If you’re in need of a versatile telephoto zoom lens, there aren’t many options for the RF mount. Unless you use an EF-RF adapter, there are only two options available, RF 100-500mm or RF 100-400mm. Is the much cheaper RF 100-400mm a wise choice?
Have you switched from Canon DSLR to Canon mirrorless? In that case, you may have several EF lenses on hand, possibly lenses made by other manufacturers like Sigma or Tamron. There is no problem using these lenses with the EF-RF adapter on Canon mirrorless cameras.
If you want to skip EF-RF . converter, you are forced to buy Canon lenses. After all, other manufacturers are not allowed to produce RF lenses with autofocus as of the time of this writing. So if you want to use a telephoto zoom lens like the 100-400mm, the options available are limited, to say the least.
Canon RF 100-500mm f4.5-7.1L IS USM is a great lens. It’s big, heavy, and very expensive. If you can spare the money, I would recommend the lens without a doubt. That said, I can also imagine this is not a lens that everyone can afford. So you need an alternative.
RF 100-400mm f / 5.6-8 IS USM
Fortunately, Canon has released RF100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM. It’s a much smaller, lighter, and cheaper lens. You can easily buy four of these lenses for the price of a 100-500mm RF lens.
If a lens is much cheaper than its larger sibling, how well does it perform? Since it’s not an L lens, you can expect its performance to be bad. However, it needs to be a good lens because Canon can’t make it just a mediocre lens. Canon Netherlands provided me with the RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM for review.
Building
The RF 100-400mm f / 5.6-8 IS USM is a small lens, only 16.5 inches long. Its weight is 635 grams, making it easy to carry with you. The lens will expand when zoomed in to 400mm. It will increase the length by 7.6 cm. Since the weight is kept mostly close to the camera, it won’t be too unbalanced when zooming in. The lens doesn’t come with a tripod mount, something to keep in mind if you’re using the lens on a tripod.
Wide zoom ring and smooth rotation. It increases the diameter towards the front end of the lens, making it easier to find without looking. The focus ring is placed before the zoom ring and has a smoother texture. Finally, the control ring is located in front of the lens.
There are three switches available. The lock switch locks the zoom mechanism at 100mm, preventing any unwanted extension of the lens. Other switches offer the ability to disable image stabilization or autofocus. There are no different focus limiters or stabilization settings available.
The lens is made from good quality plastic and feels pretty solid. It lacks weather sealing, which is a pity. Since it’s not an L lens, there’s also no lens hood or pouch in the box.
Image stabilization and aperture
Image stabilization is rated up to 5.5 stops. This can make a lot of difference when using lenses with focal lengths in this range. Theoretically, image stabilization should allow you to shoot at a shutter speed of 1/15 second, assuming the subject will allow this.
Combining a 100-400mm RF lens with a camera with in-body image stabilization, the rating would only increase by half a point to six stops, which isn’t much.
The maximum aperture of the lens is between f/5.6 and f/8. This may not sound ideal, but if you compare the values with a 100-500mm RF lens, it makes no difference. great. However, you may need to increase the ISO if a faster shutter speed is important. If that’s not the case, you can rely on image stabilization.
Using
One of the biggest benefits of this lens is its size and weight. It makes it easy to carry the lens with you. Just put it in your bag or into your camera and head out. The focal range makes it a versatile lens for many different types of photography.
If you enjoy photographing animals, it’s an ideal lens. I noticed how well the minimum focus distance of 88 cm at 400mm works for the semi-macro mode. It allows a maximum magnification of 0.41x, which is ideal for flowers and insects, among other small things.
However, it is wise to keep an eye on the shutter speed. Especially when there’s not much light, it’s easy to rely too much on image stabilization. It may be necessary to use a high ISO setting for this lens often. Since most EOS R cameras perform quite well at high ISO levels, this should not be an issue.
Image quality
For such a cheap lens, especially compared to its bigger brother, the RF100-500mm L, I was pleasantly surprised at how good the images looked. There is some pincushion effect at 400mm and the vignette is close to two stops in the corners.
Since most people will enable automatic lens correction in the camera, most lens failures will be corrected. Real life results will be beautiful and may even be close to the quality you’d find with the RF 100-500mm L lens. It’s only when you compare it side-by-side in a controlled situation that the difference is in quality. The new quantity may become more obvious. But who does that in real life?
Use with remote adapter
While the RF 100-500mm L can be used with a teleconverter, it’s not really built for that purpose. The focal range will be greatly limited, leaving you only able to zoom at the farther end. On the other hand, RF 100-400mm is fully compatible with both 1.4x and 2.0x . remote adapter. This increases the focal length range to 160-640mm or 200-800mm, depending on the teleconverter you choose.
The downside is reducing the maximum aperture you end up with. If f/5.6-8 bothers you, f/8-f/11 with the 1.4x teleconverter or f/11-f/16 with the 2x teleconverter will certainly do. If you don’t mind smaller apertures, you need to realize that there is also diffraction problem with these small apertures, especially with high resolution cameras like Canon EOS R5.
If you are in need of these long focal lengths, maybe RF 600mm f/11 or RF 800mm f/11 . lens can be an alternative, or you can opt for one of the two mirrorless APS-C cameras that Canon has released. Using the RF 100-400mm on these bodies should result in a good increase in magnification without problems with even smaller apertures.
My conclusion
Although the picture quality is worse than the expensive RF Lens 100-500mm LOI, the difference is not much. Perhaps if you compare the images side by side you will see that. Of course, there’s also a longer zoom range in both the more expensive models, and a wider maximum aperture. Then again, the difference is only marginal.
The RF 100-500mm L lens has better construction, better weather resistance, and a better tripod collar. This can make a difference when using the lens in inclement weather conditions. Additionally, the autofocus speed, combined with the focus limiter and various image stabilization options, will make the RF 100-500mm L a good choice for many people who need control. much. But it is a rather expensive lens, out of reach for many photography enthusiasts.
With price in mind, RF100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM probably the better choice for many people. Image quality is very good. It won’t suit the bigger brother, but it comes close. Ultimately, the weight and size of the RF 100-400mm make it a great lens to have and carry around.
What I Like
- Dimensions and weight
- 5.5 stops of image stabilization
- Good and sharp image quality
- Can be used with 1.4x and 2.0x . remote adapters
- Minimum focus distance and 0.41x . magnification
- Price
What can be improved
- Not sensitive to light
- Can’t have tripod collar
- Closing the aperture will lead to diffraction
- Not sealed to the weather
- The hood is not included
Alternative solution
There aren’t any alternatives so far. If you’re okay with using an adapter, you can use any lens with an EF mount. In that case, any EF lens with an adapter Still a good choice, with plenty of lenses to choose from. However, I can recommend RF 100-400mm f / 5.6-8 IS USMbecause it is a really nice lens for an affordable price.
