Photograph of shrub branches, created with Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM.
Martin Mojzis / Fine Art Photography and Graphic Art Atelier.

CANON RF 24 – 105 MM 1 : 4 L IS USM.

VERSATILE AND VERY GOOD.

☼ January 28, 2019.
Together with the new Canon EOS R camera, three L series lenses were introduced: ►RF 28 – 70 mm 1 : 2 L USM, ►RF 50 mm 1 : 1.2 L USM and RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. The first two we have already introduced, the last one we will be looking at today.

The lens design is a combination of metal and plastic parts. There are three rings, focal length set, focusing and with an optional function. There are two switches on the side. The first turns on and off the auto focus, the second image stabilization.

Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. The lens hood is locked by a small lock under the button, a nice thing. The lens and the hood are made in Japan.

Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. The lens is resistant to dust and splash water.

The lens, as is usual in the L series, have a high quality and solid look. The only surprise was waiting for me, when I want to remove it for the first time from the camera. I grasped it firmly with my fingers at a point, where is the gap between the bottom part with the Canon 24 - 105 mm text and the focal length adjustment ring, to rotate the lens. Suddenly I felt, the edge of the lower part is slightly soft and flexible. Not that I could break it in my fingers, but it was obvious. Here it would be good to add a bit more material inside for more strength.

Let's look at the technical specifications.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS, DIMENSIONS AND PRICE.

Focal length:

24 – 105 mm.

Minimum aperture:

4.

Maximum aperture:

22.

Optical design:

18 elements in 14 groups.

Angle of view:

84° to 23° 20'.

Minimum focus distance:

45 cm.

Diaphragm blades:

9, rounded.

Filter thread diameter:

77 mm.

Dustproof and splashproof:

Yes.

Dimensions (D x L):

83.5 x 107.3 mm.

Weight:

700 g.

Price:

1200 € or $1100.


And now some sample photographs. There was no filter on the lens. File type RAW (CR3), converted to DNG, no compression indeed. Processed in Adobe Lightroom 6.14, the basic sharpening 25/1/25/0 was left, which I have proven to be a reference when testing lenses.

The crops are 100% size at 150 dpi. So far you look close at the fragment of a more than one meter image, precisely with a longer side of 113 cm.

Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ NIGHT TRAIN. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/15 second, aperture f/4, ISO 800.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Excellent sharpness with fully opened lens.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ SNOW. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/640 second, aperture f/4, ISO 100.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Given the versatility is less speed. Often it does not matter, but it would be better to use another of the new lenses for this image, ►Canon RF 50 mm 1 : 1.2 L USM.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ LITTLE BRANCHES. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/8, ISO 640.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
The microcontrast, which does not even have to be ashamed of a fixed focal length lens. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM is also suitable for large-format Fine Art photography, which is not just the usual with variable focal length lens.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ LICHENS. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/4, ISO 125.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
A very specific yellow of these lichens can torture a lot of cameras, Canon EOS R (and EOS cameras generally) no. Depth of field is very shallow here.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ WHAT DOES NOT BELONG TO FOREST. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 70 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/4, ISO 125.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Sharpness, contrast, microcontrast and color transfer are excellent, not the fact of photography. Due to the planned longer trip, I could not get the garbage dumped here by anyone whoever, take and throw away, so I just took the bowl from the tree trunk a little further.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ YEARS AND CENTURIES. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/8, ISO 500.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
What to add ... all excellent. For photographic journeys in nature I can Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM highly recommend.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ DECEMBER. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/4, ISO 160.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
The sharpness of the fully-open lens is not as incredibly keen as with ►Canon RF 50 mm 1 : 1.2 L USM, however it is not too much left.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ MONUMENTS OF SILLINESS. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/8, ISO 1000.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
As I have written above - technically excellent, content not. Protected landscape area Cesky kras ... shame.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ A NEST. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/200 second, aperture f/4, ISO 100.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
The autofocus would be tortured here, so I took advantage of excellent manual focus, when the viewfinder magnified the image so much, that we can comfortably focus without turning on the focus peaking. How exact and good it is, you can see on perfectly sharp crop.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ DECEMBER LANDSCAPE. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/60 second, aperture f/13, ISO 100.
Second, third and fourth photographs are crops from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Here I was interested in, how sharp the distant peaks would be, so I did not focus hyperfocally, but at the back of the field in the foreground. The cutouts are therefore from the top third of the image, the left corner, the center and the right corner. Sometimes the Sun shone between the clouds and the illuminated places began to warm up immediately, which was accompanied by mild and even visible air vibrations (seeing). This is also attributed to the softening of the sharpness in the upper right corner of the picture.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ IN THE STATION AT DUSK. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 24 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/4, ISO 2000.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Excellent sharpness and contrast.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ NIGHT EXPRESS. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 24 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/4, ISO 2000.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Very good.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ REFLECTORS. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 105 mm, exposure time 1/100 second, aperture f/4, ISO 800.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Even intense industrial light sources are not a problem for this lens. On the third photograph, an exposure has been pushed +2 EV in Adobe Lightroom to reveal ev. reflections and veils. But there are none.


Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM. ↑ WINTER RAILWAY STATION. Canon EOS R, lens Canon RF 24 – 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM, focal length 24 mm, exposure time 1/15 second, aperture f/4, ISO 640.
Second photograph is crop from 100% size at 150 dpi.
Image stabilisation is excellent here, exposure time 1/15 handheld is not a problem therefore.


After reviewing the photographs, you can easily predict, that the conclusion will be very brief and simple. Canon RF 24 - 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM lens is exceptionally good. It is a totally versatile tool, that can handle both landscape and still life, product photography, reportage ... Effective image stabilization and the ability to use a focal length of 105 mm effectively counterbalance relatively low speed. Reward for it is outstanding sharpness, contrast and microcontrast. Filter thread 77 mm, the most common professional diameter, dust- and splash proof construction. If you are looking for one lens for all occasions, I can Canon RF 24 - 105 mm 1 : 4 L IS USM definitely recommend.

Finally, I would like to point out, that this article is no way supported or influenced by Canon or any other company.

© Martin Mojzis, 2019.
Photographies: © Martin Mojzis, 2018.
Diagram of sealing elements: © Canon Inc.

►To the beginning of the article.
►Overview of all articles.
►Homepage.
►Site Map.