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Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Review - Performance

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Performance

At 24mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/4 to f/11. Thereafter at f/16 and f/22 it is very good. The edges are very good at f/4, excellent from f/5.6 to f/8, very good from f/11 to f/16 and then tail off at f/22, although still can be described as good.

At 35mm, central sharpness is excellent from f/4 to f/8, very good from f/11 to f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/4 all the way through to f/16, reducing to good at at f/22.

At 70mm we have a very similar performance. The centre is excellent from f/4 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges are very good from f/4 to f/16 and good at f/22.

At 105mm, the centre is still performing well, being excellent from f/4 to f/11, very good at f/16 and good at f/22. The edges finally start to give way a little, being only fair at f/4, good at f/5.6 but perking up to very good at f/8 and f/11. Performance at f/16 and f/22 is good.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM 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.

The scale on the left side is an indication of actual image resolution as LW/PH and is described in detail above. The taller the column, the better the lens performance.

For this review, the lens was tested on a Canon EOS R using Imatest.

CA (Chromatic Aberration) is not a problem at the centre of the image, but at the edges it is clearly visible, especially on demanding subjects such as branches against bright sky. However, for the purposes of the review all in camera corrections are turned off so it is possible to correct various aberrations in camera or in other software.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM 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 EOS R using Imatest.

Distortion can also be corrected in software, but with such aids switched off we find 24mm shows -2.53% barrel distortion, clearly visible where straight lines are at the image edges. 35mm has +0.89% pincushion distortion, and then it's pincushion all the way, measuring +1.72% at 70mm and +1.96% at 105mm.

Bokeh is very pleasant, with commendably rounded highlights and smooth gradation in the out of focus areas.

Flare in extreme situations does have the effect of reducing contrast. However, the control of unwanted artefacts is excellent.

Vignetting at 24mm shows -2.4 stops of corner darkening at f/4, reducing to -1.9 stops at f/5.6 and then stabilising throughout the range at -1.6 stops.

At 35mm, f/4 to f/8 shows -1.6 stops and thereafter from f/11 to f/22 this levels out at -1.4 stops.

At 70mm we have th best vignetting figures, with -1.1 stops at f/4, -0.8 at f/5.6, -0.7 at f/8 and f/11 and -0.6 at f/16 and f/22.

At 105mm, we see -1.9 stops at f/4, -1.6 stops at f/5.6 and then -1.2 stops all the way though to f/22. Of course this darkening of the corners can be beneficial to some images, but if unwanted can be corrected in camera or in other software.

The IS (Image Stabilisation) system promises a 5 stop advantage. This figure proved on test to be absolutely correct. Images were still crisp 5 stops beyond what could be reasonably expected. At 6 stops the system lost it and we had camera shake. An excellent performance that matches the claims.

Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Sample Photos

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Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Other sample images

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Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Aperture range

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Comments

davetheo 5

3 Oct 2018 4:29PM

Like 0

I see that finally Canon have improved the strap mounting points. All the 5D's I've still got %d MkII and MkIV have a metal protruding slot for the strap on each side of the body. which is really naff. What I would really like is a metal ring holder to allow me to configure my own strap.

Chris_L 7 5.5k

4 Oct 2018 2:14PM

Like 0

Quote:When the shutter button is half depressed this dial will change the aperture setting. There are situations where this could prove to be very convenient, perhaps reducing the amount of vibration that would ensure should the usual main dial on the camera be used during video shooting. This dial is provided with very smooth click stops.
Josh I think that sounds a lot like a video / movie feature. Not because of less noise - though that is helpful, but because of smoother changes in exposure.