Canon 28-70mm f2 R Review: Greatest Zoom EVER (for Canon EOS R)

Tokina 28-70mm 2.8 is good enough. Only expensive glass i need in my kit is the 50 and 85 1.2/1.4 L

Enjoyed your review. looking forward to the 28 to 70mm -- someday....it's a true beauty. Will go well with my R3 -- Chris Cox, Texas USA

Years old and still selling for 3000$

Well, so much for the notion of mirrorless lenses being smaller.
If I were still shooting professionally, maybe this lens would be worth the cost? 28mm is not that wide. So, this lens is kind of iffy for most photographers. If the"company" is footing the bill, and you routinely shoot in very low light conditions, well OK. $3000.00 for a lens is just too much for most photographers.
If prices of gear continue to rise to this point, photography, as a past-time, will cease.

Ah, back when Tony's videos looked good.

Love your videos guys!

Hello,
This lens (Canon RF 28-70mm f/2L USM) is sure heavy and hefty. But the quality is amazing. Shooting at f/2 (not even f/2.8) for up to 70mm opens a great variety of possibilities with one lens!
On a practical side, is there a cheaper option for Canon RF lens, which would be may be a bit softer at a higher stop (zoom) but still a good enough option for closeups and landscapes alike? Thank you for your reviews!

"Don't get the 28-70 for the sharpness". AHHAHAHAHAAH so, this lens at f2.0 has more or less the same sharpness of a 24-105...which is f4! Do you get it? f2 vs f4 same sharpness? It's a big win for the 28-70....

Do you think Canon going to release Mark II Version of it with IS?

canon R series like R5 and R6 have five-axis In Body Image Stabilizer - which makes it redundant to have it on anything below 85mm

A friend of mine showed me some of their shots they took with this lens. The image quality is jaw dropping. Everything about it blew me away. Honestly, it's worth the money if you want the very best along with the versatility of the 28-70 focal length.

Looking at the photos the f2 lens on my screen is better than the f4...am I missing something ???

Anyone order this and is still in backorder?

i am still waiting for your detailed review of the 28-70mm f/2 lens with Canon R5. more details are required from you. The sweet spot of this lens needs to be identified in terms of f spot.

How better is it than the RF24-70 ? I mean it is only f2, An f1.2 will always be better. A zoom lens is for convenience, the RF28-70 isn't convenient at all.

Thank you Tony for this review! I wish this was the first review that I watched today, because it would have saved me 8 hours of my life. The video was very informative and helped me make my final decision. Thank you! Please keep up the hard work!!!

Canon RF 24-60 f2 would be much better.

I have it. I’m a nightclub shooter who is a new owner of the r6 and it’s ideal for any low light shooter imo. The results you get with this is pretty much what you’d get from primes except you need one body and one lens. Why pay 3k for this? Well why not? The lenses will generally outlive the camera so over the lifespan of a camera I would’ve paid for this lens 3 times over by the time the shutter gives out. It’s weather sealed so I’m not worried about people spilling drinks and splashing my equipment. It only makes sense if you’re a working photographer and that’s what this type of gear is made for. I’m getting tack sharpness at f/2 and super sharp at f2.5 with 2 people in the frame who’s faces are close together out on the same plane. And at f2.8 I can get 3 with the right labe plane positioning. It’s a stretch but it can be done. To be on the safe side you can do f3.2 or 3.5. I also received a few laughs and surprised looks from people who noticed the size. And right now I’m the only guy on the scene with this large lens so it’s becoming my trademark look. But after a few weeks of using it I have no regrets about spending the money on it. This is the Thor’s hammer of photography and run and gun workflow. Because of the diameter size and aperture range I can let more light into the lens at lower ISOs as well. What I’d normally use with my 24-70 adapted lens at ISO 640 and 1200 I can do with ISO 250-640 and expose the ambient lighting of the venue in the background with varying brightness being from little to none. And with the speedlight settings set lower I’m also able to shoot more low light events on one set of AA lithium batteries. I was halfway on my fourth event before I had to change them out. It’s been a dream so far. I’ve gotten used to the weight as well so it isn’t that heavy anymore. It was a as Kyle daunting at first but I adjusted

Awesome on a R5!

I am curious to see how this performs on the R5 or R6. Now that the new Canon Bodies are out. I am just about to purchase a R6. But am conflicted between getting this 28-70 or getting a F4 zoom and few(3) F1.8 Primes.

Thinking about eliminating my 35mm f1.4 Sigma Art, 50mm f1.2L, and 24-70 f2.8 ii for this! Would you do this?

This lens reminds me of my old Olympus DSLR lens - the 14-35 F2 which equaled to a 28-70.

Really intelligent discussion of optics and lenses, new subscriber

Damn I was like "lets go with the 24-105 F4" this time when switching to the R system, then I heard about this one..

Interesting statement about the 24-105/F4.0 since, that has a nice zoom range, and, to be honest, you don't want F2.8 or F2.0 all the time (since you have to focus dead on otherwise you miss the focus). I don't see the extra value over my EF 24-70 lens... in real life, I doubt you notice it.

Cost scale canon in order...3rd party lenses, ef s, ef, m or rf, r most expensive newest greatest no. You Pay more for lower fstop and portable compact lenses maybe no is for about $3k . No thanks. Two cost grades choices of ef lenses are great. Example ef 24-105mm is stm or ef 24-105 f4. Ef 24-70 f2.8 no is but ef 24-70 f4 is.

Tony hello there, please help me between lens 70-200mm RF or 28-70mm RF better?..

This lens is the only reason I will purchase a Canon R camera.

I just hope that the R5/future R cameras have lower ISO settings, as ISO50 at f/2.0 would look so much better than ISO100 at f/2.8. But if we are restricted to 100 then we are just going to have to use faster than necessary shutter speeds and lose the potentially medium format look. Hell why can't we have a camera where the base ISO is 10. Unless they design a dual gain sensor, the higher ISOs will be worse than current cameras but for landscape etc it would be ideal.

Got this lens. No regrets. Paired it with the RP and called it a day. In effect, I have ‘primes’ in my camera between 28-70mm. The weight of the lens alone provides an on-board stabilization (sort of).

Interesting to see the new R5 will have IBIS :D that should help make up for no stabilisation on the lens :)

The sputnik lens. Ive used it, and its incredible. Expensive, but incredible.

I walked around with this at Universal Studios, Florida and so many random people asked me to take their photo; such a wonderful piece of glass!

Am i bugging or is this video so high res the guy looks like the dancing baby 3d animation from the 90s

Me want

Can some one do comparison between RF 24-70mm vs RF 28-70mm at low light shooting and overall ????

Anybody who would buy this lens probably does not need explaining what 1 stop difference means.

$3000 is not that unreasonable considering how practical it is.

A fabulous lens. But...size matters, and I don’t think the bulk is worth it, not being a wedding or similar photog. I suspected the larger mount would equal heavier lenses and in fact it is being borne out. No IBIS and no IS makes this a puzzling lens. Great for low light...maybe. The only real claims for this lens over others is Bokeh and sharpness. Is that worth $3k? For 1/2 the price you can get the Sigma 105 f/1.4. Also a monster, but gets the job done. It seems to me that if you are using a fast zoom you are valuing speed of operations with mobility, and thus valuing size/weight. I think it is a marketing lens that will not get wide acceptance.

i love you guys and your videos - but i can’t help wonder why you keep talking about the eos r with such disdain. it isn’t pro? a tool is only as good as the user - no? i recently switched from the 1dxmkii to two eos r bodies with battery grips. i’ve been shooting with the 1dxmkii for almost five years - and loved it - but remember when everyone ripped it for only having one cfast slot!? it seems no camera is good enough - doesn’t have IBIS? when did shooters in the 60’s shooting film have stabilized cameras? i think although i know where you’re coming from comparing one camera against many, i still think it’s important to talk about the basic photographic skills from time to time - remind people how lucky they are with all the bells and whistles. ps - i can’t WAIT to get my hands on the 28-70 f2 as it’ll be my first rf lens. keep on keeping on guys!

Great review actually, but the part about a 'pro body' could have been left out at the end... nothing to do with any lens and some of us are really happy with the R as it is. Thanks.

Very honest review. Thank you.

The Canon 24-70 Ii F/2.8 is significantly less sharp than the Sony Gmaster equivalent. I’ve owned a few copies and and the GMaster is sharper.

Hi Tony, sorry I take to long to flow you guys, but I try to get the most information possible before I start spend money in a camera, it’s going to be my first oficial camera, I always used somebody else or when I was filming take some shot for my ex boss, I’m watching every scenario possible to make the right choice, I see the lenses are spectaculars and I know for fact the lenses always you can use in the future, the cameras is other history at the end get old and you replace with something new, but the glass still perfect, I said that because I’m a cinematographer and we replace cameras over the years, I start with film, so, the lenses still amazing. Anyway my first question is what is your choice or your best selection form the then3 ring, aperture, iso, shutter speed.

And my last 2 short questions, do you recommend an M6 as a second portable camera to have.

Reading about the new canon R, if come enough Pro after listening to the cons of the first mirrorless, so can have body stabilization and compensate the lenses this lenses,

What's the beef about the single card slot?

Next time you see a Canon rep let them know their pro lenses need IS and the R and Rp and future bodies need IBIS, if not Canon will lose sales to the competition. I'm ready for mirrorless but not until the IS/IBIS situation is resolved. Getting back the the lens I've yet to see or read a bad review of the lens optically but it's not the first constant aperture f/2 lens, that honor goes to the Sigma 24-35 f/2 Art.

Thank you so much Tony for this review, you saved me $$ of spending money.

Does one need Hulk arms to carry it?

Lens is only worth buying for a high MPIX body with IBIS. But for that it is perfect. Canon, are you listening?? Take my money soon or I will give it to you-know-who....