Canon RF75-300mm F4-5.6 Review

This page features a review of the RF75-300mm F4-5.6.

Lens Summary

Price	Amazingly cheap 300mm zoom
Size	General as 300mm zoom
Weight	Lightweight as 300mm zoom
Ease of use	Focus ring and switch must be checked
AF performance	DC motor drive has limitations depending on the application.
Resolution performance	Wide angle side and center are acceptable.
Bokeh	Smooth and clean
chromatic aberration	Overall correction required.
distortion	High need for correction except at wide angle side
coma aberration	neither good nor bad
Vignetting	Prominent at both ends of zoom
flare resistance	Worst as an RF lens
Overall evaluation	Welcome to the world of 300mm

Evaluation：

In any case, the “Entry 300mm” is an exceptional deal.The main advantage is that you can use a full-size 300mm lens for 30,000 yen. That's the only advantage.Everything else is a compromise.

To be blunt, the points to note are not the optical performance but the autofocus and image stabilization. Optical performance can be improved to some extent by camera processing or development software.However, image stabilization and autofocus are beyond repair.

No noticeable degradation in image quality at high ISO sensitivities
The frame shakes during shooting, making it difficult to stabilize the composition
Difficulty focusing on moving subjects, but it's something you can laugh off

If you can tolerate these issues, this might be a zoom lens worth considering.For those who want to experience a 300mm lens at an affordable price.

Welcome to the world of 300mm.

Foreword

A telephoto zoom lens for Canon's RF mount announced in 2025.

It is characterized by an unbeatable low price. However, the optical system used is the same as that of lenses for the EF mount, which appeared several decades ago. Furthermore, the focus drive system uses a “DC motor,” which is rare for RF mounts, achieving thorough cost reduction.Perhaps the most notable feature is the absence of optical image stabilization, so caution is required when using it with cameras like the EOS RP or R8, which lack in-body image stabilization.

While it is important to thoroughly understand the lens's characteristics before purchasing, the ability to acquire a full-frame telephoto zoom lens for just over 30,000 yen remains highly appealing. For the Canon RF mount, which currently lacks third-party lens options, this product is undoubtedly a valuable addition.

specifications

Compared to the RF100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM, the minimum shooting distance is longer, but by using 300mm, it is possible to enlarge the subject up to 0.25x. The lens consists of 13 elements, which is actually more than the RF100-400mm. However, aspherical lenses and UD lenses are not used.

lens mount	RF
Supported sensor size	fullframe
focal length	75-300mm
Lens construction	9 groups and 13 images
Aperture	F4-5.6 - F32-45
Aperture blades	7 aperture blades
Minimum focusing distance	1.5m
Maximum magnification	x0.06-0.25
Filter diameter	58mm
image stabilisation	-
Teleconversion lens	-
Coating	Super spectra
Size	71.2 x 146.1 mm
Weight	507g
weather sealing	-
AF	DC
Aperture ring	-
Other controls	AF/MF
Accessories	-

Lens prices and how to buy them

This is an exceptional price for a genuine 300mm-class telephoto zoom lens. While some compromises may be necessary, it is still an interesting option. It's better to have it than not.

B&H Photo
Adorama
Amazon(US)
Amazon(JP)
MapCamera(JP)
YodobashiCamera(JP)
KitamuraCamera(JP)
BigCamera(JP)
Rakuten(JP)

Lens Review

Appearance and operability

Boxes and accessories

The box has a simple design with Canon's signature black color.

Like the EOS R5 Mark II, the packaging materials have been changed to be more environmentally friendly, and plastic packaging materials have been eliminated.

In addition to the lens itself, the only other items included are the front and rear lens caps.

As is typical for non-L series lenses, the lens hood is sold separately.

Appearance

As is typical of RF lenses, the exterior is made of plastic and painted gray. Compared to the black-toned L series lenses, the color is more gray. Except for the color difference, the texture is comparable to the L series and does not look inferior. The zoom ring is made of rubber as usual, and the focus ring is made of plastic with a knurled finish.

Perhaps because it does not have optical image stabilization, the lens barrel is slim and almost the same diameter as the mount. The exterior is very simple, with only the Canon logo as decoration. The serial number is printed on the lens barrel.

The inner tube, which extends when zooming, is also made of plastic.Although it is not as sturdy as the metal inner tube, it does not rattle.

Surprisingly, the lens uses an advance focusing system, which is rare among recent zoom lenses.Focusing causes the front lens to move back and forth.The filter and lens hood extend and retract while rotating, so be careful not to grab them by hand.

The inner barrel, which is extended by focusing, is automatically retracted when the power is turned off.(In the case of the default setting)

Hands-on

The lightest 300mm zoom lens for mirrorless cameras weighs approximately 507 g. It is slim and light for a full-size mirrorless 300mm lens, and is not difficult to store.

Front and back

Suits filter diameter is as small as 58mm.The C-PL is difficult to use because the filter surface also rotates when focusing.Also, if you rotate the filter to control the C-PL, you may accidentally control the focus.

The metal lens mount is secured to the body with four screws.The mount surface is marked "Made in Malaysia.As the lens was originally designed for SLR cameras, the back focus is long.The rearmost lens is hidden inside the lens barrel.

Focus ring

A thin plastic focus ring is mounted on the tip of the lens, a rare mechanical ring for an RF lens, which enables focus operation even when the power is off.However, since there is no shooting distance indicator, it is difficult to focus with the power off.

In AF mode, the DC motor is directly connected to the lens, and operating the focus ring rotates the DC motor as well.To avoid the risk of damage, the camera should be switched to MF mode when operating the focus ring.

The stroke of the focus ring is about 90°, which is the same throughout the entire zoom range.It is quick to operate, but you may find the stroke too short for detailed focusing.

Zoom Ring

It has a wide zoom ring that can operate from 75mm to 300mm.The stroke over the entire range is a little more than 90°, allowing for quick changes in focal length.Rotation operation is neither too heavy nor too light.It rotates smoothly during operation, but not enough to maintain an even zoom speed in video recording.

There is no switch to lock the zoom ring.

Switch

Only AF/MF switch is mounted on the left side.The design of the switch is more similar to the old EF75-300mm than to the RF lens.Furthermore, the cost has been cut so much that even the paint is omitted.

As mentioned above, the DC motor and gear are engaged in AF mode, so it is recommended to switch to MF mode when operating the focus ring.

Lenshood

Purchased an optional lens hood “ET-60”.It is a bayonet type, but its fixing force is weaker than those for other RF lenses, and it is difficult to attach it upside down.Also, the focus unit may rotate when attaching or detaching the hood.It is recommended to hold the focus ring to fix it when attaching/detaching.

Example of use

Mounted on EOS R5 Mark II.The lens barrel is slim, but the overall length is equivalent to a 300mm zoom lens.Although it would have been nice if the barrel could be made shorter with a sinking structure, this is not the case.

It is light enough to hold the camera in one hand.However, it is not equipped with optical image stabilization, so you will want to keep your left hand on the lens to stabilize the lens tip.However, be careful not to grip the focus ring or the lens tip, as this will interfere with focusing.

AF・MF

Focus Speed

It operates with a DC motor drive + lens advance system.Naturally, there is a difference compared to a nano USM inner-focus lens.Still, it operates crisply enough to be sufficient for general shooting distances.However, if the AF strays in low contrast or low light, the focusing speed will be significantly reduced.

I was worried about whether servo AF was possible with DC motor drive.I was worried about this, but after focusing, the camera operates more smoothly than I had expected.The drive noise was also quieter than I had expected.However, when actually shooting, the release timing was slightly slow, and there were many shots that resulted in a slight miss.If you are mainly shooting moving subjects, you may want to consider a different lens.

IS

Since the camera does not have optical image stabilization, the sensor-shift image stabilization on the body is used.Of course, cameras that do not have sensor-shift image stabilization, such as the R8 and RP, cannot be used.

In addition, optical type is more suitable than sensor-shift type for telephoto range such as 300mm.Although it is somewhat more effective, the shaking is greater than with the optical type.

Breathing

Focus breathing refers to the change in the angle of view depending on the focus position.If the change in angle of view is significant, the field of view will expand or contract during focusing, potentially causing distractions and affecting autofocus stability. Ideally, it is better to have no focusing breathing. In order to check the effects of breathing, we took the following photos with the lens stopped down to the minimum aperture, at the minimum shooting distance and at infinity.

75mm

The angle of view changes significantly between the minimum focus distance and infinity, perhaps due to the fact that the lens has a retractable focus.

300mm

As with the wide-angle side, there is a large change in the angle of view.

AF accuracy

As far as the EOS R5 Mark II is combined with the EOS R5 Mark II, there are very few missed shots with one-shot AF.The misses are often caused by the camera, such as subject detection misdetection.In the case of servo AF, the timing of the release may be slow, resulting in a slightly out-of-focus photo.

MF

Mechanical type focus ring with 90° stroke.Necessary and sufficient, but not suitable for fine-tuning of details.

Resolution Chart

Test conditions

Camera body:EOS R5 Mark II
Interchangeable lens:RF75-300mm F4-5.6
Pearl Optical Industry Co.
‘[HR23348] ISO12233-compliant 8K resolution test chart (for still cameras)’
Olympus HYRes 3.1 analysis software
The lighting environment is constant indoors.
Tripod, self-timer 10 seconds, electronic shutter
RAW output
ISO 200-400
RAW development in Adobe Lightroom Classic CC
・Sharpness: Off
・Noise reduction: Off
・Chromatic aberration correction: Off
Focus on each point to be analysed and take a picture
(image plane curvature is difficult to measure at close range, so check at infinity)
Note that this is a test at close range (infinity may be even better).
If you adjust the sharpness when developing JPEG or RAW images, the values may improve. Please note that the values given here are the ‘minimum values’.

75mm

The center results are good from the widest aperture.Although there is no significant improvement when the aperture is stopped down, the results are practical enough even with a high-resolution sensor.On the other hand, image quality is significantly degraded at the periphery and corners.This is due to eccentricity, which was not noticeable in the distance.Considering the effect of eccentricity, a slightly better result could be obtained.

Centre of frame