Photo Plus - UK (2020-04)

The Canon Magazine 113

BUDGET TELEPHOTO ZOOMS

FEATURES

VERDICT

01

A fluorine coating is

applied to the front

element to repel

grease and moisture.

02

The outer barrel

is made from

magnesium alloy.

03

Switches are on

hand for dual-mode

stabilization, AF/MF

with a Limit option,

and zoom lock.

04

The optional tripod

mounting ring costs

around £109/$129.

05

There are weather-

seals here, including

a rubber ring on the

mounting plate.

FEATURES

BUILD & HANDLING

PERFORMANCE

VALUE

OVERALL

part from the general-purpose RF 24-240mm

f/4L IS USM ‘superzoom’ (£845/$899),

there’s currently only one tele zoom lens

for EOS R cameras. It comes in the compact shape

of the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM which,

at 89.9x146mm and 1070g is small and light for a

70-200mm f/2.8. It’s also rare for this class of lens in

featuring an extending inner barrel, rather than having

a fixed physical length. Even so, it’s no ‘budget option’,

with a hefty price tag of £2699/$2699.

For EOS R and EOS RPs, where you’re likely to be

looking for compact and reasonably priced lenses

that are a good physical and financial match for the

camera, one of the full-frame compatible lenses here

would be a good fit, along with an EF-EOS R adapter.

EOS R

SYSTEM

OPTIONS

There’s now a telephoto

lens for EOS R series

cameras but it’s hardly a

budget option

A

TAMRON 100-400mm

f/4.5-6.3 DI VC USD £699/$799

If you feel that bigger is better, this will be the preferable

option from Tamron’s two of ferings

third heavier and larger than

Tamron’s 70-300mm lens on

test, this lens goes toe-to-toe

with Sigma’s 100-400mm.

It’s almost identical in terms of

zoom and aperture, but the

Tamron focuses closer at 1.5m,

with a slightly larger 0.28x max

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have ring-type ultrasonic AF

systems and four-stop stabilizers,

with switchable panning modes.

Whereas the Sigma has a

three-position AF limiter switch for

locking out the short or long end of

the range, the Tamron has a single

‘Limit’ position on the AF/MF focus

mode switch. When engaged, this

can limit the AF range on one side

of the current focus distance

position or the other. As with the

Sigma, an optional USB docking

station is available, this time in the

shape of Tamron’s TAP-in Console.

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applied, but the Tamron lacks extra

Custom modes available via a

physical switch on the lens barrel.

Build quality feels sturdy and

robust, and the Tamron features

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coating on its front element. The

optical path includes an LD (Low

Dispersion) element and nano-

structure coatings to minimize

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Sigma, an optional tripod mount

ring is available for this lens, which

improves balance when using a

tripod or monopod.

Performance

Solid performance in all areas

ranges from fast AF and effective

stabilization to impressive centre-

sharpness throughout the zoom

range, even when shooting wide-

open. But corner-sharpness drops

off a bit at the short end.

A

2500

2500

2000

2000

1500

1500

1000

1000

500

500

C

e

n

tr

e

E

d

g

e

f/4

f/4

f/2.8

f/2.8

f/5.6

f/5.6

f/8

f/8

f/11

f/11

f/32

f/32

f/22

f/22

f/16

f/16

Short Mid Long

SHARPNESS

It’s remarkably compact and lightweight for

70-200mm f/2.8 lens but the new RF zoom has a

heavyweight price tag