Used Canon RF 24-240mm f/4-6.3 IS USM Zoom Lens

2025-03-11T20:00:00

I purchased this lens in August of 2024 and wanted to ride it hard before submitting a review. I have used this lens as an all day carry on my R6 MkII, R5 and R3 and it is always in my bag when I travel. I try to treat my equipment well but this lens has been in the field a ton and just performs! The focus system performs well under almost all circumstances but it will be challenged in low light due to the speed of the lens. If this lens was an f2.8 it would be brilliant. The color rendition has been much better then I expect and the lens overall remains sharp across the entire zone range. For a lens at this price point it is a pretty good lens.

March_411

Originally posted at

2025-02-08T19:00:00

THE ultimate 'walking around lens.' Shot this images in St. Augustine, FL. at the Alligator Zoological Park, many images in crop mode on my R5 mki.

MBelue

Originally posted at

2024-09-20T06:00:50

Traded in my 18-150 lens for this only. Although heavier, it's my go to travel lens!

LISA S.

2024-06-23T20:00:00

This lens is tack sharp, extremely lightweight and a bargain. You can use it for portraits and landscapes.

IceColdBier

Originally posted at

2024-06-16T07:50:52

I am new to the mirrorless camera crowd and have a R6 M2. So I may just be a little biased because I'm still getting use to it all. I think this is a great walk around lens. it's compact, lightweight and extremely versatile allowing me to only need this one lens. However, sometimes when I come home and put the photos on my laptop to work with, they are not as clear as I would like them to be. I have a 24-105 that is perfect 100 percent of the time. So there are tradeoffs on this I guess. I don't have to carry 2 lens at all times and can just throw my camera in my day to day back pack and know that there will be some misses and just accept it. And I fully say I may just need to learn the camera better after moving from a 90D to this camera.

Beth G.

2024-04-23T10:01:20

Very sharp. Love the extended range. Great for an everyday walk around lens, especially for travel.

MARK L.

2024-04-11T20:00:00

If you are like me you want the best value for your money. Not all of us can or need to buy a 2k L lens. I can't recommend this lens enough. Just don't expect $2-3k Prime L lens quality in a $900 lens with 10x zooms range. Make no mistake this is a great lens for travel and everyday photography. The benefit of taking one lens that can cover such a wide focal length is the focus here. I have used it on several trips now, and not having to switch lenses all the time made taking my mirrorless camera with me more enjoyable. I was able to get every shot without worrying about changing lenses or carrying extra kit with me. I found it took acceptably sharp photos, again with the understanding this is not an L lens. I was able to take much better photos just as fast as those using cell phone cameras since I had such a wide focal range in one lens. Previously I would have to constantly change lenses or settle for a photograph that didn't meet my expectations just to keep up with the cell phone camera users or group I was with. You can continue to worry about its limitations or start enjoying its strengths. I highly recommend this lens.

Murphy16616

Originally posted at

2024-02-01T19:00:00

I find this to be a good walk around lens as it is very adaptable for a wide variety of shots. It is significantly better than my old Canon EFS 18-200 that I used for years as a walk around lens. I've only been using it for a few weeks but am quite pleased with it's functionality so far.

Kramer

Originally posted at

2023-06-11T20:00:00

Bought the 24-240mm about 18 months ago. Being a superzoom, I didn't think it would have very good optical quality, but I was surprised! It works great! Looks great! I started to use it on jobs and no complaints. You do have to use the digital correction, without it the files don't look good. I sure wish it was 24-300mm but as it is, it's a (heavy) useful travel zoom! If I lost this lens, I would buy it again. IMHO people who complain about its design are not using it correctly. thanks for listening to my Ted Talk!

kbreak

Originally posted at

2023-06-11T20:00:00

Canon desperately needed a superzoom for their mirrorless cameras. I bought this new about 18 months ago. I didn't expect it to be very good, but it actually is! You have to use the digital corrections, files look wonky without it and I would be reluctant to use them without a lot of cropping. I do wish the lens went 24-300mm but OK. Yes the F/stops are slow but nowadays cameras like the R5, and R6 have no trouble focusing. If I lost this lens, I would buy another copy. Now, Canon, can we get some more wide angles?

kbreak

Originally posted at

2023-02-10T03:52:34

Used the lens at my grandson basketball game and was truly impressed with clarity of all the pictures. Easy to zoom in and out in a fast moving game!

DANIEL I.

2023-01-14T19:00:00

I've been a Canon shooter forever and I can honestly say this is the lightest most versatile value of a lens I've ever owned. The AE-1 SLR in the example pics is mine from waaaayyyy back in the day (1979) so I'm speaking from a few years of experience. I purchased this lens as a refurb here on the Canon site. Over the years I've purchased plenty of refurbs from Canon to include the magnificent RF 100-500L recently so I can add that shaving another couple hundred off this RF 24-240 makes it a steal. I primarily shoot aviation and sailboat racing so I need lenses with reach that I pair with crop sensor bodies to squeak a little more out of them but this purchase was to top off a full frame R6 body to be that easy to grab backup for group shots, cockpit instrumentation, activities on the boat deck etc. What I can honestly tell you is that depending on what kind of shooter you are this may be the only lens you'll ever need. By now there's plenty of reviews that highlight the insane distortion if you don't use the in camera or lens profile correction in your favorite software but there's also more than enough reviews that point out why behind it and the true miracle of having enough in camera computational power to do the work of all the additional glass necessary to keep the photons straight along with all the weight and size of that glass. I'm thankfully not shooting with the AE-1 anymore so why be concerned whether the lens I lock onto the front of the body has to straighten the light to the specifications required 40 years ago or if it's getting some help from a huge brain behind the sensor. I'm essentially writing this review to tell you that if you're a DSLR or older shooter it is beyond time to move on and enjoy all the RF 'System' glory that's available. The RF lenses, sensor, and brain are a system that has impressed me with the speed and accuracy of the AF all packed into gear that is 30%+ smaller, lighter, and less expensive (relatively) than anything I've ever owned. This RF 24-240 is the pinnacle of the size, weight, cost advantages offered by the RF 'System'. The closest thing I own is the legendary EF 35-350L that is a heavy monster compared to this and it is not as sharp despite being L-series glass (although it's seen a lot of miles since 1993!). Yes I pulled out my RF 24-70L 2.8 for the holiday photos for the added low light benefits but I've included demo photos from the RF 24-240 that are relatively low light and would make me confident using it indoors for family when there wasn't lots of motion and I could take advantage of the remarkable in lens and body stabilization. I've been comfortably handholding shots of still subjects down to 1/8-1/13 sec with this lens in the 100-150mm range so I'm beyond impressed. Will I use the larger heavier L-glass for the high speed aviation and long distance sailing shots, yes, of course. Will I use this lens for everything else everywhere, absolutely! Where this lens will undoubtedly become your reliable friend is when you apply the age old adage that "the camera you use is the camera you carry..." and you will comfortably and conveniently carry this extremely versatile lens routinely. The only thing more comfortable in my kit is pairing an R7 with the featherweight RF 50 1.8 but where are those nearly 200 other millimeters when you need them? Thank you Canon for developing a lens/'System' that is this lightweight, small, capable, and smart enough to straighten out all those barreled and pincushioned photons!

Dozer

Originally posted at

2022-10-10T08:41:40

Excellent lens set, albeit a bit heavy. Be mindful of the weight when considering it!

Marcia P.

2022-07-28T08:13:47

Just two weeks into using the new lens and everything has been exactly as expected. I bought the lens knowing there were a few cons to go with all of the pros (the pro of the lower/reasonable goes hand in hand with the con of the lens missing some features/abilities of a more expense lens), so I haven?t been disappointed at all. Happy with the delivery, including the packaging.

KENT M.

2022-07-13T08:31:22

Sharp images. A little pricey, but that?s expected with Canon RF lenses.

John M.

2022-01-05T19:00:00

Now that I have retired, I wanted an all-around lens for hiking and travel that would give me wonderful results. I sold my heavier, multiple lenses system and bought the RF24-240mm lens with a mirrorless camera. After adding some filters and a simple nodal rail in a small shoulder/hip bag, I now have a light weight solution for landscape and architectural photos that delivers superb images! Optical distortions and chromatic aberrations (all lens have these issues are beautifully corrected by Canon's in-camera software for JPGs and Canon's desktop software for RAW images. I enjoy shooting RAW and post processing. For those pixel-peepers out there, Lightroom and DXO Photolab automatically correct optical distortions and chromatic aberrations for the RF 24-240mm lens. With a 10x zoom range, light weight, image stabilization and comfortable ergonomics, the RF 24-240mm is fun to shoot. What's not to love?

RetiredPro

Originally posted at

2021-10-05T20:00:00

WARNING: Between distortion and unavoidable cropping, this is NOT a 24mm-240mm lens! It?s probably the worst lens Canon?s ever made, at least in my 50+ years of Canon experience. OVERVIEW: Previous reviews pointed out two things: Horrible barrel distortion particularly at the wide angle range, and then that the updated software ?corrected? this problem and made this a good lens with good IQ. The former is still quite true, while the latter does make some progress towards a better IQ. While current software does compensate for terrible barrel distortion, however, the result is a cropping of the image that reduces the overall effective focal range of the lens to - what in a rough personal calculation - is about a 35mm - 210mm lens. Furthermore, with complete edge distortion (see example images) this further reduces the effective range of this lens. This is definitely not 24-240mm range lens!! DETAILS: 1) Horrible barrel distortion problem: To easily envision the problem, imagine the following situation: You are taking a group photo of your family with everyone sitting on a couch with Uncle Bob and Aunt Martha sitting on either end on the arm rests. You are shooting at 24mm with this lens and it?s tight but everyone?s in the frame. The RAW file will show everyone from end to end, but with terrible distortion. The software used to render the JPG version in the camera will show a nice, relatively distortion-free image, but, unfortunately, Uncle Bob and Aunt Martha will no longer be in the picture. This same photo, taken with a 24-105mm ?4 lens, will show Uncle Bob and Aunt Martha happily sitting on the ends of the sofa (probably with their eyes closed or looking away from the camera, but that?s not the camera?s fault!) Therefore, you really can?t use this lens at the 24mm setting. Further precise measurements can be made to understand exactly to the degree how much is cut off, but for the sake of this review, you get the picture (or not) of Uncle Bob and Aunt Martha. 2) Now, if you are, like many photographers, shooting in RAW and using Photoshop to edit images, you?re in for a real surprise. Photoshop will show you exactly what Canon is cutting off. There is complete edge distortion rendering the pixels into bars that appear all along the edges. (See attached images) Again, a more scientific and precise measurement can be done, but eyeballing it, the usable area of the photograph is reduced by about 20%. (See images of the ocean, with distortion on the left and right sides. Similar distortion can be found on the top and bottom (not shown.)) Using Canon?s very slow, quirky and clunky DPP software is no help. The export to Photoshop takes nearly 5 minutes per CR3 image. Who has time for that? Transferring a day?s shoot would take weeks at that rate! Besides, the standard everyone uses is Photoshop, not DPP. These ?edge bars? are likely the result of barrel distortion in the RAW image. 3) Another surprising frustration: No simple manual focus! The weird switch on the barrel that in all other lenses is an ?auto focus/manual focus? switch, is NOT an ?auto focus/manual focus? switch on this baby! That fact is inexplicably not highlighted or explained anywhere on the tech specs or marketing materials, but only described in the instruction manual (which most people don?t read until after they?ve purchased it.) In order to manually focus this lens, you have to dive into the settings on the camera - as well as moving the switch to a mysteriously-worded ?Control? position - to activate manual focus. Now, if you don?t change BOTH the lens switch AND the camera settings, no manual focus! What a ridiculous, confusing, time-consuming, time-wasting system! Under tough lighting conditions (more so on this lens with a higher minimum aperture) you realize this lens is not focusing, and now have to find the manual focus on the camera, switch it, go back to the lens, focus manually, and then remember to put it back again so you won?t mess up shots the next time you are using the camera with a normal lens. Fiddling with the minutia of in-camera settings while you are trying to photograph on the move or in the dark is a recipe to miss a lot of shots. 4) After all the above problems, this one is ?minor? but it does also contribute to the fact that you cannot take photographs at 24mm. Even with a ?low-rise? filter on this lens, the edges of the image are clipped slightly. Use a standard filter, and there is noticeable clipping. If you happen to just add, say, a polarizer on top of the filter, expect a significant amount of clipping at the edges. While this is also problems on other lenses, it is more so on this one. 5) This lens has trouble focusing in low-light conditions. Perhaps due to the higher minimum aperture, perhaps due to quality of construction and components I don?t know, but it doesn?t matter as the result is the same. 6) And finally, to add insult to injury, whatever weird configuration on the back of this lens is, it is extremely difficult to put the lens cap on the back of this lens! In changing lenses and putting a Canon RF back lens cap off my other RF lens and putting it on this one, it simply won?t go on easily, so that I waste time figuring out what the ?magic formula? is - and even then it?s difficult. Not so the other way around to another RF lens. As users by now are aware, Canon changed the RF lens caps as the EF lens caps won?t fit on an RF lens but an RF lens cap will fit on an EF lens. While that was clever, it really takes some doing to get these lens caps on either lens now. The old EF lens caps you could just drop on, turn and done. The RF lens caps have a special placement you have to get just right in order to go on. This particular lens just doesn?t like rear lens caps! In conclusion, this would be a great travel lens. (I did recently take it on a trip along with my 24-105mm ?4 L lens. I?m really glad I had the ?4L! I was also able to shoot under identical conditions and compare results. There was absolutely no distortion or other problems with the R5 camera +24-105mm ?4 L.) The ability to go from wide angle to a good telephoto zoom range in one reasonably light weight lens would make this 24-240mm an ideal travel lens. However, there are too many big negatives: 1) signifiant barrel distortion at the wide end, 2) digital distortion at the edges, 3) loss of a signifiant amount of wide angle due to lens correction, 4) no simple manual focus mechanism, and 5) undependable auto-focus in low light, make this an overall loser of a lens. I?ll miss the extended zoom range, but I?ll be leaving this one home (or trying to sell it) and go back to the reliable, well-made 24-105 L f4 lens. Heck, I might even try a 3rd party lens at this point. Couldn?t be any worse!

Cant 2.

Originally posted at

2021-09-07T08:23:37

great lense and great price!

Jorge C.

2021-08-14T07:20:25

Great lens. Really sharp images and allows flexibility going from wide angle to zoom quickly. Extras a plus.

RAYMOND B.

2021-07-07T08:13:45

Great lens for close ups and moderate distance. Focus is fine on automatic. Manual is controlled in the camera. Odd but you can't beat the R6 and RF lenses!

BARBARA W.

2021-06-06T07:38:25

I purchased this lens several weeks ago and am pleased with the sharpness and zoom range. It is by far the heaviest lens I own and is somewhat unwieldy on my RP body.

wilson h.

2021-04-19T20:00:00

This lens is an alternative to the Tamron 28-300 for EF mount for when you want a wide range of zoom options. It works on R5, has built in lens-correction and allows HS+. It seems to have less geometric distortion too.

snapshotter

Originally posted at

2021-04-08T08:27:48

A solid walking-around lens.

Timothy H.

2021-03-24T08:25:38

Good range, sharp with in-camera lens correction turned on. It's a good walking-around lens.

Timothy H.

2021-03-05T06:42:58

I've been able to take some nice photos with this lens on my Canon RP. Not as sharp as my Canon 24-105mm F4 but gives me more zoom.

THOMAS W.

2020-12-20T19:00:00

Is there anything like this lens? A Full Frame, compact 10X modern zoom lens with fast stills and fast movie autofocus? The lens is a great walk around lens. Ignore the naysayers who aren't using the lens correctly. Load the proper lens profile and it's all good. This is not only an excellent lens but also another innovative lens from Canon. This lens, the compact 70-200 2.8 and 600/800 f11 lens made me realize Canon 'gets' mirrorless and was key to me switching from Nikon to Canon. Canon is just getting started!

MikeP

Originally posted at

2020-11-19T19:00:00

I bought this for a walkabout lens to go with the R5 and was pleasantly surprised by its performance. No, it doesn't take full advantage of 45MP, but it has the best IQ of any wide range zoom I have used and the IS and AF are both very good. Bottom line, it will get you a picture you can keep and that is what a walkabout lens is meant to do.

Sea D.

Originally posted at

2020-10-19T06:36:20

Just purchased this lens for my EOS R camera. I did have to upgrade the firmware on the camera before hand. Tried a couple photos in the house and did not notice any blackened edges. I was able to recover a couple functions on my camera using the R lenses as I lost some functionality using the adapter for my L lenses. Will be using for my time lapse photos at night so we'll see just how well it performs.

rrbond07

2020-08-20T16:32:19

Very happy with this great do everything lens! Be sure to update your camera with the latest software.

GERALD B.

2020-08-02T20:00:00

Looks and acts like a new lens. Has the compromises you can find about this lens online - barrel distortion, chromatic aberration, etc (all corrected in jpgs and software correctable for raw files - and produces an overall image quality a bit different than my L lenses - all stuff I knew in advance. But it’s got 10x zoom in a compact package, making it a great companion for outings when I need maximum flexibility and need to travel light.

D W.

Originally posted at