CANON 28 70 L F2 USM - Technical Review

The RF 28-70mm F2 L USM is an incredibly bright L series zoom lens designed to bring unparalleled performance to Canon's EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera system. Stellar image quality is delivered from corner to corner thanks to the combination of a large 54mm diameter mount and short back focus distance. A rugged design and consistent f/2 brightness throughout its zoom range make the RF 28-70mm F2 L USM ideal for portraits, wedding photography, landscapes, nightscapes and more. It's made for photographers and moviemakers who want a bright view, sharp detail, gorgeous blur and the professional performance of Canon's L series.

The Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM is a super-fast zoom lens for the company's full-frame mirrorless system. This durable, weather-sealed lens features UD lens elements as well as Air Sphere, Super Spectra and fluorine coatings. It has a nine-blade aperture, 39cm (15") minimum focus distance and uses 95mm filters. There's also a customizable control ring that can serve a variety of purposes.

A 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is often the go-to standard zoom lens for professional photographers, so the Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM is rather unusual, starting at a slightly longer focal length but having a stop large aperture. That extra brightness could be helpful in low light conditions or when the background needs a bit more blur, but it makes the lens very bulky.

Inside the Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM’s weather-sealed barrel there are 19 elements arranged in 13 groups with four aspherical elements and three ultra-low dispersion (UD) elements to maintain detail across the image field and limit distortion.

Canon has also applied its Air-Sphere Coating (ASC) and Subwavelength Structure Coating (SWC) on the surface of some elements with the aim of suppressing flare and ghosting.

Focusing is handled by Canon’s Ultra Sonic Motor (USM) system.

The lens has no stabilisation built-in, but the Canon R5 and R6 both have in-body image stabilisation (IBIS).
Although you can check the specifications and see that the Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM weighs 1430g and measures 103.8 x 139.8mm, it’s only when you hold it, or compare it to another lens that you realise just how big it is. It’s 530g heavier than the Canon RF 24-70mm F2.8L IS USM, for example, which measures 88.5x 125.7mm. And it’s 360g heavier than the RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS, which measures 89.9 x 146mm.

It also has a 95mm filter thread, which is likely to mean that you need to upgrade your filters.
I used the RF 28-70mm F2L USM on the Canon R5, which itself weighs 650g, making the total weight over 2Kg. That is a lot for a ‘standard’ zoom lens set-up, but the word standard doesn’t seem applicable to a zoom lens with a constant aperture of f/2.0.

The RF 28-70mm F2L USM also has three control rings, one for the focal length with markings at the 28, 35, 50 and 70mm points, one further forward for manual focusing and a front ring that can be customised to adjust one of a long list of parameters. I used the control ring to adjust exposure compensation, which is very handy with such a big, heavy lens as it needs a supporting hand and the ring falls within easy reach of your left thumb and forefinger.

As I’ve mentioned, I tested the Canon RF 28-70mm F2L USM on the 45Mp Canon EOS R5 and they make a fine pair, capturing a high level of detail with no major flaws – but you’d expect that at the RF 28-70mm F2L USM’s price.

Curvilinear distortion is kept under control very well, but if you turn the correction profile off in Adobe Camera Raw, you’ll see a slight hint of barrel distortion at the 28mm point. It’s hardly worth mentioning, especially as the profile, which can be applied in-camera or at the processing stage, irons it out.

Sharpness levels are also very good although it’s worth avoiding the smallest aperture setting (f/22) if you can. There’s also a slight loss of sharpness towards the corners of the frame, particularly at the widest end of the lens when the aperture is wide-open, but this isn’t apparent in most real-world photography. Closing down to f/2.8 and f/4 improves the corner sharpness.

Unsurprisingly, the corners are best at the longer focal lengths.


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This project was made with:
DaVinci Resolve 17 Studio
BMD Cameras and Canon Cameras with Cine Primes
Sound mixed in Fairlight
VFX DaVinci Resolve Fusion
Foley Sound Effects Created on location
Music Copyright Supplied by Audiio Sound or Written, Produced and Owned by Cine Chimp

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