Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS Review (best standard zoom tested so far, Optical Limits)

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS review
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Here is a Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS review. The Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS is one of the “holy trinity” lenses for the Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system.

The experts at Optical Limits (formerly known as photozone.de) posted their full Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS review.

From their conclusion:

The Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 USM L IS is the best fast standard zoom lenses that we tested to date. However, this doesn’t mean that it’s flawless – standard zoom lenses never are. In terms of resolution, the broader center zone is superbly sharp at all relevant aperture settings. The border quality is also on a very high level. The corner quality varies a bit though. Except for the sweet spot at 50mm, the corners are a tad soft at f/2.8. However, they have recovered nicely at f/5.6 latest. These days you tend to correct the secondary characteristic via image auto-correction. However, when analyzing the raw qualities, the results reveal a couple of issues. The vignetting is rather extreme at 24mm f/2.8 for instance – and that’s despite the very large front element. Complex image distortions are also quite obvious at 24mm and there are fairly visible pincushion distortions at 70mm. Lateral CAs are quite moderate albeit not zilch. The quality of the bokeh is very good as far as general rendition is concerned but not ideal with respect to out-of-focus highlights.

Read the review at Optical Limits

More Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS review stuff is listed here.

Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS: [shopcountry 58389]

Key features and description after the break.

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Canon EOS Ra Review – A Mighty Fine Camera (and not just for astrophotography)

Canon EOS Ra review
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Here is a Canon EOS Ra review. The Canon EOS Ra is a special EOS R camera dedicated to astrophotography.

What sets the EOS Ra apart? The Canon EOS Ra has approximately four times the transmittance of hydrogen-alpha light (656 nm) as the EOS R (see the press release here). Photographs of subjects that reflect a lot of infrared light will therefore appear redder than they actually are.

The Phoblographer posted their full Canon EOS Ra review. From their conclusion:

The Canon EOS Ra is a mighty fine camera. The build quality is fantastic, overall image quality is excellent, the camera is weather-sealed, has a wonderful LCD and EVF, and the images that come from the camera during daytime use are great too.

[…] The Canon EOS Ra is a serious piece of kit. It has been designed for photographers who are passionate about astrophotography, more specifically, deep space photography. If you plan on getting a telescope to attach the EOS Ra to, or if you already own one and the required T-adapters and mounts, you will get the most out of it. If you are just going to do regular wide-angle astrophotography, though, you’re better off looking elsewhere because the specialized Ha filter will be lost on you.

Read the review at The Phoblographer

While the Canon EOS Ra is not the best tool to take pictures in daylight, it delivers “surprisingly great image quality when set to daytime white balance“.

More Canon EOS Ra review stuff is listed here.

Canon EOS Ra: [shopcountry 59313]

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS Review – Is “Defocus Smoothing” Worth The Money?

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2 DS Review
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Here is a Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS review. The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS features Canon’s “Defocus Smoothing” otpical technology (see video below to learn more about it).

Lens Rentals reviewed the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS. They liked the “incredible sharpness”, fast and accurate AF, the “Defocus Smoothing” technology, and obviously the high quality build quality of a Canon L lens. They didn’t like so much the price (who does?) and the fact you loss approximately 1.3 stops of light with Defocus Smoothing.

From their conclusion:

The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS left [the reviewer] conflicted. On one hand, its a really great lens with incredible sharpness. On the other hand, it’s an overpriced great lens with a gimmicky moniker. I love this lens and the images I was able to produce while using it, but I don’t think the Defocus Smoothing made the images any better or worse. For me personally, this lens has made me further my appreciation for the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L non-DS, as it shares the same level of sharpness without the $300 added to the cost.

Read the Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS review at Lens Rentals

More Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS review stuff is listed here.

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS: [shopcountry 60203]

Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L DS key features and description:

  • RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/1.2 to f/16
  • Defocus Smoothing Coating for Soft Bokeh
  • Blue Spectrum Refractive Optics Element
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Canon EOS-1D X Mark III Review: Real World AF Comparison With Sony a9 II

Canon EOS-1D X Mark III review
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Here is a Canon EOS-1D X Mark III review, comparing the AF tracking system with the Sony a9 II.

Jared Polin (aka FroKnowsPhoto) compared the AF tracking perfomance of the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III and the Sony a9 II.

The Canon EOS-1D X Mark III manual is online at Canon USA, and you can download it here.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark III review stuff is listed here.

Canon EOS-1D X Mark III: [shopcountry 60380]

Sony a9 II: [shopcountry 61178]

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Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 Review (many strengths and a few shortcomings, D. Abbott)

Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 review
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Here is a Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 review. The Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 mounts natively on the Canon EOS R system.

Dustin Abbott posted an exhaustive Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 review. The Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 is a rather fast wide angle lens for the Canon EOS R full frame mirrorless system.

From Dustin Abbott’s conclusion:

[the Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 is] not perfect; the extreme corners aren’t super sharp until smaller apertures, and I didn’t feel that the best landscape performance came until F8.  Fortunately the wide focal length means that you can still effectively handhold in a lot of lighting conditions as you don’t need a particularly high shutter speed to avoid motion blur even without image stabilization in Canon bodies (thus far).  I found that even shooting at 1/30th to 1/50th of a second was sufficient to get reliably sharp results (unless I was particularly cold!), and that’s possible in most lighting conditions.  There’s a fair bit of barrel distortion, and definitely some vignette, though all of these are correctable in either camera or post.  There’s no question that you can produce some dynamic, intriguing images with this lens, and the fact that you can do it without breaking the bank ($699 USD MSRP) is just icing on the cake.  It’s also an intriguing option for video either on a gimbal (light weight and good autofocus help!) or for doing vlogging.  By the end of my review period, I had come full circle and appreciated this lens for its many strengths despite having a few shortcomings.  If you want a really wide angle of view and can’t afford the pricey Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8L IS, then the Samyang RF 14mm F2.8 might just be the lens for you.

I prefer to read reviews instead of watching videos so I truly recommend you head over to Dustin Abbott’s site, if not for else at least to see some beatiful pictures of a Canadian winter landscape. For those who prefer to watch reviews, the two videos below should suit.

Samyang lenses are also branded Rokinon, depending by geographic location.

Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8: [shopcountry 61158]

Samyang RF 14mm f/2.8 key features:

  • RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
  • Aperture Range: f/2.8 to f/22
  • Three Aspherical and Two ED Elements
  • Ultra Multi-Coating
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