wjan wrote:
Having recently acquired tiny Canon RP with an excellent 35/1.8 IS prime I was thinking about augmenting it with this 10x zoom. It would make a nice full-frame travel kit, so I could retire my old APS-C D5500 with its 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom (equivalent to 28-210mm f/5-8 on full frame). Dreams, dreams...
Quick unscientific test on brick walls and tree branches has shown no meaningful difference in terms of sharpness (both in center and on border of the frame), chromatic aberrations, bokeh quality or stabilization efficiency between Canon 24-240 and Nikon 18-140 on any shared focal length. I had a feeling though, the Canon focuses slightly faster. Considering 18-140 is waaaay cheeper and 260 g lighter, I decided to return 24-240 to the vendor and to keep using 18-140 as my travel zoom.
Some people on internet are moaning about huge unrecoverable vignetting, but it is not an issue at all! The thing is, the angle of view of this lens is de-facto wider than should be for e.g. 24mm focal length and vignetting if therefore just a part of this additional frame space left there intentionally. You just have to turn on the correction in camera or do it by yourself on computer and distortion correction will fix everything back to normal.
It is pity, by the way, there is currently (as of early 2020) no other consumer lens between 24-105 and 24-240 in the RF lineup. Something like 24-160/4-6.3 with a weight under 600g, compact dimensions and lower price would suit my needs much better.
Pros:
- very useful focal range for a travel zoom
- pretty good sharpness in the center
- quick and silent focusing
- effective stabilization (around 4-5 stops depending on focus distance)
- can focus as close as 50 cm
Cons:
- visible loss of sharpness on the edges of the frame
- expensive
- on the bulky side when mounted on Canon RP
- control ring w/o clicks is pretty much useless
When you say the RF 24-240 may good but not great I would say that greatess is in the eye of the beholder. Different appications lead to different lens requirement and individual preferences when compared to alternative lens choices and prices.
I look at your Pros and Cons and think these are accurate insights into these factors.
I think this may be one of Canon's more controversial lenses because the the radical solution it offers for the classic problems of prior superzoom lenses which tend to in many factors underperform prime lenses and narrow range zoom lenses. The smaller the zoom range appears to be easier for designing lenses that are corner sharp with larger aperatures for better low light performance.
However, the travel photography application remains popular today with many people using smartphones as well a better cameras. It is more common for these travel cameras to use zooming in cameras and superzoom lenses are popular here.
A recent review demonstrates what it regards as the currently great travel superzooms for modern popular travel cameras.
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/buying-guides/best-lenses-for-travel
They include both EOS EF lenses as well as RF lenses. It is no surprise then this review of great superzooms the RF 24-240mm is favorably reviewed:
https://www.digitalcameraworld.com/reviews/canon-rf-24-240mm-f4-63-is-usm-review
They conclude:
OUR VERDICT
Any full frame superzoom lens is going to be BIG, but the Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM balances much better on the EOS RP body than we were expecting. It’s comparatively light, it’s neat and simple to use and it’s a good value bundle when bought with an EOS RP. What's exceptional is the optical performance in such a long range zoom, achieved with a lot of help (no doubt controversially) from digital corrections.
FOR
- 10x zoom range
- Light and well balanced
- Exceptional result from a superzoom
AGAINST
- Modest maximum aperture
- Lacks L-series build quality
- Good image quality but not stellar
I agree with the FOR and AGAINST . I have owned many great and some not so great Canon and third party zoom lenses (as well as primes!). When it comes to superzooms this RF24-240mm is not my first or second or even third. I have owned and subsequently sold several early L series 4X and 10X zooms that were in my opinion worse lenses by their creating less sharp images in much heavier, bulkier and expensive embodiments.
Today I would say even with respect to the many opinions of others being different I think the RF 24-240mm is a great lens in today's market. I hope somewhat builds a better even I a higher price. I have gladly pay more for a better 10X superzoom covering this range. I hope there is a RF 24-240mm F4.0 L lens with rugged construction and weather sealing. However, weight and size and still important to me and more so than a small increase in price. Today, though the RF 24-240mm is a great lens which obviates the need to change lenses frequently when travelling. Outdoors in decent light it performs very well to my taste and it creates much better imageriny and is easier to shoot to get the shot than any smartphone,
