Here is the Canon RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Macro

slclick

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Dec 17, 2013
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From Roger Cicala's post on the Sigma 24-105

I generally let you know what my expectations are before I start, to hopefully let you know where my personal opinion affects things. The fact that I’m just posting tests of the Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art months after the lens was released tells you a lot. I’m not excited about testing 24-105mm lenses; it’s almost always ‘another one like the other ones.’

Don’t get me wrong; these are useful and popular zooms for a reason. I’ve owned several and used them a lot. The focal length makes them superb general purpose and walk-about lenses. But designing a zoom that goes from retrofocus to telephoto is a daunting task. My conclusion for almost every one of them has been “decent from 24mm to 70mm and usable past that if you need to.” I didn’t expect anything different from this lens, Art or not.
fwiw, my copy (sold) of the Siggy was much better (not marginally) than my previous 2 copies (also sold) of the Canon OG. Now, my current 24-105 is the Mk 2 EF and it is better than all of them. I know the reviews all say it's a very minor upgrade but it's a case of copy variance and YMMV as well. I love mine. I would never be deluded to think it would replace a proper wide angle prime or a short tele like the 100L. Please.....
 
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Ozarker

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Just make a sticker that puts "AF" over the "control", and "MF" over focus. Fixed!

Are you really a consumer of entry level consumer lenses when the same zoom range is available in a similar aperture in an L lens for $700 open box? Often, enthusiasts and pros "don't like" the design shoices that are ideally made for entry-level consumers.
en·thu·si·ast
/inˈTHo͞ozēˌast/

noun
  • 1.a person who is very interested in a particular activity or subject:"a sports car enthusiast"
"L" lenses just means somebody willing to spend a lot of money and/or with very high standards or taste. There can be enthusiasts at any level, including entry level. I think it is a little bit elitist to frame it otherwise. There are plenty of enthusiasts that cannot buy "L" lenses. There are also plenty who only buy used.
 
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Optics Patent

Former Nikon (Changes to R5 upon delivery)
Nov 6, 2019
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People who spend $1500 on a full-frame and lens kit are a lot more clued-in than you seem to think
They might only shoot JPEGs but they'll primarily be in Av and Tv modes.

Since we're both guessing out of total ignorance (which is what makes this fun) I'll assume that the professionals with actual market data are making these calls more wisely that you or I could.

My guess is that the green auto mode is the most popular for the entry level, and amateurs are less clued in than you might think.

I also guess that we may see sub $1000 FF kits before long. This lens on an RP successor might initially retail for $1299, but be $999 on black Friday. Could be a $749 body and $249 lens. Costco and Sams club kit box. 10% of those loss leader new customers buy a profitable lens in the next year.

I presume that like everything digital, the full frame sensors have come down in price, and the crop frame exists mostly to offer a lower cost segment. FF sensors might well serve that profitably by now.
 
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Optics Patent

Former Nikon (Changes to R5 upon delivery)
Nov 6, 2019
310
248
en·thu·si·ast
/inˈTHo͞ozēˌast/

noun
  • 1.a person who is very interested in a particular activity or subject:"a sports car enthusiast"
"L" lenses just means somebody willing to spend a lot of money and/or with very high standards or taste. There can be enthusiasts at any level, including entry level. I think it is a little bit elitist to frame it otherwise. There are plenty of enthusiasts that cannot buy "L" lenses. There are also plenty who only buy used.

I agree with all that. I intended to distinguish between the more knowledgeable buyers who tend buy the more expensive lenses and the entry level. Not everyone who can't afford an expensive equipment is unsophisticated, of course.

What will be interesting is that we have two virtually identical spec lenses for the same mount released at almost the same time. One L, one not. What will be the price premium for the L benefits?
 
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gruhl28

Canon 70D
Jul 26, 2013
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All the same ones that bought the very successful 6D.

It wouldn't surprise me if the R6* and this lens (or other kit lens) show up in Costco all over the US, to be snapped up by people who want a "pro" (looks like, to them, anyway) full-frame camera at a no-brainer kit price (think of the mostly-affluent Costco members). When the price of a full-frame camera isn't a huge leap from the cost of their latest iPhone, it seems more plausible, doesn't it?

*That is, if the R6 fills the RF equivalent slot as the 6D, as I suspect...but could be totally wrong.
I wonder how many novices bought the 6D. I don't have any data, but I would think most 6D's were bought by people moving up from APS-C who understand the benefits of FF and aren't novices. Or maybe even people who were waiting for an affordable full-frame camera to replace a film SLR. Or who had outgrown a compact camera. I've been doing photography for 40 years, never shoot in Program mode, can't begin to count how many books I've read, how many hours reading web sites, etc., definitely not a novice, but I'm still on APS-C, because I still can't justify the expense of moving to full-frame. I can afford it, but a 6D, R, RP are slower than an 80D, 6D has less focus-point coverage, 6D2 isn't much of an improvement over 80D in noise, etc. And then there's the weight and size issue.
 
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Jethro

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Good eye! Macro mag not listed, but 0.2m MFD would be a dramatic upgrade over other 24-105s. The RF and EF L 24-105s have a MFD of 0.45m.

Very good news for 24-105 fans. Possibly bad news if you love your EF 24-70 f/4L IS and its 0.7x max mag (like I do), as putting this feature into the non-L 24-105 might mean an RF 24-70 f/4L may not be coming.

- A
I'm one of those guys - but frankly an affordable and (fingers crossed) good quality 24-105 still sounds like a great compromise to me!
 
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May 11, 2017
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And an affordable f/4ish UWA zoom.

- A
This is where the word affordable may require some parsing. Compared to f2.8 zooms, f4 zooms seem sort of affordable at $1000 apiece, give or take, and Canon has the EF 16-35 f4L in that range, so a similar RF lens seems possible. All the FF zooms I can think of for significantly under $1000 initial selling price are variable aperture, except for the non IS EF 70-200L and the non IS EF 17-40L and both have been around for a while. Other than the 17-40, I can't think of any FF UWA less expensive than the EF 16-35 f4 IS. I traded my 17-40 in for a 16-35 f4 and have never regretted it. I doubt there will be an RF comparable to the 17-40. There might be an RF UWA variable aperture with IS but I can't remember any precedent for one.

So an affordableish f4ish RF zoom seems possible.
 
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I'm not an RF guy (yet) but can someone explain how to manually focus this lens? Not sure if the other RF zooms work the same way but it just looks like it has a zoom ring and the control ring. AF/MF switch reads "focus/control." Do you flip the switch and focus with the control ring? Doesn't that suck if your control ring is controlling something important like ISO?
At first, I also was intrigued by this configuration, but then I thought of the way I often use manual focus: iso is set, aperture is set, speed is set, but I'm having trouble focusing for any number of reasons. At that moment, I'll switch to manual focus and take the shot without having to change anything else.
 
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I agree with all that. I intended to distinguish between the more knowledgeable buyers who tend buy the more expensive lenses and the entry level. Not everyone who can't afford an expensive equipment is unsophisticated, of course.

What will be interesting is that we have two virtually identical spec lenses for the same mount released at almost the same time. One L, one not. What will be the price premium for the L benefits?
There's also a significant market of people who can easily afford the more expensive lenses, but buy the 'entry level' ones because they are small and light. I could buy all of the exotic new RF L lenses tomorrow and not notice the difference in my bank account, but my back would feel it when I'm hiking, and international travel with hand-luggage only would be completely impossible. I've picked up an RP and 24-240 as a compact travel kit to dip my toes in the water and am hoping at some point a 50/1.4 comes along that has good rendering and is no bigger than the old 50/1.4 USM. If some RF lenses come along that equal the EF 16-35/4 and 70-300L in optical performance but are noticeably more compact or lighter I'll probably pick those up, but I have no use for anything bigger than my existing lenses.
 
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You got it right. That’s how Canon will create the impetus to invest in L-series RF lenses.

I'm not an RF guy (yet) but can someone explain how to manually focus this lens? Not sure if the other RF zooms work the same way but it just looks like it has a zoom ring and the control ring. AF/MF switch reads "focus/control." Do you flip the switch and focus with the control ring? Doesn't that suck if your control ring is controlling something important like ISO?
 
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Feb 5, 2020
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I'm not an RF guy (yet) but can someone explain how to manually focus this lens? Not sure if the other RF zooms work the same way but it just looks like it has a zoom ring and the control ring. AF/MF switch reads "focus/control." Do you flip the switch and focus with the control ring? Doesn't that suck if your control ring is controlling something important like ISO?

The other thing worth pointing out. Just because the control ring is set to ISO, doesn’t mean that’s the only way to set ISO. The RP still has the M-Fn button next to the shutter that allows you to change what the dials control on the fly. And it can all be seen within the EVF.
 
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Starting off with RP + RF24-105mm f3.5-5.6 kit makes a compelling combination for novices stepping up. From green mode to the exposure triangle (Av/Tv) and maybe eventually trying manual focus over time for long exposure/night shots.

My story as someone who started as a novice (didn't we all!) and be a prosumer now...
200x Ixus then S90/95/100
2014 New 7D + EF24-105 f/4L and a second hand EF-S 10-22 later. Went with Canon as the Ixus/S series were Canon.
2016 New 5Diii and 16-35mm f4L after an insurance claim and second hand 70-200mm/100mm/8-15mm later
2019 Second hand 5Div was a bigger improvement than I thought it would be.

Stepping up to a new RF is close to a system change. The rumoured R5 specs + RF70-200mm will be painfully expensive (~USD7k) - especially upgrading to a new Ikelite underwater housing (+USD2k)! Keeping the EF16-35mm/8-15mm + CP adapter is a killer combination. My wife is pushing for a smaller system when travelling and it would exceed my skills/requirements for a loooong time to come. The RF100-500mm would be tempting though.

Not sure that I will keep my EF24-105mm though. Great all rounder but I am getting used to keeping the 16-35mm on the body and taking the 70-200 in the bag if needed. I have big hands and the ergonomics of the 5D is perfect (or perhaps R5+grip?) and the weight is no problem for me.
 
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The other thing worth pointing out. Just because the control ring is set to ISO, doesn’t mean that’s the only way to set ISO. The RP still has the M-Fn button next to the shutter that allows you to change what the dials control on the fly. And it can all be seen within the EVF.
and I believe the R can change the ISO using the touch bar
 
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