Canon’s RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 Lens Has 20th-Century Roots and Costs Just $220
Canon unveiled a blast from the past in late April when it unveiled the “new” RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens, an RF-mount version of the venerable budget EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III released in 1999. Canon today announced U.S. pricing and availability for the 20th-century zoom, plus a new EOS R100 kit.
The RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens is set to arrive on store shelves in the United States this month at a budget-friendly price of just $219.99. Photographers will be hard-pressed to find a telephoto zoom lens easier on the wallet, especially one that covers a full-frame image sensor.
While the RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 works on full-frame cameras, Canon is clearly positioning it for entry-level APS-C camera owners, including those with the EOS R50 and R100 bodies. The R100, Canon’s most affordable EOS R-series mirrorless camera, starts at just $429 for the body only on Amazon right now as part of the company’s Prime Day event.
When paired with an APS-C RF-mount camera, such as the R100, the RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens delivers a 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 120-480mm, offering budding photographers significant reach and enabling them to capture close-up shots of distant subjects.
Of course, despite its new case and RF mount, albeit one lacking the Control Ring found on many RF lenses, the telephoto zoom is still an old-school optic. It has the same basic specificationsspecifications as its EF predecessor, including the same 13 lens elements arranged across nine groups, a a seven-bladed aperture diaphragm, and a a DC motor. The lens can focus as close as 1.5 meters (4.9 feet), providing a maximum magnification of 0.25x.
The lens weighs just 507 grams (1.1 pounds) and is 146 millimeters (5.8 inches) long, although it extends as the photographer zooms. The lens accepts 58mm front filters.
While it is easy to criticize a rehoused version of a 26-year-old lens, which itself was essentially unchanged from even older EF zoom lenses, it is good that more photographers will have access to an affordable telephoto zoom lens. Photography is an expensive hobby, so whenever the barrier to entry gets a little easier to clear, it’s a good thing. That said, photographers should expect the “new” lens to deliver outdated performance.
Sample Images
Pricing and Availability
The Canon RF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 lens will arrive later this month for $219.99, the same list price as the existing EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III version.
The lens will also be included in a new Canon EOS R100 Double Zoom Lens Kit for $799.99, which will presumably still include the Canon RF-S 18-45mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM lens and ditch the RF-S 55-210mm f/5-7.1 IS STM that is currently sold in a zoom kit.
Image credits: Canon
