Canon Stealth Adds RF24-105mm F4 L IS USM Firmware 2.0.7

[Askeladden]

One thing I have noticed with the 24-105 F4 L is that it used to be sold with a body at a substantial discount which made it available on the used market for quite cheap, but it seems Canon has stopped doing that which caused the used prices to go up. Just an observation of Canon's market strategy. I think they used to bundle the RF 24-105 F4 early on, but then stopped whereas in the EF era it was regularly available in bundle packs where you actually saved money compared to buying separately. As it is now you only get a measly $20 off when getting it as a bundle. Maybe this is to entice people to buy other types of glass as I suspect a lot of users were perfectly fine with using the 24-105 as their only lens.

 

[DocInfoSci]

I have no idea what reference you’re referring to or who the people are that you’ve discussed this with, but FTM is #2…by definition. That’s what ‘full time’ means – you can turn the ring and adjust the focus at any time, including during servo focusing. I've never heard the term you used, "Full time manual override focus," before...probably because it's redundant.

Maybe. But then with 400 million people in North America plus you on the East Coast and me on the West Coast we probably hang out with different crowds and have different needs for confirming activities.

In wondering how weird my crowd is I did some 5 second Googling to see what came up. Some top of the list hits:

• https://grokipedia.com/page/manual_focus_override
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manual_focus_override
• and discussions: https://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/11005/when-would-one-need-manual-focus-override

Not so weird, probably just a different era / location than you. And now you know should you bump into one of us at a seminar somewhere.

Note there is a difference between Lens Electronic MF and Electronic Full-Time MF. Most of my RF lenses have a dedicated AF/MF switch that sets the lens/camera to manual focus only. An "MF" indicator appears in the viewfinder, and the AF-ON button (which is how I autofocus the camera) does nothing. That's manual focus (MF), not full time manual focus (FTM).

Here’s how Canon describes FTM:
“When set to [Enabled], you can manually adjust the focus at any time with a specific lens mounted while the camera is on (including while Servo AF is active).”

And I very much appreciate the clarification from a dedicated RF guy. I stand educated!

Perhaps you need to enable the setting properly – it needs to be set to ‘Enable (actual size)’, the other settings restrict MF to One Shot not Servo. Also, note that the R, RP, R50 and R100 are absent from the list of FTM lenses so probably it’s not supported on those cameras. Also, the only lens you mention that supports FTM is the 16/2.8 (the 50/1.8 and 24-105/4-7.1 do not).

Possible, to be sure. Or my last serious check was a while ago with older firmware and what the store had at the moment. I very much should have checked again, but my EF stable has been holding its own just fine. Interesting that I had no dice with the 16 but you do, so I'll check the setting next time. Perhaps Canon will "fix" the other lenses as well? I see no need for any Canon lens to not have FTM.

But... now I know. I love my EF L prime collection... but I look at the VCM prime collection. And I'm starting to think... woah, Christmas is going to be expensive this year. What do I need to get my wife to keep the balance?!

I keep my R1 set to Enable (actual size), I just tried with the RF 24-105/2.8L Z that was on the camera and with servo focusing active (blue box in EVF), turning the focus ring shifted the focus. I also swapped on the RF 28/2.8 (which lacks a dedicated focus ring), and with the lens switch set to AF the FTM function behaves as expected, turning the lens ring changes the focus while servo focusing is active.

Cool. I appreciate the confirmation!

 

[David - Sydney]

One thing I have noticed with the 24-105 F4 L is that it used to be sold with a body at a substantial discount which made it available on the used market for quite cheap, but it seems Canon has stopped doing that which caused the used prices to go up. Just an observation of Canon's market strategy. I think they used to bundle the RF 24-105 F4 early on, but then stopped whereas in the EF era it was regularly available in bundle packs where you actually saved money compared to buying separately. As it is now you only get a measly $20 off when getting it as a bundle. Maybe this is to entice people to buy other types of glass as I suspect a lot of users were perfectly fine with using the 24-105 as their only lens.

The resellers used to split the bundle ie body and lens and hence sell them separately to make more money.
That is how I got my new EF24-105/4 ie it had no box. I didn't know better at the time.

 

[m4ndr4ke]

Also, note that the R, RP, R50 and R100 are absent from the list of FTM lenses so probably it’s not supported on those cameras. Also, the only lens you mention that supports FTM is the 16/2.8 (the 50/1.8 and 24-105/4-7.1 do not).

I really, really must be missing something

AFAIK, the RP, R100, and the 50 1.8 allow FTM.

The RP supports it (I still have the camera), and the R100 (I had it) has manual focus override permanently on without the possibility of disabling it in the camera body (it was actually annoying, I lost a few photographs for that reason with the RF 70-200 f/2.8 on the R100, since its focus ring turns so easily).


EDIT:

I keep my R1 set to Enable (actual size), I just tried with the RF 24-105/2.8L Z that was on the camera and with servo focusing active (blue box in EVF), turning the focus ring shifted the focus. I also swapped on the RF 28/2.8 (which lacks a dedicated focus ring), and with the lens switch set to AF the FTM function behaves as expected, turning the lens ring changes the focus while servo focusing is active.

Wait, do you mean performing manual focus while the camera is actually performing servo AF?
I don’t think I ever tried that, it seems like a contradiction to me, but I’d expect the camera to override the lens in such situation, since I’m pressing the AF button.
I remember some EF lenses with mechanical focusing rings (not necessarily Canon but also third parties) mentioning in their user manuals to avoid turning the rings while autofocus was being performed, so it kind of became a discipline to me.

 

[Exploreshootshare]

One thing I have noticed with the 24-105 F4 L is that it used to be sold with a body at a substantial discount which made it available on the used market for quite cheap, but it seems Canon has stopped doing that which caused the used prices to go up. Just an observation of Canon's market strategy. I think they used to bundle the RF 24-105 F4 early on, but then stopped whereas in the EF era it was regularly available in bundle packs where you actually saved money compared to buying separately. As it is now you only get a measly $20 off when getting it as a bundle. Maybe this is to entice people to buy other types of glass as I suspect a lot of users were perfectly fine with using the 24-105 as their only lens.

The RF 24-105mm F4 made a substantial price hike during the covid pandemic...
In 2019, it was sold with a suggested retail price of 1.199 € in Germany. As a kit bundle the price went down to 999 €. I luckily got an addition cash back of 100 € and 10% in-store discount so I actually paid 800 €. After Covid, the kit-bundle discount disappeared and the lens price peaked at 1.649 €. Today, the price is steady at 1.399 € (although some stores still list it at 1.499 € now only 1.399 €) and with every now and then there is a 200 € cash back putting it at 1.199 €.

Two things come to mind when thinking about the price of the 24-105mm F4:
1. I should have sold my copy for 1.200 € during the pandemic.
2. I wonder what long-term effects covid had on Canons pricing... It really seems the calculations were different in 2019, but maybe that was just a "entry bonus" to the RF mount.

 

[Del Paso]

Perhaps instead of griping, you could have looked into it…or asked. Most RF lenses have FTM focusing (a few previously had it added via firmware as was just done for the 24-105/4L).

On the other hand, if you were just looking for an excuse to not spend the money, maybe staying with griping was the right choice.

FYI, here’s the list of FTM-capable lenses:

Canon : Supplemental Information : Lenses Compatible with [Electronic full-time MF]

I have no idea what reference you’re referring to or who the people are that you’ve discussed this with, but FTM is #2…by definition. That’s what ‘full time’ means – you can turn the ring and adjust the focus at any time, including during servo focusing. I've never heard the term you used, "Full time manual override focus," before...probably because it's redundant.

Note there is a difference between Lens Electronic MF and Electronic Full-Time MF. Most of my RF lenses have a dedicated AF/MF switch that sets the lens/camera to manual focus only. An "MF" indicator appears in the viewfinder, and the AF-ON button (which is how I autofocus the camera) does nothing. That's manual focus (MF), not full time manual focus (FTM).

Here’s how Canon describes FTM:
“When set to [Enabled], you can manually adjust the focus at any time with a specific lens mounted while the camera is on (including while Servo AF is active).”

Perhaps you need to enable the setting properly – it needs to be set to ‘Enable (actual size)’, the other settings restrict MF to One Shot not Servo. Also, note that the R, RP, R50 and R100 are absent from the list of FTM lenses so probably it’s not supported on those cameras. Also, the only lens you mention that supports FTM is the 16/2.8 (the 50/1.8 and 24-105/4-7.1 do not).

I keep my R1 set to Enable (actual size), I just tried with the RF 24-105/2.8L Z that was on the camera and with servo focusing active (blue box in EVF), turning the focus ring shifted the focus. I also swapped on the RF 28/2.8 (which lacks a dedicated focus ring), and with the lens switch set to AF the FTM function behaves as expected, turning the lens ring changes the focus while servo focusing is active.

Merci beaucoup! I had forgotten to "enable" on one camera...That's why the 70-200 f/4 didn't focus manually when set on AF.