Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Teardown (complex beast with organized complexity)

Roger Cicala over at Lens Rentals tore down the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens for the EOS R full frame mirrorless system. This is the stuff nerd dreams are made off.

It seems Canon was (again) able to impress people with their completely new lens design. There have been discussions and speculations about Canon RF lenses compared to Canon EF lenses (have a look here). Once more the people at Lens Rentals prove that RF mount lenses have an entirely new design, and are in every meaning impressive.

The Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L is a complex beast, but you get a quick feel for it being organized complexity, and it’s actually a much simpler layout than those other lenses. Some of that is from the improved optical design; there’s less glass floating around. Some of it is the use of linear focusing motors.

[…] This lens was a new design from the ground up. There’s no ‘that’s the way we’ve always done it’ holdovers. That’s a lot more work for the designers, but the result is a beautifully engineered, fully modern lens. It’s clean, functional, and straightforward.

[…] It’s obviously very robustly engineered from a mechanical standpoint. The internal composites are strong as hell. There are double cams, rods, and posts everywhere. There’s no play in any moving parts. We can’t imagine there will ever be play in the moving parts unless you run over it with a truck. 

See the whole teardown at Lens Rentals.

More RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS coverage is listed here

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

KEY FEATURES

• RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
• Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22
• One Super UD Element, One UD Element
• Two Aspherical Elements

Offering versatility and long reach in a notably sleek form factor, the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is a flexible telephoto zoom characterized by its bright design and advanced optics. The constant f/2.8 maximum aperture suits working in difficult lighting conditions and also enables greater control over depth of field. A sophisticated optical design comprises a series of specialized elements, which help to suppress a variety of aberrations throughout the zoom range for well-controlled imagery. An Air Sphere Coating has also been applied to suppress flare and ghosting when working in strong lighting conditions.

Balancing the distinguished optical assets is the Dual Nano USM focus system, which delivers fast, nearly silent autofocus performance with full-time manual focus override. An Image Stabilizer also compensates for up to five stops of camera shake to help produce sharper handheld shots in difficult lighting conditions. A unique Control Ring is also integrated into the lens design for intuitive control over exposure settings from the lens itself. Additionally, this 70-200mm is weather-sealed and has a fluorine coating to protect the front and rear elements.Versatile telephoto zoom lens is designed for use with full-frame Canon RF-mount mirrorless cameras.Bright f/2.8 constant maximum aperture maintains consistent illumination throughout the zoom range and suits working in low-light conditions as well as affords increased control over depth of field for working with selective focus techniques.One UD (Ultra-Low Dispersion) element and one Super UD element help to minimize chromatic aberrations and color fringing in order to provide greater clarity and color accuracy.Two aspherical elements are used to correct spherical aberrations and distortion for improved sharpness and accurate rendering.An Air Sphere Coating (ASC) has been applied to lens elements to reduce backlit flaring and ghosting for maintained light transmission and high contrast in strong lighting conditions.An Optical Image Stabilizer helps to minimize the appearance of camera shake by five stops to better enable working in low-light conditions and with slower shutter speeds. Three distinct IS modes are available: standard single-shot mode, a panning-optimized mode, and a mode that only activates the Image Stabilizer during the exposure.Dual Nano USM system utilizes both a ring type USM and an STM mechanism to realize quick and accurate focusing that is also smooth and nearly silent to suit both photography and video applications. This focusing system also affords full-time manual focus control when working in the one-shot AF mode.Configurable Control Ring can be used to adjust a variety of exposure settings, including aperture, ISO, and exposure compensation.Protective fluorine coating has been applied to the front and rear element to resist fingerprints and smudges and to make cleaning these elements significantly easier.As a member of the esteemed L-series, this lens has a weather-resistant design that protects against dust and moisture to enable its use in inclement conditions.Rounded nine-blade diaphragm contributes to a pleasing bokeh quality.Removable rotating tripod collar is included and benefits working with the lens atop a tripod or monopod.