Canon RF 24-70mm vs RF 24-105mm – Review and Comparison!
When buying a high-end Canon mirrorless camera, you’re stuck between choosing the RF 24-70mm f2.8 or the RF 24-105mm f4 lenses to go with it. But what’s the main differences and which one will suit you best? Here we’re going to review these two lenses and put them head-to-head in a test to see which one suits landscape and portrait photographers.
The Camera:
We’re going to be using the Canon R5 as the camera body for this test – it’s a good option for this test as they are used by many professional photographers. Other camera bodies that would suit these lenses would be the Canon R8, R3, R6, and R1. You can read all about this body, and the entire Canon R Range here.
The Lenses:
RF 24-70mm f2.8: The more expensive of the two lenses and has an extra f stop with a maximum aperture off/2.8. This will be helpful for those that want a slightly shallower depth of field or to shoot in lower light.
RF 24-105mm f4: The lower price option. It has a max aperture of f/4, but an additional focal length to 105mm.
Both Canon RF lenses side by side for size comparison.
If buying it with the body, there’s about £700 difference in price (in the UK – the prices globally may vary).
Current US prices vary quite significantly to the UK and all prices quoted here are accurate at the time of making the video above.
RF 24-70mm f2.8 – $2099.00/£2629.99
RF 24-105mm f4 – $1299/£1439.99
Get current prices and buy these lenses here.
Both are versatile zoom lenses aimed at the professional market and will perform well in any situation however there is a big difference between the two. One has an extra f stop and goes down to f2.8 and the other zooms in more with a maximum focal length of 105mm.
Learn more about f stops and focal lengths here.
And that’s the big test here – do you need the extra stop of light or the extra focal length? Will the background blur or the extra compression be that different? Here we are going to be testing these very differences to see if there is a noticeable difference in the depth of field and compression in the images produced by both lenses.
We’re going to be testing them in a portraiture photoshoot. Canon notes on their website that both lenses work well for this, so we’re aiming to show you the real nitty-gritty differences between the two!
When looking at them, there’s a lot they have in common. They’re both zoom lenses, with a 9-blade aperture and 5-stop image stabilization. The 24-70mm is a bigger lens, but still not too dissimilar the size to the 24-105mm.
Portrait Photography Tips – Settings, Composition, Colour & Lighting
When looking at them, there’s a lot they have in common. They’re both zoom lenses, with a 9-blade aperture and 5-stop image stabilization. The 24-70mm is a bigger lens, but still not too dissimilar of a size to the 24-105mm.
The difference between them is the extra stop for the 24-70mm and the additional focal length for the 24-105mm. We’re going to be taking images at 50mm, 70mm and 105mm to test the effect of the focal length and shooting with the largest aperture available on both lenses to see the difference between the two, f/4 for the 24-105mm and f/2.4 for the 24-70mm.
If you’re not sure what focal length or aperture is, check out our beginner course here.
