Versatile Zoom: A Review of the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM Lens

The Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens is the mirrorless version of the highly popular EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II lens, and along with an extra 100mm of reach, it brings with it many other improvements as well. With such a versatile focal length range, it is sure to be useful to a lot of photographers, and this great video review will show you what you can expect from it in practice. 

Coming to you from Wex Photo Video, this excellent video review takes a look at the Canon RF 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L IS USM lens. The 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L has a bevy of features, including:

  • Six ultra-low dispersion elements and one super ultra-low dispersion element for reduced chromatic aberrations and increased clarity
  • Customizable Control Ring 
  • Dual Nano USM focusing system with full-time manual override (when one-shot AF mode is used)
  • Optical Image Stabilizer with up to five stops of compensation and three separate modes
  • Fluorine coating on both front and rear elements
  • Adjustable torque on zoom ring
  • Slide window in lens hood for adjusting rotating filters
  • Weather- and dust-resistance

Altogether, the 100-500mm f/4.5-7.1L looks to be a highly versatile lens that offers impressively sharp results. Check out the video above for the full rundown. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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14 Comments

Seriously overpriced compared to the Sony and sigma offering.

Agreed the Sony 200-600 is $700 cheaper and just as sharp if not sharper.

I'm not a Canon nor Sony user, but good that you can compare lens sharpness on a 1080p video. Amazing!

No - just compared on Flickr. You can view images on much higher resolution photos.

Who's done a head to head with similar megapixel bodies, taking the same exact photos?

The Sony 100-400, 200-600 and the sigma 100-400 are all much better priced, and in the case of the Sony ones, much better lenses as well. Seems to be a trend with RF lenses..

Sony lenses aren't proving to be nearly as sharp as Canon and Nikon's mirrorless glass...

That's just not true. E-mount has some of the sharpest ff lenses ever made, while the latest RF offering has been average at best. A cheapo tamron 70-180 2.8 is way sharper than that fancy, overpriced RF 70-200 for example. E-mount also has the cheapest and most complete lineup of all milc systems by far.

I just sold my Sony A7RIII and Sony 100-400 and now have the R6 and RF 100-500 - I take mostly surf photos and so far have not seen any difference in photo quality between the two - I am not sure I would agree with you that the Canon 100-500 is "average" compared to the Sony 100-400?? The Canon RF 100-500 is a superb lens.

At least in my experience both Canon and Sony take equally great photos. I am finding the RF lenses easily match the photo quality of the Sony FF glass I had before.

Why did I moved to Canon?? it was for the better ergonomics of the Canon camera over the Sony body.

You paid more, lost a whole lot of light, and have to make due with a much worse sensor. All that to avoid a vertical grip?!
Anyway, we were talking about the lens, not the cameras.

Dude - why you being so grumpy?
BTW, you should learn how to spell correctly - its "do" not "due"

RF 100-500 is barely sharper than the EF 100-400 II, it's much more expensive than the Sony 200-600, and has a worse aperture, this lens is a joke.

Disappointed.

That lens looks like a wrist-wrecking behemoth. Speaking as someone with a wrecked wrist. I just gave away all my Canon equipment and am ready to start again with lightweight mirrorless equipment. (My brother-in-law is a photographer that never made the transition to digital. Maybe now he will). I haven't decided exactly what to buy yet, but obviously not Canon. Leaning toward Sony.

This is a mirrorless lens (RF not EF), and it is the lightest 1st party FF telephoto zoom, and 2nd lightest overall (after the Sigma 100-400C) on the market. https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-RF-100-500mm-F4.5-7.1-... scroll down to the weight and size comparison chart. If it's still heavy for you - an m3/4 system could be your answer.