Of course, at an eye-watering $10,500, it's not for everyone. It's not even for "many people"; it's for a select few who either have serious money lying around or make serious money from photography, where a lens of this caliber would be a sensible investment. Still, we took it for a test drive to see just how much better the performance is compared to the more reasonably priced wildlife zoom lenses.
Kimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneWeight is surprisingly manageableInternal zoomSolid and sturdy build quality
It's also dust- and weather-resistant, which we’d expect on a lens that's this expensive. It's solid and sturdy with a plethora of lens coatings to eliminate glare and ghosting, and it feels every bit the professional-grade Canon L lens you would want.
The final switch is a focus preset button, which enables you to pre-focus on a certain spot where you expect the action to be, then switch back and forth as you're shooting. Alternatively, you can set this switch to L-Fn to utilize it as a programmable function button instead.
Key specs:This lens isn't expensive because it introduces any revolutionary build features. It's expensive because Canon has combined every premium design element — internal zoom, magnesium construction, professional weather sealing, compact packaging and meticulous engineering into a lens that is designed to meet the needs of professional photographers.
Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM: Performance
Kimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneOutstanding image qualityBasically no image defectsBeautiful bokehThis lens shows every strand of fur or feather and effortlessly captures the moment perfectly every time. The bokeh is soft and creamy thanks to the constant f/2.8 aperture, which beautifully isolates the subject and blurs out distracting background elements.
Those same three apertures were also very similar at 200mm, but in this instance, f/2.8 has the edge. At 300mm, there was a significant drop in contrast between f/2.8 and f/4, but both images were of similar sharpness. Unsurprisingly, the corners were sharpest towards the f/8 range, but wildlife photography rarely ever calls for sharpness across the entire frame, so the softer corners at f/2.8 - f/5.6 aren't a dealbreaker.
Kimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneKimberley LaneConstant f/2.8 aperture throughout the whole zoom range5.5 stops of image stabilizationVersatile focal length and teleconverter compatibility
Although the 100-300mm focal length wouldn't be the best choice for photographing small birds or distant subjects, it provides a good focal range to cover many other types of wildlife, like equine or safari photography, as well as a variety of indoor sports. While it's not the biggest zoom range on offer, it eliminates the need to switch between lenses while on a shoot.
With the lens's 5.5 stops of image stabilization (which increases to 6 stops when paired with EOS R cameras with IBIS), this lens has no trouble following fast-moving subjects smoothly and efficiently — which is useful for both image quality and viewfinder steadiness.
Should you buy the Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM?
(Image credit: Kimberley Lane)Related articles:
Best wildlife lensesBest wildlife camerasBest wildlife lenses under $1,000Best camerasBest binocularsBest binoculars for bird-watchingBest compact binoculars
For example, you could buy an R1 and a used EF 300mm f/2.8L lens with an adapter for around the same price as this 100-300mm lens. And if you find good deals, you could even add the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM to that lineup with a teleconverter. The only advantage the 100-300mm would then have is that you wouldn't need to change lenses — but is that worth such a steep price?
If this lens isn't for you
Canon RF 600mm f/4L IS USM
For birds or distant wildlife, the Canon RF 600mm f/4L IS USM lens will be more appropriate. Although you lose a bit of aperture at the wide end, it won't make too much difference in practice, and the longer reach makes this lens much more suitable for photographing birds.
Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
For photographers who don't need 300mm very often and want to save several thousand dollars, the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM covers up to 200mm and also has a constant f/2.8 aperture. Plus, it's a lot lighter and more compact.
Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM
If you photograph distant subjects or small birds in good light and you need more reach, the Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM has the most reach of any Canon zoom and produces beautiful images.
Read our full Canon RF 200-800mm f/6.3-9 IS USM review
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