The ideal all-in-one, all-purpose travel lens makes a great companion for the Canon EOS RP
(Image credit: Future)
The Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM is the latest lens for the company's full-frame mirrorless system – and the extremely compact, lightweight optic is an obvious choice for all-purpose, everyday and travel photography.
It's a very welcome addition to the Canon RF lens roadmap, which is dominated by oversized (if optically fantastic) lenses that feel too large even for their sleek mirrorless cameras.
At just 750g and 80.4 x 122.5mm, the Canon RF RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM is an ideal companion lens for the Canon EOS RP – giving the smaller of the company's full-frame mirrorless offerings an equally compact go-anywhere, shoot-anything companion lens.
It's the first 10x optical zoom that Canon has produced in a long time, the last one being the EF 35-350mm lens for film cameras.
Ultra compact and lightweight, the RF 24-240mm has been designed with the svelte Canon EOS RP in mind (Image credit: Future)
The RF 24-240mm features powerful 5-stop image stabilization, which makes it an absolute breeze to shoot at the long end even in challenging lighting conditions. And the latest Nano USM technology offers quick, quiet autofocus that's equally adept at shooting stills or video.
While it’s never going to be a macro lens, it does feature a versatile minimum focusing distance for an optic of this type. At the wide end you can focus down to 0.5m / 1.64ft, and at down to 0.78m / 2.56ft at the telephoto end.
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The lens is comfortable to hold and use, with a well barreled zoom ring and the patented RF control ring being switchable between focus and custom settings at the flick of a switch. The control ring is de-clicked, as it is on all non-L series RF lenses, making this a great out-of-the-box option for filming video.
The Canon RF 24-240 f/4-6.3 IS USM will be available from September with a retail price of £899.99 / $900. It will also be bundled with the Canon EOS RP for £1,999.99 / $2200, which offers a saving of around £300. Sadly the EW-78F lens hood is not included, and will cost an additional £34.99 / $40.
The editor of Digital Camera World, James has 21 years experience as a journalist and started working in the photographic industry in 2014 (as an assistant to Damian McGillicuddy, who succeeded David Bailey as Principal Photographer for Olympus). In this time he shot for clients like Aston Martin Racing, Elinchrom and L'Oréal, in addition to shooting campaigns and product testing for Olympus, and providing training for professionals. This has led him to being a go-to expert for camera and lens reviews, photo and lighting tutorials, as well as industry news, rumors and analysis for publications like Digital Camera Magazine, PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, Digital Photographer and Professional Imagemaker, as well as hosting workshops and talks at The Photography Show. He also serves as a judge for the Red Bull Illume Photo Contest. An Olympus and Canon shooter, he has a wealth of knowledge on cameras of all makes – and a fondness for vintage lenses and instant cameras.
