Lenses and Optics
Comparing Canon’s Best Mid-Range Zoom Lenses

With their introduction into mirrorless six years ago, Canon has had one of the most aggressive lens development periods in photographic history – averaging over six lenses each year to help fill out their RF series lens lineup. While there are still some holes in their lineup (most notably only recently getting an RF 35mm f/1.4L), there has also been some pretty dramatic overlap – most obviously in their 24ish-70ish lens lineup. So we figured it was time to look at Canon’s options available in the most popular zoom range and determine which lens is for what.
Of the lenses we’ll be looking at today, I’ve narrowed their lineup down to these lenses – Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS, Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS, Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L, and the Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8L IS USM Z. Despite the similar focal ranges, these lenses are pretty different in use and purpose, so before we get into the use case of each, lets look at a small table of their stats and what differentiates them from each other.
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM | Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM | Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 L USM | Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8 L IS USM Z | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Focal Length | 24-105mm | 24-70mm | 28-70mm | 24-105mm |
Angle of View | 84° to 23° | 84° to 34° | 75° to 34° | 84° to 23° |
Min. Focus Distance | 1.48' / 45 cm | 8.27" / 21 cm | 1.28' / 39 cm | 17.7" / 45 cm |
Aperture Range | f/4 to f/22 | f/2.8 to f/22 | f/2 to f/22 | f/2.8 to f/22 |
Optical Design | 18 Elements in 14 Groups | 21 Elements in 15 Groups | 19 Elements in 13 Groups | 23 Elements in 18 Groups |
Image Stabilization | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Filter Size | 77 mm | 82 mm | 95 mm | 82 mm |
Dimensions (ø x L) | 3.29 x 4.22" / 83.5 x 107.3 mm | 3.48 x 4.95" / 88.5 x 125.7 mm | 4.09 x 5.5" / 103.8 x 139.8 mm | 3.5 x 7.8" / 88.5 x 199 mm |
Weight | 1.54 lb / 700 g | 1.98 lb / 900 g | 3.15 lb / 1430 g | 2.9 lb / 1.3 kg |
Price | $1,299 | $2,099 | $2,799 | $2,999 |

So as you can see, the optical design of these lenses is pretty drastic from lens to lens, but their difference doesn’t just stop at optical design, but purpose too. So how this will be structured is I’m going to touch on each lens one at a time and discuss what its best use case might be, but before we do that, we can dive into the similarities, starting with their general image quality and color rendering. So to show those differences, I took placed a Canon R5 on a tripod, and mounted each lens individually, testing the top and bottom ends of each focal range, to give you a general idea of the focal range and depth of field of each. For consistency, I shot each of these images in the camera’s jpeg output, so that the color rendering would be true to life and accurate, as well as no adjustments to sharpness.


As you can see in all of the images (available to download in full resolution here), the color rendering and depth of field of each are very similar throughout all of the lenses. So with that in mind, what lens is best suited for what application? Well, let’s look at each lens one at a time.
Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS

The Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS is considered the kit lens for many of the professional R series cameras from Canon – meaning this lens will often get packaged together with the camera body at a discounted price. However, despite the most affordable price on this list, the Canon 24-105mm f/4 IS is an excellent lens and is best suited for event photography, and video productions that don’t require razor-thin depth of field.

Additionally, the 24-105mm f/4L IS is the cheapest of the four options, as well as having the smallest footprint overall (and largest focal range). While the f/4 might be a deal breaker for some of the more stubborn pros, this lens is an excellent value for anyone looking to cover this focal range.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS

The next on the list is another lens that has a long legacy transmitted over from the EF era of lenses, the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS. Designed as an alternative to the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS by offering an additional stop on the aperture, giving you a great lens that offers a slightly shorter depth of field – making it a perfect lens for event/portrait photography and a lens for low light conditions. These reasons are why a 24-7mm f/2.8 is in virtually every wedding photographer’s bag, and an excellent lens option for those who like the 24-105mm, but want something with that extra stop while keeping it lightweight and compact.

Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L

If you’re looking for the biggest and best lens available in this midrange focal range, look no further than the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L. At f/2, this lens is the fastest of the bunch, though it does have the shortest focal range as well. Along with that, this lens also has no IS system built into it (though an in-body stabilization system should still work well with this lens), and is the second most expensive of the bunch, but f/2 in a zoom lens is a rarity, and should give you the depth of field comparable to what you could expect from a prime lens. This lens is ideal for the portrait photographer who doesn’t mind the added weight (and massive front element) and needs something with a mix of versatility and speed.
Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8L IS USM

Finally, the list is down to the final and most recent option, the Canon RF 24-105mm f/2.8L IS USM. Of all the lenses on this list, this one has the size and shape of a smaller telephoto lens and even comes with a tripod mount to better distribute the weight. For this focal range, f/2.8 is an industry marvel, and easily the most overall versatile of the lenses on this list. For the use case, this lens would be best suited for wedding and event photographers who are willing to invest the extra funds to get a broad zoom range with an f/2.8 aperture. I fully expect this lens to get plenty of use in film productions as well.
Of these lenses, which one do you think is the best value? Canon’s lens lineup is plentiful, but still missing a lot of options in various focal lengths. What do you want to see next for the Canon RF lens system? Feel free to chime in below in the comments.
Related Reading
- How Your Camera’s Focus Bracketing System Works
- A Look at the Progression of the Canon Mirrorless Platform
- Top Rented Photo and Video Products of 2023
- The Secret of the Broken Element: A Canon RF 100-500mm f4.7-7.1 Teardown
Author: Lensrentals
Articles written by the entire editorial and technical staff at LensRentals.com. These articles are for when there is more than one author for the entire post, and are written as a community effort.-
KennyRedSocks
-
YS
-
Henry W.
-
Jalan