Canon RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 Review
Canon offers a good selection of mirrorless bodies at various price levels, giving new users a clear upgrade path as their skills develop. The full frame mirrorless cameras now have the option of a new low cost “kit zoom” in the new Canon RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 lens. It may be light, but that seems to be at the expense of the maximum aperture, and certainly f/6.3 at 50mm seems a very limiting feature. Of course overall there will always be trade-offs in features, so how does the new lens make up for its fairly limited maximum aperture? We pair it up with the full frame 24MP Canon R8 body and set out to find out.
Canon RF 24-50mm Handling and Features
The initial impression is of a fairly plastic looking lens, weighing in at a featherlight 210g. It is a retractable design and when fully retracted measures just 69.6mm x 58.0mm. When extended into use, it extends the furthest at a focal length of 24mm, where it increases the lens length to 85.0mm from the mount. It is chunky in appearance, very light but not particularly small.
Starting our tour of the lens at the front, the bayonet fit lenshood EW-63C is not included and is an optional extra. Using a dedicated lenshood is a far more efficient way that buying a screw fit one, so it remains a pity that Canon do not include one with their lower priced lenses. It may or may not affect performance, but it will help protect the front of the lens against impact damage. Within the bayonet fit for the hood is a conventional 58mm filter thread.
The slim lens control/focusing ring is multi-purpose and can be set to fulfill various functions apart from that of a manual focus ring. As default, a half press on the shutter release activates the ring and it can be used to adjust exposure compensation. There are various other control options available via the camera menus and these are shutter speed, aperture value, ISO, white balance and AF area selection. Skipping ahead slightly, there is a three way selector switch close to the rear of the lens that can set AF (control ring inert), Control (control ring operates as per default or set choice) and MF (control ring operates as manual focus ring). When MF is selected a distance scale appears in the viewfinder and on the monitor.
Further round the lens barrel a second switch selects stabiliser on or off. Stabilisation is rated at 4.5 stops for the lens alone or 7 stops when combined with IBIS (in body image stabilisation). Testing this morning for this photographer showed that 4 stops for lens alone is comfortably possible.
Minimum focus at 24mm is 0.30m, for a maximum magnification of 0.11x. At 50mm this becomes 0.35m, for a maximum magnification of 0.19x. AF is driven by an STM motor and is snappy, fast and accurate.
The zoom ring is clearly marked at 24mm, 28mm, 35mm and 50mm and a confirmation of the actual focal length appears in the camera EVF and monitor. This shows that the markings and the electronic display match up very precisely.
Optical construction is 8 elements in 8 groups, two of which are Aspherical Pmo (plastic moulded). The diaphragm has 7 blades. There is no Fluorine coat on the front element and no dust and moisture sealing. This is a pity as it does restrict slightly our activities in poor weather.
In terms of general handling the lens is hazard-free and is simple to use. If we forget to open the lens then a warning appears on screen and the lens won’t work until extended for use. The plastic bayonet mount is really slick in operation, fiting smoothly and showing absolutely no rotational play once locked into position. The biggest drawback would seem to be the small aperture and, especially if using aperture priority, the danger of ending up with very low shutter speeds and camera shake. To some degree this can be compensated for by upping the ISO and here the excellent low noise values of current cameras can be a real advantage.
Canon RF 24-50mm Performance
At 24mm, central sharpness is very good at f/4.5, excellent from f/5.6 to f/11 and very good at f/16 and f/22. The edges are very good from f/4.5 to f/8, good at f/11 and f/16 and just fair at f/22
At 35mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/5.6 to f/16 and very good at f/29. The edges are very good from f/5.6 to f/22, only dropping off to fair at f/29.
At 50mm, central sharpness is very good at f/6.3, excellent at f/8, very good from f/11 to f/22 and good at f/32. The edges are very good from f/6.3 to f/22 and fair at f/32.
This is a really great performance.
Canon RF 24-50mm F/4.5-6.3 IS STM MTF Charts
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How to read our MTF charts
The blue column represents readings from the centre of the picture frame at the various apertures and the green is from the edges.
For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon R8 using Imatest. Want to know more about how we review lenses?.
CA (Chromatic Aberration) is measured with any in-camera corrections switched off, so far as we can control anyway. Throughout the zoom range, CA values are very low indeed and there is no sign of colour fringing in the images shot.
Canon RF 24-50mm F/4.5-6.3 IS STM Chromatic Aberration Charts
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How to read our CA charts
Chromatic aberration (CA) is the lens’ inability to focus on the sensor or film all colours of visible light at the same point. Severe chromatic aberration gives a noticeable fringing or a halo effect around sharp edges within the picture. It can be cured in software.
Apochromatic lenses have special lens elements (aspheric, extra-low dispersion etc) to minimize the problem, hence they usually cost more.
For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon R8 using Imatest.
Distortion is also tamed, measuring -0.37% barrel at 24mm, +0.03% pincushion at 35mm and -0.06% barrel at 50mm. Figures like these indicate the lens is almost perfectly rectilinear, no doubt aided by built in corrections, and eminently suitable for architecture where straight lines need to be rendered as straight lines, even at the image edges.
Bokeh does not get much of a look in with such small apertures, but when seen is really quite smooth.
Flare is not a problem, despite the absence of a lenshood. Even with severe lighting results remain excellent and artefact-free.
Vignetting can be seen at 24mm, although this can be used creatively. It diminishes as we zoom in and is overall very reasonable for a zoom lens.
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| Aperture | 24mm | 35mm | 50mm |
| f/4.5 | -1.5 | – | |
| f/5.6 | -1.5 | -1.3 | |
| f/6.3 | -0.8 | ||
| f/8 | -1.5 | -1.3 | -0.8 |
| f/11 | -1.4 | -1.3 | -0.8 |
| f/16 | -1.4 | -1.2 | -0.8 |
| f/22 | -1.4 | -1.2 | -0.7 |
| f/29 | -0.8 | ||
| f/32 | -0.7 |
Canon RF 24-50mm F/4.5-6.3 IS STM Sample Photos
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Canon RF 24-50mm F/4.5-6.3 IS STM Aperture range
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Value For Money
The [AMUK]Canon RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3|canon+rf+24-50[/AMUK] lens is priced at £379.
It seems to be unique in the Canon range, the nearest lenses being not the same specification or very expensive L series optics.
- [AMUK]Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM|canon+rf+24-105mm[/AMUK], £479
- [AMUK]Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM|canon+rf+24mm[/AMUK], £719
- [AMUK]Canon RF 28mm f/2.8 STM|canon+rf+28mm[/AMUK], £344
- [AMUK]Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM|canon+rf+24-70mm[/AMUK], £2549
- [AMUK]Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM|canon+rf+24-105mm[/AMUK], £1389
Overall, the new lens seems good value for money, although some features are limited and many will prefer a faster (brighter) lens.
Canon RF 24-50mm Verdict
Canon are offering a light and inexpensive lens that has plenty to like about it. Sharpness is excellent, focusing is usefully close, AF is fast and accurate, manual focusing is easy and the IS system efficient. There is no supplied lenshood, and for the cost difference it would make I would argue that there easily could be. The absence of dust and moisture sealing is also a bit of a disadvantage. The biggest disadvantage though is the very meagre maximum aperture, and at f/6.3 this makes a very, very slow 50mm lens. It may be that we can increase the ISO without too much detriment, but it still denies the photographer the possibility of slim depth of field and beautiful bokeh for portraits.
It does depend on the use of course, and if taken on holiday to sunnier climes then many of those disadvantages become insignificant and we have a versatile, sharp and light kit lens that might suit general purpose shooting very well. Overall, whilst recognising some drawbacks, excellent performance and ease of use help to make this an ideal starter lens that will whet the appetite of the user for more Canon optics. On that basis it can be Recommended.
Canon RF 24-50mm Pros
- Excellent sharpness
- Low distortion
- Low CA
- Moderate vignetting
- Effective stabilisation
- Low flare
- Good price
Canon RF 24-50mm Cons
- Limited maximum aperture
- No dust or moisture sealing
- No lenshood supplied as standard
[REVIEW_FOOTER]R_features=4|R_handling=4.5|R_performance=4|R_value=4|R_overall=4|A_level=4|A_text= Recommended – A sharp, light and well priced standard zoom that performs well.|E_id=7960[/REVIEW_FOOTER]
Canon RF 24-50mm F/4.5-6.3 IS STM Specifications
| Manufacturer | Canon | |
| General | ||
| Lens Mounts |
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| Lens | ||
| Focal Length | 24mm – 50mm | |
| Angle of View | No Data | |
| Max Aperture | f/4.5 – f/6.3 | |
| Min Aperture | f/22 – f/32 | |
| Filter Size | 58mm | |
| Stabilised | Yes | |
| 35mm equivalent | 24mm – 50mm | |
| Internal focusing | Yes | |
| Maximum magnification | 0.19x | |
| Focusing | ||
| Min Focus | 30cm | |
| Construction | ||
| Blades | 7 | |
| Elements | 8 | |
| Groups | 8 | |
| Box Contents | ||
| Box Contents | Front and rear caps | |
| Dimensions | ||
| Weight | 210g | |
| Height | 58mm | |
Source: Photography News
Canon RF 24-50mm f/4.5-6.3 Review
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