Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Lens Overview

The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM lens is a professional zoom lens that gives you exceptional image quality and versatility for portrait, sports, wildlife and event photography. With its fast f/2.8 maximum aperture maintained throughout the zoom range, this lens lets in a lot of light, enabling shooting in lower light conditions and allowing for shallow depth-of-field effects that beautifully blur backgrounds to make your subject stand out. The optical stabilisation counters camera shake to allow sharp handheld shots at slower shutter speeds.

As a photographer, having a 70-200mm zoom lens like this in your camera bag straight away gives you so much creative flexibility. At the 70mm wide angle, you can capture environmental shots of events, groups of people or animals in landscapes to tell a story. Zooming in towards the 200mm telephoto end allows you to isolate subjects for attractive portraits or pick out and freeze distant fast action whether it’s people or wildlife. This makes the 70-200mm zoom range perfect for many types of photography.

With its fast, accurate autofocus motor, this Canon lens instantly locks in sharp focus on subjects even when zooming from 70mm to 200mm, so you nail precisely focused shots of moving subjects. For static scenes, the superior Canon optics and lenses give corner-to-corner image sharpness for stunningly detailed, crisp photos that look amazingly printed large. Having this one high-quality zoom lens that handles such a variety of shots so well means less need to change lenses in the field, cutting down on hassle and the potential for dust getting on the camera sensor when swapping lenses.

So if seeking your first professional-grade lens as an aspiring portrait, events or wildlife photographer, the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 offers you tremendous versatility in one robust, weather-sealed lens designed for years of reliable service. It enables achieving top-level image quality across common focal lengths in an f/2.8 zoom perfect for available light photography. This could be the ideal first investment lens to add to your camera bag.

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Key Features:

• F/2.8 maximum aperture throughout the zoom range
• Optical image stabilisation up to 5 stops
• Ring-type ultrasonic autofocus motor
• Weather-sealed, dust/moisture resistant
• Fluorine coating on the front lens element
• Programmable control ring
• Dual Nano USM autofocus system
• Air Sphere Coating (ASC)
• Compatible with RF mount cameras

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM User Benefits:

• Shoot in low light situations without flash
• Capture sharper handheld shots and video
• Fast, near-silent autofocus performance
• Rugged, reliable construction for any environment
• Repels oil and water for easy cleaning
• Customisable control of camera settings
• Smooth AF for stills and fast AF for video
• Reduced lens flare and ghosting
• Works seamlessly with EOS R cameras
• Achieve beautifully blurred backgrounds
• Freeze action with fast shutter speeds

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Features In detail

Constant f/2.8 Aperture

The Canon RF 70-200mm lens has an ultra-wide f/2.8 maximum aperture that remains constant across the entire zoom range, from 70mm through to 200mm. This very fast aperture allows more light into the camera, enabling photographers to shoot handheld in low-light situations without needing to use flash. The f/2.8 aperture also enables shallow depth of field effects, beautifully blurring backgrounds to make subjects stand out in portraits, sports and wildlife photos. This gives images an enhanced professional, artistic look.

5-stop Optical Image Stabilisation

To allow sharp handheld shooting, this Canon L-series zoom lens incorporates expertly designed optical image stabilisation that provides up to 5 stops of shake correction. This greatly reduces image blur caused by slight inadvertent camera movements when shooting stills or video. Photographers can capture crisp, clear handheld shots at slow shutter speeds usually requiring a tripod, expanding creative options for low-light venues and fast-paced environments where tripods are impractical.

Ultrasonic Focus Motor

The Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8 employs a high-speed ring-type ultrasonic autofocus motor to deliver fast, precise and quiet autofocus. This provides photographers superior AF performance for tack sharp focus on subjects even when zooming rapidly from 70mm to 200mm focal lengths. As an ultrasonic motor, autofocus is virtually silent, which is particularly useful when shooting video. This makes the 70-200mm lens perfect for events, weddings and wildlife photography.

Weather-Sealed Construction

This L-series Canon zoom lens has a rugged, weather-sealed construction designed to withstand dust, moisture and temperatures down to -10°C. The mounting gasket, seals, rings and switches minimise the effects of dust and water splashes, providing reliable performance even in challenging outdoor conditions and professional use cases. This makes the lens ideal for sports, wildlife and landscape photographers.

Programmable Control Ring

The RF 70-200mm lens features a customisable control ring that photographers can program to adjust a variety of camera settings, including shutter speed, aperture, ISO and exposure compensation. This provides an efficient way to quickly fine-tune settings to achieve desired effects without taking the eye off the viewfinder or hand off the lens. From adjusting exposure settings to controlling depth of field or motion blur effects, it expands creative options.

Fluorine Coating

Canon’s anti-smear fluorine coating technology is applied to the exposed front and rear lens surfaces. This oil and water-repellent coating minimises dirt, smears and fingerprints by making it easier to wipe off dust, moisture and fingerprints from the lens. This is particularly useful in outdoor conditions or when constantly handling the lens while shooting events, keeping the front element clear for the highest image quality.

Dual Nano USM Autofocus

This Canon zoom lens incorporates specialised Dual Nano USM autofocus drive units designed for the smooth stable AF needed for still photography shots, while still offering the speed and responsiveness required for 4K video recording. This provides reliable, precise AF in either situation. For video, the Nano USM direct drive means no gears or screws for enhanced focus stability and accuracy.

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Lens Compatibility

The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Lens is compatible with the following Canon EOS R series mirrorless cameras:

• EOS R
• EOS RP
• EOS R5
• EOS R6
• EOS R3
• EOS R5 C
• EOS R7
• EOS R8
• EOS R10
• EOS R100
• EOS R50
• EOS R6 Mark II

Photography Styles For The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Lens

• Portrait Photography – Classic 85-135mm portrait focal length range. Beautiful background blur isolates subjects and fast f/2.8 aperture captures natural light images without flash.
• Sports Photography – Swift autofocus tracks action and 200mm reach isolates athletes on the field. A shallow depth of field adds a striking effect. f/2.8 facilitates indoor events without strobes.
• Wildlife Photography – Swift, silent AF suits shy creatures. 200mm zoom range to isolate subjects like birds in trees or safari wildlife scenes. Rugged build for outdoor use.
• Event Photography – Versatile focal lengths work for groups to podium speakers. Low light capable f/2.8 aperture shoots wedding receptions or functions without flash. Quiet operation.
• Landscape Photography – 70mm wide-angle coverage for sweeping scenic vistas. Superior optics and 5-stop stabilisation yield super sharp images from dawn to dusk out in nature.
• Video Production – Optical stabilisation smoothens handheld footage. Near silent ultrasonic autofocus retains focus gracefully between clips without introducing sound.

With its versatile 70-200mm telephoto zoom range, fast constant aperture, effective stabilisation, weather sealing, customisable controls and lightning-quick yet quiet focusing capabilities, the RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM is a workhorse lens suited to portraiture, events, sports, wildlife and multimedia image-makers.

What We Think The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Lens Review

With its robust weather-sealed design, fast f/2.8 constant aperture, highly effective stabilisation, rapid yet quiet ultrasonic focusing performance and excellent handling via its programmable control ring, we think the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM is one of the finest 70-200mm telephoto zooms on the market.

This versatile, well-built lens is perfectly suited for professional reportage, wedding, wildlife and sports photographers who need to capture high-quality images across a useful range, from environmental portraits to tightly cropped telephoto shots, in a lens designed for years of rigorous use.

Versatile, durable and optically impressive, the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM looks to be a benchmark telephoto zoom lens for the mirrorless camera world.

What’s In The Box?

• Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Lens
• Lens Hood ET-83F
• Lens case LP1424 drawstring soft case
• Lens Cap E-77 II
• Lens Dust Cap RF
• Tripod Mount Ring E (WIII)
• User Manual

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Sample Images

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM Specifications

Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM FAQ