EF means "electronic focus," meaning that there is an autofocus motor in the lens itself. All Canon lenses since 1987 have been EF. With a 9-bladed rounded diaphragm, I get pretty good 18-pointed sunstars on brilliant points of light at the smallest apertures.

Autofocus is just about instantaneous on my EOS R5. It's so fast that I compared how fast my own eyes could focus from 3 feet (1m) to infinity), and the 70-200 & R5 combination are faster! Ultra sharp, even wide-open where there's no depth-of-field to help us. It's easy to read the tiny print from my front tire: Images from this RF lens are beautiful, with plenty of 'pop' and three-dimensionality, and the sharpness gives real bite to the resolution across the entire frame. This is an even bigger deal when you're shooting on the hi-res bodies such as the Canon EOS R5, as weaknesses in the glass are exposed by its 45MP sensor (especially in the corners and edges, where softness and muddiness generally hide). For less money, the B+W 77mm 010 is an excellent filter, as are the multicoated version and the basic multicoated Hoya filters, but the Hoya HD3 is the toughest and the best. Smallest, lightest and closest-focussing 70-200/2.8 ever. (OK, the newer RF 70-200mm f/4 focuses closer and the huge Thai-made Nikon Z 70-200/2.8 can focus closer at 70mm, but not as close at 200mm where we need it.)

inches to cm conversion chart

Even wide open here at f/2.8, it's still very sharp. Of course nothing is in focus at f/2.8 this close except for a vapor-thin plane that intersects some of the watch trim as shown above. These are all shot hand-held as NORMAL JPGs; no tripods, FINE JPGs or RAW CR3 files were used or needed. This L lens is optimized for 35mm film and full-frame digital, and of course works on 1.3x and 1.6x Canon cameras.

Optical Image Stabilization (OIS or IS) works great. I get perfect sharpness most of the time hand-held, standing with no bracing, most of the time at 1/8 at 70mm and 1/15 at 200mm. Desert Brush at Dawn, 21 November 2016. Nikon D810, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8 FL at 160mm at f/16 hand-held at 1/40 at Auto ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution file to explore on your computer. Storage & organisation Furniture Textiles Kitchenware & tableware Kitchens Lighting Decoration Rugs, mats & flooring Beds & mattresses Baby & children Smart home Bathroom products Laundry & cleaning Plants & plant pots Home electronics Home improvement Outdoor living Food & beverages Christmas Shop Shop by room

The Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM showcases (almost) everything that's best about the RF system

Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM (on Canon EOS R5) at 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO100 (Image credit: James Artaius / Digital Camera World) Verdict I see four stops of real-world improvement, and not quite as good as on the EOS RP with no in-body stabilization. Other than the diaphragm staying at f/2.8, exposure, autofocus, metering and VR work fine other digital cameras. On my Nikon F6 it only shoots at f/2.8 and everything else is perfect.