Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-03-14)

subscribe 0330 333 1113I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI 14 March 2020 49

LENS TEST T estbench

All-in-onezoomshavetheirbenefits.Michael

TophamdiscoversifCanon’sexampleforits

EOSRseriesisagoodonewithagruellingtest

I

twasaroundthistimelastyearthat

Canonrevealedplansto strengthenits

lineupof fourlensesthatwereinitially

releasedfortheEOSR systemby

addingsixlensesthatwouldarriveoverthe

courseof 2019.Oneof thesesixwastheRF

24-240mmF4-6.3IS USM– anoptically-

stabilised10xsuperzoomthataddressesone

concernsurroundingthesystem,namelythe

unavailabilityof anall-in-onelens.

Thebenefit of a zoomliketheonewe’re

lookingat in thisreviewis thatit coversmost

basesfortripsawaywhenspacemightbe

limitedoryouwanttotravellightandtakeonly

onelenswithyou.Wideenoughtocapture

stunning landscapes and long enough to pick

outsportsorwildlifesubjects,it’scurrentlythe

longestandmostversatilezoomCanonhas

madesinceenteringthemirrorlessmarket.

Beforeanalysingitsopticalperformancelets

takea closerlook at its key features.

Features

TheRF24-240mmF4-6.3IS USMis

compatiblewithCanon’sEOSR andEOSRP

full-framemirrorlesscameras.Aswellasbeing

soldonitsown,it’savailableaspartof a bundle

withtheEOSRP(£1,649),butnottheEOSR.

This,combinedwiththefactit’snotanL-series

lens,emphasisesthatCanonis targetingit at

amateursandenthusiastswhoalready own, or

who are considering, the EOS RP.

Canon RF

24-240mm

F4-6.3 IS USM

Fora travelzoomtobesuccessful,size,

portabilityandweightareultimatelykey.The

RF24-240mmF4-6.3IS USMhasa thinner

barrelthanmanyof theL-serieslensesCanon

hasreleasedintoitsRFlineup.Witha diameter

of 80.4mm,a retractedlengthof 122.5mm

andweighinga respectable750g,it balances

nicelyandis wellproportionedwithCanon’s

EOSR modelsforwhichit’sdesigned.

Internally,thelensfeaturesanoptical

constructionthatconsistsof 21elementsin 15

groups,withsevendiaphragmblades.Tooffset

handshakeandpreventhandheldimagesat

telephotolengthsbeingsusceptibletoblur,

Canonhasequippedthelenswitha highly

effectivefive-stopimagestabiliser– an

essentialfeaturegiventhatnoavailableEOSR

modelat thetimeof writingfeaturesin-body

imagestabilisation(IBIS).Thelensdoesn’t

benefit fromCanon’slatestelectronicfloating

focuscontrolmechanismthatwe’veseen

recentlyin theRF70-200mmF2.8LIS USM,

butit stillpromisesfastfocusingwithits

near-silentsingleNanoUltrasonic(USM)motor.

In contrasttoexistingRFlenses,which

include an additional click-stopped

Thezoomwasusedat240mm

tocapturethissilhouetteofa

photographeronCamber

Sandsin EastSussex

Canon EOS R, 1/400sec at f/6.3, ISO 250