Which Canon RF lens to buy next?

Written By Marc LeBlanc

It makes sense, but I’m still constantly amazed by the impact lens choice has on the image. I bought the RF 24-105mm f/4L with my R6, and I love this lens, but I also need to go wider, longer, and faster (wider aperture). I also picked up the RF 50mm f/1.8 for the speed and portability, but I definitely notice the drop in image quality.

Sure, Gear Acquisition Syndrome (GAS) is a lot of fun, but it’s also super expensive, and ends with a whole lot of gear to have to pack around, clean, maintain, etc., so I’d like to own and carry the fewest lenses possible.

My shopping criteria

  1. Faster than f/4. I know the R6 can push the ISO, but I still don’t like the image quality > 1000.

  2. Zoom. Primes just aren’t versatile enough for me.

  3. I’d also like to explore photographic genres wider than 24mm, like architecture.

  4. Image stabilization. I take the vast majority of my photos handheld, and apparently Canon doesn’t include IS on any lens in their L series faster than f/2.8.

  5. The optical quality and autofocus speed of Canon’s L series lenses.

  6. Portability (weight, size, reduces the number of lenses I need to carry).

  7. Price.

  8. But maybe, most of all, have I loved photos that I’ve taken with this lens?

Lenses I’ve shot with

I’ve shot with 10 of the RF lenses so far. The ones I’d consider buying are:

  1. The “holy trinity”

    1. RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L

    2. RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L

    3. RF 70-200mm f/2.8 L

  2. Other zooms

    1. RF 28-70mm f/2 L

    2. RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1 L

  3. Some primes

    1. RF 50mm f/1.2 L

    2. RF 85mm f/1.2 L

My thoughts, so far

RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L

  1. I’m not as jazzed about it as I was hoping I would be. It’s nothing specific, I dunno.

  2. Great photos.

  3. Each mm on the wide end is a much bigger difference than each mm on the long end.

RF 28-70mm f/2 L

  1. This thing is massively heavy. The lens itself is the same weight as the 24-70mm f/2.8 L, with the R6 attached to it 😂.

  2. No image stabilization.

  3. Most expensive lens in my consideration set.

  4. But I love the photos it takes.

  5. I really want wider than 28, even 20mm would be great.

  6. Longer than 70mm is less of a need, but 85mm would be great.

What I really want

A 20-85mm f/2 L with image stabilization. Even 20-70mm would be fine.

Marc LeBlanc https://marcphoto.ca