Full-Frame RF 24-240mm f4-6.3 lens thoughts

Hi, Ive just purchased a second hand RF 24-240 f4-6.3 lens. i have read various reviews and it seems ok for the price. Just out of interest, can i ask the forum members their opinion of it for those who have one or have used one.

Cliff.

I wrote this review at the beginning of the year after carrying it on a couple road trips.

For flexibility, range or an easy all day carry the RF24-240mm really doesn’t get the love it deserves. For travel and street this is the first lens I place in my bag.

For a super zoom this lens (1.65 lbs. / 750g) is bright within its aperture range of f/4-6.3, it is sharp and has surprisingly nice IQ for a lens that is not an L series and one that has a price tag of $1050 new.

Aperture by focal length:

24-26mm = f/4.0
27-43mm = f/4.5
44-69mm = f/5.0
70-104mm = f/5.6
105-240mm = f/6.3

It uses a Nano USM motor which provides high speed, smooth and quiet AF. The motor is known for its speedy response which supports both sports and wildlife photography due to its rapid and accurate autofocus. This motor is well known for having superior build quality.

And as a bonus, you will get up to five stops of optical IS.

It is reported to be soft in the corners which is really evident when you are pixel peeping. The one thing missing which I really wish the lens had, weather sealing. It is a fair-weather photographer’s lens that I have never put to a test. If weather gets bad, it goes in the bag.

I really can’t speak to shooting video, I don’t but a friend uses this lens for video and absolutely loves the lens for its range, especially when shooting sports from the field. His only complaint is when it’s quiet he sometimes picks up motor noise, at events no problems. The other drawback, at 240mm is starved for light, on my R6 MkII it’s not that big of a challenge but I do not use it indoors. That being said I have used it for landscapes in the early morning and evenings and it produced very nice results.

All lenses have some compromises and the RF24-240mm is no exception but I have found that the strengths outweigh the cons with this lens.

Personally, the quality is far beyond what I expected from a $1050 lens 9new). One great bonus is that I don’t always have to think about carrying and swapping lenses when I wander because of its range.

MSH411 said:

I wrote this review at the beginning of the year after carrying it on a couple road trips.

For flexibility, range or an easy all day carry the RF24-240mm really doesn’t get the love it deserves. For travel and street this is the first lens I place in my bag.

For a super zoom this lens (1.65 lbs. / 750g) is bright within its aperture range of f/4-6.3, it is sharp and has surprisingly nice IQ for a lens that is not an L series and one that has a price tag of $1050 new.

Aperture by focal length:

24-26mm = f/4.0
27-43mm = f/4.5
44-69mm = f/5.0
70-104mm = f/5.6
105-240mm = f/6.3

It uses a Nano USM motor which provides high speed, smooth and quiet AF. The motor is known for its speedy response which supports both sports and wildlife photography due to its rapid and accurate autofocus. This motor is well known for having superior build quality.

And as a bonus, you will get up to five stops of optical IS.

It is reported to be soft in the corners which is really evident when you are pixel peeping. The one thing missing which I really wish the lens had, weather sealing. It is a fair-weather photographer’s lens that I have never put to a test. If weather gets bad, it goes in the bag.

I really can’t speak to shooting video, I don’t but a friend uses this lens for video and absolutely loves the lens for its range, especially when shooting sports from the field. His only complaint is when it’s quiet he sometimes picks up motor noise, at events no problems. The other drawback, at 240mm is starved for light, on my R6 MkII it’s not that big of a challenge but I do not use it indoors. That being said I have used it for landscapes in the early morning and evenings and it produced very nice results.

All lenses have some compromises and the RF24-240mm is no exception but I have found that the strengths outweigh the cons with this lens.

Personally, the quality is far beyond what I expected from a $1050 lens 9new). One great bonus is that I don’t always have to think about carrying and swapping lenses when I wander because of its range.

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Thanks for replying Mark and your images look nice and sharp.
I only received it today so haven't had chance to test it out yet. I did read some reviews before i bought it which seemed to be a mixed bag of conclusions, but it was in my budget range so it suited nicely. I intend to use it with my RP camera for my railway photography so ill give it a good workout on my next outing and post the results here.
Cliff.

I believe you will be pleased and hope you will post some images if everything works out well. I believe that the mixed reviews come from pixel peepers but my results have been all positive and several images have gone to print with excellent results.

Agree with Marc, the RF 24-240 is a great lens. Period. I bought mine together with the R6 MK1 back in 2021 and never looked back. I love the 10x zoom range for travel, it gives me a lot of flexibility without the need to change lenses on the fly. A very versatile lens, indeed. Pixel peeping? Come on! Are we doing photography here or what? Ha-ha! Here's an example with 4 shot taken in lovely Lisbon, Portugal utilizing the full zoom range:

Great shots Feri!

I try not to engage those pixel peepers because the entire concept to me is just so odd but there are many out there......

Thanks Marc for your kind compliments. Let's let pixel peepers discuss pixel peeping on their pixelpeeping forums. Agree, a different breed, indeed!

How many pixels could a pixel peeper peep if a pixel peeper peeped peeps?

And then let this monkfish scare the heck out of the pixel scrutiny guys that I took recently in Stockholm's Saluhall (Market Hall) when they get down to details!!! Please enjoy "as is"!