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Wednesday, 29 November 2023

Canon RF-S 55-210mm f5-7.1 IS STM crop sensor medium tele lens. An 8 month follow up user review 29 November 2023

 


 

Noisy miner take off   All photos Canon EOS R10 with RF-S 55-210mm lens. 


I posted my initial review of the Canon RF-S 55-210mm f5-7.1 IS STM lens in April 2023. This post is a follow-up after 8 months of use.

The quick take ? The more I use this lens the more I appreciate it. The RF-S 55-210mm is  sleeper. A really good product which has attracted little attention.

In October 2023 Canon  announced the end of their APSC crop sensor  EF-M system after 11 years.

In its place we have APSC crop sensor bodies and lenses using the larger RF mount which was introduced in 2018.

Now all Canon’s mirrorless interchangeable lens models use the same RF mount.

Lenses designed with a small image circle suitable for bodies with an APSC crop sensor are designated RF-S.

The main appeal of EF-M lenses was and still is for those who own them, compact size and light weight with good image quality.

It appears Canon is on the same pathway with their RF-S lenses.

It is early days for the RF-S subsystem but we already have four lenses specifically designed for crop sensor RF mount cameras.

As of November 2023,  RF-S camera bodies available are the R7, R10, R50, R100.

The four RF-S lenses released to date are:

2022: RF-S 18-45mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM standard kit zoom. New design for RF-S.

2022: RF-S 18-150mm f3.5-6.3 IS STM premium kit zoom. This is a re-housed version of the EF-M 18-150mm lens with improved close-up capability.

2023: RF-S 55-210mm f5-7.1 IS STM. New design for RF-S and the subject of this review.

2023: RF-S 10-18mm f4.5-6.3 IS STM. New design for RF-S, due for sale in December 2023.

Each of these lenses features similar styling and all plastic construction, including the lens mount, which by the way, has proven to be durable and reliable in the EF-M system with no problems reported on user forums as far as I am aware.

The RF lens mount has an outside diameter of 69mm.  Each of the lenses to date has an outside diameter of 62mm which is 1mm greater than the erstwhile EF-M lens series.

As a result the RF-S lenses are easily recognised with their outer barrel diameter being smaller than their mount diameter, producing the characteristic step-down appearance of RF-S lenses.

Canon has a history of making crop sensor lenses in the medium tele range.

In 2013 we saw the EF-S 55-250mm f4-5.6 for APSC crop sensor DSLRs.

In 2014 the EF-M 55-200mm f4.5-6.3 was introduced. A reduction in focal length range and aperture allowed the EF-M lens to be substantially smaller and lighter than the EF-S lens.

Now in 2023 we have the RF-S 55-210mm version of the same theme but with a completely different optical formulation. The EF-M lens had 17 elements in 11 groups.

The new RF-S lens has 11 elements in 8 groups. Length is 94mm, barrel diameter 62mm, mass 270 grams, filter size 55mm.

The combined mass of an EOS R10 with battery and card plus the RF-S  55-210mm lens with protect filter and lens hood is only 724 grams. The overall length including camera body is 160mm. This makes a remarkably light, compact versatile medium tele zoom kit which is also moderately priced at around AUD 2000 and that includes the 18-45mm kit lens which comes with the camera.

The R5 plus RF 100-300mm f2.8 L combination on the left cost 11 times as much as the R10 plus RF-S 55-210mm combination on the right and is much heavier.

Full frame equivalent focal length range is 88-336mm.

Full frame equivalent aperture range is f7.2-11.4.

The RF 55-210mm can form part of a two lens kit with the RF-S 18-45mm standard kit lens or take the medium tele role in a three lens kit with the RF-S 10-18mm ultrawide and the RF-S 18-45mm standard.

I sometimes read complaints in photography forums about the lack of wide aperture, high grade lenses in Canon’s APSC crop sensor catalogue. I think these complaints are from people who don’t altogether appreciate the logistics of the relationship between full frame and crop sensor lenses.

To illustrate my point with an example let us look first at the Canon RF 50mm f1.8 “nifty-fifty” standard full frame prime lens. In Australia today it costs AU$305. Length is 43mm and mass 160grams. I own and have often used one of these. From about f4 it delivers excellent image quality right across the frame.

If we wanted an equivalent lens in APSC format it would require a focal length of about 32mm and a maximum aperture of f1.13.

Fujifilm offers an XF 33mm f1.4 for APSC which comes close enough for our discussion. This lens is twice the size, twice the mass and over twice the price of the Canon full frame lens. 

I could go on offering similar examples across the range of prime and zoom lenses.

My point is that the primary appeal of crop sensor interchangeable lens cameras and lenses is compact size, light weight and moderate price. When camera/lens makers make wide aperture optics for APSC they end up larger, heavier and more expensive than a full frame lens with equivalent focal length and aperture.

RF-S 55-210mm on EOS R10


Which brings us by a slightly circuitous route back to the subject of this post, the RF-S 55-210mm f5-7.1 IS STM lens. This little medium tele zoom slipped onto the market with barely a ripple in the sea of marketing hype which accompanies some more fancied products.

I could not find many published reviews about the lens and no long term user experience reports. Most so-called reviews are just promo pieces by photography gear vendors. Some are quickie posts from websites prioritising rapid publication over experience in use.

The most thorough review I found is from The Digital Picture which describes sharpness as “reasonable” at 55-70mm but “a bit soft” at 135-210mm.

RF-S 55-210mm at 210mm the whole frame. The house is 1.6 kilometers from the camera on a hazy dull day about to rain. Hand held f8

This is a very heavy crop from the photo above. The foliage details hold up very well. Pretty good for a budget lens in unfavourable conditions


   
My experience has been more positive than this. I find both on my test chart and in the field that the lens is very sharp across the frame right from the widest aperture in the 55-100mm zoom  range. There is some reduction in sharpness in the corners as is the case with the great majority of lenses but in this case not to the extent that I notice it in photographs. In the 150-210mm range I find perceptible loss of contrast which can give the appearance of reduced sharpness in un-edited Raw files. However with a nudge to the Contrast, Texture, Clarity and Sharpness sliders in Adobe Camera Raw I find that images at the 150-210mm focal lengths sharpen up quite nicely.


The rear element looks like an optical flat presumably to keep dust out.




I find the likeability factor is often overlooked by lens reviewers who tend to praise ultimate optical capability over practicality.   In the long run though, practicality, ergonomics and likeability are much more important provided the quality and capability are good enough for the purpose for which the lens will be used.

An overworn but still true aphorism says that the best camera or lens is the one we have with us when a photo op appears. In the case of the RF-S 55-210mm lens and the EOS R10 body which is a perfect match for the lens, the kit is so light and compact it can be taken anywhere in a small bag. I use a LowePro Toploader Zoom 45 AW Mk2 which fits as if bespoke with plenty of room for spare batteries, memory cards and cleaning cloths.

I leave a 55mm Hoya HD Protect filter mounted permanently. My tests show no adverse effect on lens function and in wet, dusty or salt spray conditions the filter sure is easier to clean than the front element of the lens.

I have a JJC reversible lens hood fitted. I slightly prefer the genuine Canon ones as they appear to be made of a more rigid material but the JJC alternative is less expensive and more readily available.

The main criticisms I have read about small aperture crop sensor lenses are

* Plastic construction including the mount and probably the aspheric optical element. I think this is just prejudice. I have been using plastic or “engineering polycarbonate” if you prefer, bodies and lenses for years and have never had a structural problem with any of them. Actually polycarbonate is much less prone to scratches, marks or dents than metal.

* Small maximum aperture. This comes with the territory.  In the good old DSLR days lenses would not focus reliably at apertures smaller than f5.6. These days with Canon Dual Pixel AF there is no problem with autofocus at small apertures, even f16 in good light.  

However there are two real issues.

The first is than in low light conditions small apertures (high f-numbers) mean we must use higher ISO sensitivity settings with consequent increase in digital noise and loss of fine detail. The partial fix for this comes in the form of Adobe Denoise AI which we activate via the “enhance” command in Adobe Camera Raw or Lightroom.

This is remarkably effective in reducing even blizzard-like grain and manages to do this while retaining all the detail in the original file, a feat which standard noise reduction algorithms cannot do effectively.

The second issue is that small apertures make it difficult to smoothly blur out busy backgrounds. Again Adobe Camera Raw comes to the rescue with a workable fix.

If the photo has a clearly defined subject and background, for instance a bird in a bushland setting we can select the subject (bird) and background separately and subject each to different editing adjustments.

Thus we can brighten and sharpen the subject and lower contrast, texture and clarity in the background thus creating a smoother out of focus rendition. The effect is not quite as convincing as that given by original capture with a wide aperture lens but is a positive step in the desired direction and plenty good enough for most photos.

* No weather sealing.  You want weather sealing ?    Spend more money. That’s the deal.

* No lens hood in the box ! ! !  Come on Canon. I would be surprised if a simple bayonet hood like the one for this lens cost as much as a dollar to make. Please, please, just put one in the box with every lens. You will make many friends.

Here are some details about the RF-S 55-210mm lens.

The focus/control ring at the front of the barrel is easily located by feel and turns smoothly. I actually would prefer if it offered a bit more drag. It can be used for manual focus or as a control ring as defined in the relevant menu.


The zoom ring is wide and turns smoothly with no apparent free play. Very nice, well machined, a pleasure to use.

There are no levers or switches on the lens barrel. This is standard practice with EF-M and RF-S lenses. Set AF/MF and IS on/off in the menus.

Autofocus on the EOS R10 is fast, accurate, quiet and reliable.

The image stabiliser is reliably effective giving approximately 3 EV step benefit.

I have already talked about sharpness. The lens is also decently resistant to flares of various kinds with the sun shining on the front element.

The out of focus rendition (bokeh) is decently smooth with little evidence of double lining and ni-sen.

Close-ups are readily achieved with a maximum magnification of 0.28x at 210mm zoom. This is really handy for capturing little things without having to get too close to the subject.

Distortion is minimal barrel at most focal lengths with Adobe Raw conversion profile.

Peripheral shading is evident at the widest aperture at each focal length, becoming less so as the aperture is reduced (larger f-number) and is easily removed in post processing if desired.

Color fringing is minimal even with foliage against a hot sky in the periphery of the frame.

Overall I rate the optical and mechanical performance of this lens at the high end of the very good level on a scale of unsatisfactory, acceptable, good, very good, excellent, outstanding.

As to portability, likeability and value for money I rate it as excellent.

Summary

The Canon RF-S 55-210mm lens has quietly slipped onto the market without fanfare.  Reviewers and commentators have largely ignored it.

What a pity. It is a really good lens which is very versatile and capable.

I recommend it highly for any Canon user thinking about or in the process of building an RF-S body/lens kit.

 

 

The Rainbow lorikeets love to have a bath

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 






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