Richard and I decided to do one of those “Best of 2023” lists for Canon’s new gear that was announced in 2023. As most of you know, Canon had a pretty busy year product-wise, while they didn’t make every segment of our community happy, they did release a lot of great products.
Craig’s #3: Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM
The Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM is an astounding achievement for Canon. Taking the much loved and classic EF 300mm f/2.8L, giving it a zoom range while maintaining the legendary image quality and keeping the weight nearly the same (only 200g heavier).
I have used the lens extensively for basketball and have found it to perform just as well as the RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM and it gives me a bit more versatility when it comes to venue differences and where one is allowed to shoot from.
Performance with both the RF 1.4x and RF 2.0x teleconverters is fantastic. Autofocus speed and image quality are both consistent in the real world.
My one knock on this lens is the tripod collar. Why does Canon still refuse to put an Arca mount on their feet? Plates aren’t overly convenient and have their own quirks. It’s a small thing, but I wish it was something Canon would get on board with.
In the end, the RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM is both a technical achievement as well as a product that checks all the boxes for its intended shooters.
The Canon RF 100-300mm f/2.8L IS USM is available in limited quantities.
Richard’s #3: Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM
I have a slightly different list than Craig, so we are adding both our opinions and letting you all scrap it out in the forums on who’s right, meaning, of course, me. For those who have followed me on CanonNews, you’d appreciate that I tend to value travel and utility over Canon’s bigger and more breathtaking L lenses. So my picks will certainly have that bias.
I had a little trouble organizing my picks into a ranking, but I’m going to put the RF-S 10-18mm as third on my list.
This lens was necessary for the RF-S mount especially because unlike the EF-M mount, there is no 15-45mm kit lens, only an 18-45mm. This means that before this lens you could only go as wide as 29mm on the RF-S system without resorting to full-frame lenses, or the adapted EF-S lens. While Canon has always treated APS-C rather poorly, this lens was critical for the RF-S system to have any sort of credibility against its competitors.
Don’t get me wrong the Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8L is a marvelous lens, but it doesn’t define the usefulness of a fairly well-rounded RF system that the 10-18mm may and can do for those using APS-C camera bodies on the RF system. I’m sure that the RF-S 10-18mm isn’t on Craig’s list in the #1 or 2 spot because it reminds him too much of the EOS-M system 😉
The Canon RF-S 10-18mm F4.5-6.3 IS STM is available globally.
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