Every so often, a new superzoom telephoto lens grabs our attention. Mostly, it’s third-party lens-makers like Sigma and Tamron battling over stratospheric focal lengths or huge apertures. Canon, it seemed, was content to focus on sensible quality and let other companies make the headlines. But the Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM is a serious challenger to the superzoom throne.
The RF 200-800mm offers a record 600mm difference in focal length from wide to tele, for full-frame cameras anyway, and achieves this in a body weighing just over 2kg and 31cm long. However, there are compromises to be made, with the maximum aperture being limited to f/6.3-9, making it considerably narrower than other rival lenses with less ambitious focal lengths.
The RF 200-800mm is designed for full-frame cameras, but
