Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM Review

If the recent rumors over the Canon EOS-Rm, the lowest cost full-frame camera ever are indeed true, then lenses such as this one, the Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM are absolutely necessary for the RF mount, as an inexpensive camera is only inexpensive if you have similar lenses to attach to it.

At a glance, the Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM core features include;

• All-in-one zoom is designed for use with full-frame Canon RF-mount mirrorless cameras.
• An Optical Image Stabilizer helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake by five stops to better enable working in low-light conditions and with slower shutter speeds. Also, when recording video, Dynamic IS is available and is a more active type of stabilization to suit recording while walking or moving, and is especially useful at the wide-angle end of the zoom range.
• Nano USM system utilizes both a ring type USM and an STM mechanism to realize quick and accurate focusing that is also smooth and near-silent to suit both photography and video applications. This focusing system also affords full-time manual focus control when working in the one-shot AF mode.
• Configurable Control Ring can be used to adjust a variety of exposure settings, including aperture, ISO, and exposure compensation.

PhotographyBlog has completed their review of the Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM, and they liked it alot, giving it a solid 4.5 out of 5 stars and a highly recommended rating.  Not bad for a superzoom.  They broke down the 4.5 star rating as;

Their conclusion does mention the one issue with this lens - is that it is really the first Canon interchangeable lens, that absolutely requires digital corrections.  While I get that this helps make the lens more compact and cheaper, Canon was one of the last holdouts to doing this with its optics.  I hope it's not a trend, and that this technique will be limited to their lower-tiered lenses.

PhotographyBlog concludes;

The RF 24-240mm has a lot to offer for what is after all a non-L-series lens, most notably built-in image stabilisation worth up to 5-stops. It's also the first full-frame lens to feature Dynamic IS for smoother results while shooting video.

The switchable Focus/Control Ring is a nice inclusion, although obviously not so great if you happen to shoot a lot using manual focus, as is the zoom lock switch to prevent lens creep.

Auto-focusing proved to be quick, quiet and reliable on the Canon EOS RP camera body that we tested the lens with thanks to the latest Nano Ultrasonic Motor technology.

Sadly Canon haven't provided either a lens hood or a padded case in the box - both are optional, costly extras.

The RF 24-240mm offers an extremely versatile focal range whilst being sharp in the centre from 24mm to 240mm, even when shooting wide-open.

Performance at the edges isn't quite so good, especially at the longer focal lengths, but that's a common complaint about this type of super-zoom lens.

Canon have admittedly employed some digital trickery in the form of a built-in Digital Lens Optimizer (DLO) Profile to make the RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM images as good as they can be.

If you only shoot JPEG, you won't notice anything untoward, but there's some pretty obvious digital correction of the Raw files going on, including a very obvious vignetting effect at the 24mm focal length that disappears in the corresponding JPEG file. You need to apply the correction profile in your editing software to make the Raw file match the JPEG.

Read the full review here