Photo Plus - UK (2019-12)

The Canon Magazine 101

CANON RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM

FEATURES

VERDICT

The RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM combines

focusing, decent sharpness in the frame

and no visible distortion. With its fast, f/2.8

aperture and 5-stop IS, it’s one of the three

lenses a pro will look for in their system.

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

PERFORMANCE

VALUE

OVERALL

A very good and consistent performance

overall, but does dip at the 24mm mark

Color fringing levels are low, which is

pleasing to see in an ultra-wide zoom

Minute distortion at 15mm changes to

barely visible pincushion at 24mm

At its shortest 15mm focal length, the Canon RF 15-35mm gives an ultra-wide
angle of view, and with very little distortion or other aberrations

At 35mm, the RF 15-35mm becomes a semi-wide-angle lens ideal for all kinds of
subjects – from buildings to landscapes and portraits – it’s a very useful focal range

SHARPNESS

2500

2500

1500

1500

1000

1000

500

500

C

e

n

tr

e

f/5.6-6.3

f/5.6-6.3

f/4

f/4

f/8

f/8

f/11

f/11

f/16

f/16

f/22

f/22

2500

2500

2000

2000

E

d

g

e

15mm 24mm 28mm 35mm

0

15mm 24mm 28mm 35mm

0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3

FRINGING (AT EDGE)

f/2.8

f/4

f22

f/16

f/11

f/8

f/5.6

–3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3

DISTORTION

35mm

28mm

24mm

15mm

01

At 15-35mm, this

lens is 1mm wider

than the classic

Canon EF 16-35mm

DSLR lens.

02

This is a big lens

when it’s fitted to

the EOS R, and

slightly unwieldy.

03

The in-built 5-stop

image stabilizer is

useful for low-light

interiors.

04

The red ring

indicates this is

one of Canon’s

weatherproof

L-series lenses.

05

There’s no distance

scale, but you do

see manual focus

distances in the

viewfinder.

06

Inside, Canon’s

Nano USM

autofocus drive is

designed for power

and smoothness.

In general, the RF produces

reliable edge to edge visual

sharpness across its focal range.

Our lab tests are more pernickety,

though, and reveal lower resolution

at the edges of the frame than in the

centre. You’d accept that readily

enough in a lower-cost consumer

lens, but it’s a disappointment here,

especially given this len’s price (the

EF 16-35mm f/2.8 is similar in its

characteristics, but cheaper to buy).

Impressively, there appears to be

no distortion even when shooting at

15mm. This looks like an real

optical coup and, unlike the Canon

RF 24-240mm superzoom we’ve

tested, the RF 15-35mm doesn’t to

rely on digital corrections.

architecture photographers – but

it’ll also prove useful to events and

wedding shooters, who invariably

require a lot of extra width when

shooting in cramped spots where

longer lenses just can’t do the job.

The RF 15-35mm is every inch as

capable as the EF 16-35mm before it

• more so, in fact, given the slightly
  wider focal length.
  Canon quotes up to 5-stops of
  shake compensation, though you’d
  be unwise to rely on it. We got one
  sharp indoor shot at an ace 1 sec
  exposure, plus a few more which
  weren’t, and while 1/4 sec seemed
  to produce images sharp in the
  centre, many had some visible
  rotational movement at the edges.