9). So, still very usable in most cases. Even at 400mm equalent crop it has a useable resouution, so 24-400mm in one combination on the R5 😉. The RF 24-70 f/2,8 and 70-200 f/2,8 does have better IQ of course, but the IQ gap is not that big and makes the 24-240 a bargain. I was considering the rf 24-105mm L, but that one is now out of the question.

As an enthusiast photographer whose mobility is hampered by disability, I am excited by the possibility of this affordable super-zoom that will allow me to get closer to subjects than I otherwise could! Thanks for the great review!

I’ve been wanting to hear your take on this lens :) I got this lens and RP kit this summer and it really seems like a “gateway drug” into canon’s mirrorless FF line. It really is a great travel lens. Great review as always!

Just wanted you to know I bought two of your books of in camera. One for a gift and one for myself. Thx for putting together such a great read. Be Safe. Take care.

Great test, Gordon. When this lens was released I remember seeing photographer Martin Bissig taking this into the mountains of Pakistan. The images he was abele to capture were thoroughly incredible using only the 24-240 and nothing else. I personally never included this lens on "my list" but if I ever see these drop to the $550-600 range, I may have to pull the trigger. This is the perfect lens for some casual outings and Canon managed to create a reasonably good performer for the zoom range. It's sharper than the old L-series 28-300!

Is it just me or is this lens producing a very pleasing bokeh at the long end (for a lens of this kind)? Love the picture of the two geese looking in opposite directions. Also, the amount of detail visible in the picture of the two flowers is quite nice. Thank you very much for the review!

Basically zero focus breathing while focus racking during video - very nice!

Absolutely fantastic review Gordon!! So useful, and I really love the diagonal detail comparisons at the beach, excellent idea. Thanks so much for all of this! 👍👍

As always I really respect and appreciate your reviews: they are amongst the very best on the web. I have this lens and got it when I had to wait over five months for my 24-105 f/4 to be delivered! I was really impressed by the wide range of the lens: and I actually have the venerable EF 28-300L too - which is an amazing optic, if rather like a howitzer. Like you, I found the lens punches well above what might expect from such a wide focal range, and I use it on one of my R6 bodies. While it might have started as a stop-gap, it now holds its own place in my menagerie of lenses.

Gordon..... Been watching your reviews for years.... You really helped me into the world of DSLR photography..... Absolutely some of the most tip top videos I've seen on UTUBE...... Recently just for laughs I bought a used Canon 300D (the first DSLR from Canon I think)... Came all the way to NY From Japan in about 4 days. It is in almost new condition and I'm having a ball with it considering all the time I had to invest in learning how to use all the functions on my M50 and EOS R. All I had to do was figure out how to change the menus from Japanese back to English.....In any case with your help and a lot of experimentation I have been privileged to enjoy this great pastime which I have come to love so much. Keep up the good work...

Great review. While some reviews portrayed this less as terrible, your review is more balanced and makes me feel more confident to buy one.

It's the only lens I carry! Having said that, at 24, I find the image not quite as sharp as I'd like particularly at the corners due to the correction. It also seems the barrel distortion at corners are slightly overcorrected at 24 and become a tad pincushioned. Anything from around 27 to 30 and above are spot on though! It's a great do all lens!

First off, Gordon, superb review. What you choose to show, how you compare products (lenses here) and the explanations you provide are the most useful and revealing that I've seen on RU-vid as compared to other photography product reviewers here. Second, for this specific video, I must agree with "Tech" that some introduction of the aperture range, either at the beginning of the video or in the title (or, even the details in the "SHOW MORE" section) would have been nice. I understand that a laborious title might alter the algorithms unfavorably hence the suggestion perhaps at the start of the video. Still, as I watched, I was eventually able to glean the specs (or I would have gone to Canon's web site). Third, thank you for the time and effort you put into these very educational videos - you've greatly assisted my development as an enthusiast photographer. I understand so much more as a result of watching your videos. Again, thank you very much. At least to me, you are keenly articulate and readily understood. You're the best, Gordon!!

Good review Gordon. I've put this one on my "to buy" list for this year.

Thanks Super Review - it looks like a super lens for wandering around on holiday without the entire camera bag

Very good review! And yes I am bit tempted. I am actually thinking of buying a new camera, choosing between Nikon, Olympus and Canon so these reviews do help.

Nice to see some lightweight zoom lenses coming out. Would like to see more of these but with pro quality; variable aperture, lighter materials, but still great image quality.

Thanks Gordon, This is my next Purchase, in fact it's locked in this and the 16 mm 2.8f is my R series kit, I have 4 l series lenses from 16 - 300 mm and 600 with a series 3 2x converter I struggle with justifying 3-4 k NZ$ (2x) for 16-200 f 4 lenses when I have that in the original L series Ef lens series able to be used on my Mk3 or Mk4 or my R5 C (via the adapter) I can wait until the early purchasers who buy and pay stupid prices for RF lenses and have to sell them, The R5 C is the first lnse I have purchased new since i purchased my 7d mk2, all the cameras and lenses i have both since had been 2nd hand

Should have mentioned the F4-6.3 part at the start it in the title. Great review as always though

Really helpful and well-balanced review. Thank you.

love all your reviews, appreciate it! i havent bought a non-L lens in about a decade, but thinking about picking this up for family/lightweight travel shooting. one thing i was looking forward to learning was your normal shutter speed test with/without IS comparison. at 240mm think it's good in the 1/15th range? thanks much and keep up the great work!

Well done Gordon. For various reasons I've unsubbed from all photography channels (the usual suspects) except for you and Sagi at Tech Gear Talk, so please keep up the good work! 😎

What confuses me about this lens is why they didn't just make it a 26-240mm. It's actually quite common for people to come back with this lens after having shot raw and having that barrel vignetting showing (after which we tell them what lens profiles are). With this amount of lens compensation though you're just cropping out your picture, resulting in a lower resolution picture while getting it more zoomed in.

As a panasonic 14-140 (28-280 ff)mm mft user iam not really mpressed but its cool that full frame users now have a affordable option that almost has the reach my little lense has

Great video, will put this on my shopping list, is it really that warm that people can walk about without coats on in Brighton at this time of year ? And your garden is so much more greener than ours !

Substantially better lens than Sony's counterpart, though that wasn't any hard to achieve, due to potato performance of FE 24-240mm.

I like the lens, and 24mm is a lot better than 28mm for the wide end (I am thinking about tamron ) ...maybe Sony should consider a mark ii version of his lens with less weight and bulk....

Thank you for the review! I've been looking at this lens as the one lens to go with on the Canon R5, along with 3 primes (EF 35 f2, RF 50 1.8 and EF 85 1.8) as the ultimate "travel and video" companion kit... the output seems more than adequate for documentary film-making work

I miss in a way the good old times with my aps-c and my superzoom while life was easy and before I became a pixel peeper. Tamron, please bring the 28-200mm F/2.8-5.6 to the R-mount!

I’d like to see Canon or Sony take a page from Olympus’ book and create a 24-200 f8 IS pro grade lens like the Oly 12-100 f4. Tamron comes close with the 28-200 but sacrifices the wide end and IS to maintain the larger aperture at the tele end.

People have the tendency to frown upon superzooms. It comes from older days, when they were not very good indeed. Everything's changing though. I use a Tamron 28-200 on Sony 7RIII. Every day I'm blown away by the quality a 7x zoom lens provides. This 24-240 seems to be there or close enough. People who are automatically sceptical about it, maybe should try one first and have more unprejudiced approach. When I purchased the Tamron it reminded me of when I changed my car with significantly newer model. Before, when I was reading on the internet the new cars achieve 70 mpg, I was like "Come on, now! I drive a car every day. It has the same power and weight and gets 40 mpg. Do they think I'm that stupid?" Well, first time when my new car covered 140 miles with 2 gallons of gasoline, I was like "Dear, oh dear. Maybe I WAS that stupid..." ;)

24-240 f6.3 + 35 F1.8 + 85 f2 = Fantastic Travel Combos.

I dont like Canon cameras, their desing are awfull, but their lenses have a awesome desing! Like the rf 70-200 mm thats a great looking lens, this one looks great too , maybe im and idiot, but i think that how you look taking a picture is part of the experience! That why i like cameras by design + features! Great video as always!

Hi Gordon. Love your reviews. Thinking of moving up to the R5 this Christmas and I’m looking for a good all-around walking around lens or travel lens as they call it. Do you think this lens, the RF 24-2 40 would be an under performing lens as an every day lens for the R5? Thank you.

Ik that house at the start. I can't remember the name, but its kinda cool to see places you know in other peoples videos

Thank you for the review. How this lens compares to the nikon z 24-200mm in general terms, of course? Thank you so much.

Good Review ! Very Clear Explanation.

Great video I like your reviews. So which lens would you pair with the R5 for landscape?

Hi Gordon. Hoping for some advice. I have a R6 and the 24-240 RF. I am a novice photographer, just taking snaps when on outings / holiday. I especially appreciate extreme detail in photos. That in mind, I wish I rather went for the R5, but it was just too expensive. Anyway, to the question: The RF 70-200 F2.8 has been burning a hole in my mind, having me think each time I look at one of my photos: "Just imagine how much better that would have looked had I used a 70-200" Again though, it's very expensive, so not really something I can buy without caring. In your opinion, would the 70-200 on an R6 offer: A: Far superior detail in photos? (Also, will this be over the whole image, or just in the corners, where the 24-240 struggles?) B: Better auto focus? (current setup sometimes struggles with birds in flight. I might have unrealistic expectations here) Thank you so much for all your efforts with your videos!

Brilliant Review, Thank mate! Would you recommend this for higher end bodies like R6?

You superzoom rock Gordon!

If you wanna take one zoom lens from 24-240mm and 24-105mm f4-7.1 with EOS RP for a general travel purpose, which one will you choose?

Gordon I understand it’s a old video. I have a old 18-135 mm EFS STM lens adapted to a R6; thinking of getting a native RF lens does it make sense to get this 24-240 mm lens? Have there been technology improvements made to make this lens a good addition & this purchase worthwhile?

Hey Gordon! Did you do side-by-side comparison of image quality between this lens and the RF 24-105 L f4? I'm hesitating betwwen the two for traveling, as paired with an R5, the L lens would also give decent reach, with a 168mm equivalent when using the crop mode. Thanks for your great reviews!

Hi Gordon another great video. Can I ask what camera YOU actually use to take photos with ? Thanks lee

Can you explain why, on an R6 body, the "multiple exposures" function is disabled (error message: “Not available with the attached lens”) when using this lens?

nice review - looks like a solid lens.. might not be the most exciting but is more affordable than the rest of the RF lineup and gives decent enough IQ for all but the most stringent pixel peepers! I'm amazed you didn't mention 'substantial meal' at any stage :) Hope you have a fabulous christmas!

How does this compare to the 70-200 mm f/2.8? Which is better for grad photos and weddings?

I am mostly a landscape/macro photographer for the artsy effects. Do you think this lens would be good for me?

I like this review but with the canon R6 what would you say is the next best zoom if I wanted to invest a little more for better IQ?

We’re the shots shown on a tripod or just using the Stabilisation in the body?

How do you pan the camera and focus so quickly at 4m15s? When I see videos of that on the same FOV and foreground and background focus changes, I assumed that it was done through the Camera Connect app. But with the pans and quick focus changes, perhaps there is a different way?

Great Gordon, many thanks for that as I was looking at those lenses today. Just perfect timing. I will take possession of a Canon R5 body shortly and while I have some EF lenses I will use with the adapter was wondering on getting a RF mount general purpose lens for travel as they are lighter and more compact and you don't need the adapter (just another thing to forget or loose). Ideally I would go for an L series RF lens but the cost is currently prohibitive imho. Comparatively, utilising the R5's IBIS and lens aberration correction in Lightroom would I gain that much by buying an L series even if they did the handy 24-240 zoom range in a L which they don't ? (I don't do rough weather and dusty environments so weather sealing is not a priority). This 24 to 240 seems pretty good even if it's meant for the low end R series bodies and the hobbyist.

There is a guy on youtube who reports significant vignetting at 24mm with this lens only removable post processing. Is vignetting an issue with this lens set wide?

Would that lens work well (in terms of sharpness, resolution, etc.) on an R5?

Thanks!

Great review.

Will this lens fit onto an Eos R8? I'm new to cameras and purchasing an Eos R8 body and lens separately.

Great review Gordon! How do these perform on a R5?

Its kinda nuts that we're at a point where an $800 lens is "budget". You could buy a decent laptop with that.

The right price for the Canon Rf 24_240 would be about half.

How does this compare with the EF 28-300mm?

How badly it works with APS-C sensor?

I'm glad Nikon went for a better superzoom with the Z 24-200. Weather sealed, same max aperture range as this Canon and really excellent optically. It's a little more money but it's worth it. The size is actually pretty small for what it is.

if you dont need shot video ,Buy 24-240 it gets more focal length and faster focus 24-240 is also way sharper than 24-105

We need the Tamron 28-200mm 2.8-5.6 on the RF mount so we can be done with this nonsense, heh.

nice lens sir

I own this lens and one thing not mentioned in this review is its TERRIBLE focusing in low light conditions and macro. The camera will sit there and refuse to focus.

Do I swap out my rf 24 - 105 f4 - 7.1 for this lens or get the EF 70 - 200 F4 is usm? With adapter

I might be too rude and radical, but both look like an insanely overpriced junk :|

If its not a fixed aperture lens its not worth looking at.

wanna know R5+RF24-240

Thanks!