The 70-200mm focal length range is one of the most popular lens used by both professionals and leisure photographers around the world. It’s versatile and can be used in a number of photography genres including landscape photography. From events, portraiture, sports and wildlife photography, the 70-200mm lens is a “staple” lens for many photographers. For commercial photography work, the f/2.8 does make a difference, one of the reasons that made me changed from my EF70-200mm f/4 L USM to EF70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM a few years back.

The Canon 70-200mm L series lenses are really good, excellent quality and optics, for both the f/4 and f/2.8 series. One of my favourite lenses, the EF70-200mm f/4 was actually my second L lens and I used it for 10 years before upgrading to EF70-200mm f/2.8 for my commercial photography work. Canon has many years of professional experience and manufacturing quality in the L lenses, I am confident that this new RF70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM telephoto lens would continue on Canon’s 70-200mm L lenses legacy. 

With the announcement of the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens, I would have options to add this to my Canon EOS RP setup or continue using my EF70-200mm f/2.8L lens with the adaptor. How I would want to build my Canon EOS RP and RF lenses setup, it’s still a work in progress (and a lot to strategise and plan) since I have my existing Canon EOS-1DX Mark II DSLR inside my setup.

For those who have just started/concentrating on the Canon EOS R and RF lenses system, you have less headache and can start to welcome the new RF lenses being announced and arriving into the market. The new RF L lenses announcements showed Canon’s commitment to the Canon EOS R and RF lenses lineup, I am looking forward to more lenses on their RF lenses roadmap!

Let me share with you more information and details on the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM telephoto lens:

“The RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM completes Canon’s Zoom Trinity Lenses, the other two lenses  being the RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM and RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM,” said Edwin Teoh, Head of Marketing, Singapore Operations, Canon Singapore. “The shooting range of the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is incredibly diverse with its ability to shoot from still portraits to fast-moving sporting activities. Together with its lightweight and compact body, the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM truly makes for an ideal partner in producing high quality images.”

Reduction in Overall Length and Weight

Compared to the well-established EF70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM lens (the existing EF mount model), the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is approximately 27% shorter and 28% lighter. In shooting situations, the lens and camera body combination is about 30% lighter compared to the existing EF lens and DSLR body combination. This would significantly help to lighten the load for shooting over a long period of time.

By using an extending zoom type design, coupled with the large diameter mount, short back focus and effective use of aspherical lenses, there is a significant reduction in the total length of the lens when it is at its shortest.

With a length of approximately 170.2mm when stored with its lens and dust cap, the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM can be easily stored in a camera backpack, leaving room for other lenses or equipment.

New Optical Design with Electronic Floating Focus System

With the large diameter and short back focus of the new EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera system, this significantly increases the degree of freedom in lens design compared to conventional EF lenses, while maintaining high image quality.

The new optical design of the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM consists of 17 elements in 13 groups, with two aspherical lenses, four UD lenses and one super UD lens. For the very first time, Canon is using an electronic float focus control in the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM that drives the two lens groups individually. This feature makes the lens more compact and reduces the minimum focusing distance from 1.2m to 0.7m. With electronic floating focus control, ‘breathing’ due to focus movement can also be reduced so movies can be shot with a stable composition.

The RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is designed with Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC), a special coating that enables excellent anti-reflectivity. This coating effectively suppresses reflections in situations where the light source appears on the screen, reducing flaring and ghosting.

High Speed and Smooth AF for Still and Movie Shooting with Two Nano USMs

For the very first time on a Canon lens, two thumb sized ultrasonic motors known as Nano USM are included in the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and used for the floating focus control. By using two Nano USMs for lens driving, a high degree of quietness, power saving, and high-speed operation are achieved while retaining the compact size. This also achieves high-speed, high-precision still image AF and smooth movie AF in combination with the Dual Pixel CMOS AF in the EOS R series cameras.

The RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is equipped with an IS (lens-based image stabiliser) with a CIPA standard of five stops for still images. There are also three IS modes which are optimised for subject movement – IS mode 1 for still subjects, IS mode 2 for panning and IS mode 3 for irregular movement such as sports. 

Durable and Built to Last

As an L-series lens designed for professional use, the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM adopts unique extendable design that allows air to pass through but not dust and moisture. This ensures water and dust resistance which makes it an ideal companion even during unfavourable weather conditions.

The RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is the first RF lens designed with a white heat shield coating, which suppresses the rise in temperature, especially when it is used during hot weather. A lens

hood in the same colour as the RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is also included, with a sliding window for easy operation of polarising filters with the hood attached.

Canon has also newly developed a compact tripod mount that can be easily removed with a simple operation. The easy-to-read index allows users to quickly change the vertical and horizontal framing when using a tripod.

Pricing and Availability

Pricing and availability will be advised at a later date.

* Information and pictures courtesy of Canon Singapore and Ogilvy *

The post Canon Announced RF70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM telephoto zoom lens appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.

Canon announced RF15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM and RF24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM lenses, these two focal range lenses are part of the holy trinity lenses that we photographers know and relate to. With the addition of these two RF L lenses, this announcement displays and reinforces Canon’s commitment to the RF lenses lineup and the EOS R full frame mirrorless cameras. The holy trinity lenses combination, 15-35mm, 24-70mm and 70-200mm focal length range, are very versatile and capable for many photography genres. These two lenses are highly anticipated and eagerly awaited by photographers using the Canon EOS R system.

Personally for me, this would also be a time for serious planning and consideration. With my current Canon EOS RP camera, I have the RF24-105mm f/4 L IS USM lens and I can also use my EF lenses (EF17-40mm f/4 L USM, EF24-70mm f/4 L IS USM and EF70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM) for my Canon EOS 1DX Mark II. Investing in excellent quality lenses like the Canon L series, last you for a good decade at least (My EF17-40mm lens was probably bought in 2006 and I am still faithfully using it). Moving forward, I am planning to refresh some of my Canon L lenses, which lenses am I looking at and planning, is currently classified.

Let me share more information and details on Canon’s two new RF zoom trinity L lenses:

“The new RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM and RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM lenses, part of the Zoom Trinity, are much-anticipated zoom lenses added to complement the EOS RF lenses line-up and deliver on Canon’s commitment to building up the lens ecosystem for users of the EOS R and RP,” said Edwin Teoh, Head of Marketing, Singapore Operations, Canon Singapore. “As Canon’s first f/2.8 wide zoom lenses to be equipped with image stabilisation, coupled with features such as Nano USM for high-speed AF, these two lenses aim to deliver spectacular image quality that can adapt to the needs of photographers today.”

Both lenses cater to a wide variety of photography applications – the RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM’s versatile focal length range of 24-70mm makes it suitable for everyday use while the ultra-wide zoom range of the RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM makes it handy for landscapes and events such as weddings. Whether one is an advanced amateur or a seasoned professional photographer, they can rely on the high performance by Canon’s premium L-series lenses.

Edge-To-Edge Sharpness Throughout Zoom Range

The large diameter mount and the short back focus, which are common features of the RF mount, allows a large aperture lens to be placed near the imaging surface. This allows the advantage of achieving high image quality with gentle refraction of light rays and low aberrations, while retaining a more compact form. Users can expect lens aberrations to be significantly reduced with the arrangement of three glass-moulded aspherical lenses and three UD lenses on RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM and two UD lenses on RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM. The ASC coating on both lenses also helps to suppress flaring and ghosting, which could compromise image quality.

Unique to both RF lenses is the customisable control ring for exposure adjustment; ISO, shutter speed, aperture or exposure compensation. The tactile control ring allows a more precise control. The tiny yet powerful Nano USM focus drive system allows smooth, fast and quiet focusing. This is especially useful for wedding photographers shooting intimate moments such as vow exchanges or prayers in a place of worship.

Astounding Image Precision with IS

Both the RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM and RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM are equipped with the CIPA standard 5-stop IS, which gives users the ability to capture hand-held night scenes and dark indoor shots with minimal blurring. With the Dual Sensing IS feature for still images, the amount of shaking is detected from the camera’s CMOS sensor image information, in addition to the lens’ gyro sensor. By comparing and analysing these information, it is possible to detect and correct low-frequency shaking (slow shaking of the body due to breathing, etc.) that could not be detected on the lens side with high precision.

When recording movies or videos, Combination IS (the in-lens optical IS combined with the in-camera 5-axis electronic IS) enhances the effects of image stabilisation even further. The amount of shake that cannot be fully compensated for using lens IS alone is compensated further with in-camera electronic image stabilization.

Create Beautiful Bokeh with Bright Aperture of f/2.8

The RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM and RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM belong to Canon’s premium L-series range, denoted by the red line on the front barrel of the lenses. Both lenses feature water and dust resistant construction, so they can still perform in the event of sudden rainfall during outdoor shoots. The fluorine coating on the front and rear elements of both lenses helps to easily repel oil and water stains – which can be easily cleaned off with a dry cloth.

With the versatile day-to-day focal length range, the RF24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM can be used for various applications ranging from night scenes to portraits. The large and bright aperture enable users to shoot with less subject blurring at faster shutter speeds even in low light conditions, such as when photographing at night or indoors. For portrait photography, the f/2.8 aperture can create a beautiful bokeh effect, enhanced by the 9-blade circular diaphragm.

With the RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM, users can create images that utilise the ultrawide perspective of the lens and the blurring of the large f/2.8 aperture, expressing unique views of close up subjects. The extra one mm at the wide-angle end of the RF15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM (compared to the conventional 16mm) makes for dynamic photo expression with more emphasis on perspective and is especially useful for architecture and interior shots.

Pricing and Availability

Pricing and availability for the two lenses will be advised at a later date.

Check out my Canon EOS R articles that I published earlier: Key links and information on Canon EOS R versus Canon EOS RP

The Canon Mirrorless Journey from Canon EOS M to EOS R

Canon EOS RP review article

Canon EOS RP review photos on Flickr

Canon EOS R review article

Canon EOS R review photos on Flickr

* Information and pictures courtesy of Canon Singapore and Ogilvy *

The post Canon Announced Two New RF Zoom Trinity Lenses appeared first on TGH Photography and Travel Portal/Blog.