I kept hearing the same two things about the new Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z: that it was seriously sharp, and that it was light. That was enough to get me curious. I already used the RF 100-300mm F2.8, so the idea of something in a similar league but a lot lighter, and that could take a teleconverter, was too interesting to leave alone. With my Puffins in the Midnight Sun workshop on Grímsey coming up, I borrowed one from Ófar and put it to work.
The real question I wanted to answer was simple: can you actually use the RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z for wildlife? The short version is that it’s a brilliant lens, at its best when your subject is close, and still very capable with the 2x extender when you need more reach, as long as you know its one quirk in harsh light. Let’s dive in!
Full disclosure: This is not a sponsored review. I borrowed the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z for a week from Ofar/Canon Iceland and used it during my Puffins in the Midnight Sun photo workshop. I am not being paid to write this review nor did anyone get any input or preview. All opinions are my own.
At A Glance: Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Z
| Spec | Value |
| Full name | Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Z |
| Mount | Canon RF |
| Announced | 29 October 2024 |
| Available from | 14 November 2024 |
| Zoom design | Internal (non-extending) zoom and focus |
| Optical construction | 18 elements in 15 groups |
| Special optics | 3x aspherical / 2x Super UD / 1x UD |
| Aperture blades | 11 (circular) |
| Minimum aperture | f/22 |
| Closest focusing distance | 0.49m at 70mm / 0.68m at 200mm |
| Max magnification | 0.3x at 200mm |
| Image stabilisation | Up to 5.5 stops OIS (CIPA 2024); more with in-body IS |
| AF motor | Dual Nano USM |
| Control ring | Yes / plus Iris Ring |
| Filter diameter | 82mm |
| Dimensions | 88.5 x 199mm (retracted) |
| Weight | 1110g black / 1115g white (excl. tripod mount) |
| Extender compatibility | Canon RF 1.4x and RF 2x (full zoom range) |
| With RF 1.4x | 98-280mm / f/4 / 0.42x / AF + IS retained |
| With RF 2x | 140-400mm / f/5.6 / 0.6x / AF + IS retained |
| Power Zoom Adapter | Optional PZ-E2 / PZ-E2B (video) |
| Weather sealing | Dust/moisture resistant / fluorine front coating |
The RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z on Grímsey. Light enough to carry around a clifftop all day.
Why I Had The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z On Grímsey
What pulled me in was the weight. My RF 100-300mm F2.8 is a stunning lens, but it’s a big, heavy thing to carry around a clifftop all day. The 70-200mm F2.8 Z promised something close to that quality in a much lighter, more compact body, and unlike the older RF 70-200, this one takes Canon’s RF teleconverters. For puffins that mix is genuinely tempting: f/2.8 for the soft light, low weight for the long days, and a 2x extender in the bag for when a bird sits further out. Grímsey, one of the best places in Iceland to photograph puffins, where you can often get properly close to the birds, was the perfect place to find out whether it holds up.
If you’re heading there yourself, please read my guide to photographing puffins ethically first. Getting close is a privilege you earn, not something the bird owes you.
Fit the RF 2x and it becomes a 140-400mm f/5.6.
Waiting it out on the cliffs of Grímsey.
Is 70-200mm Long Enough For Wildlife?
This really depends on your subject. Puffins are unusually approachable. On Grímsey, if a bird isn’t too nervous or twitchy, you can often get within about five metres, and at that distance 200mm fills the frame nicely. That is the whole reason a 70-200mm can work here at all. For more skittish wildlife, or anything you simply can’t approach, 200mm runs out of reach quickly, and that’s when you add the 2x and the 140-400mm range it gives you. So the honest answer: it’s long enough when you can get close, and you’ll want the extender for when you can’t.
At 200mm and f/2.8, there’s room for the bird to sit in its world.
With the 2x on at 400mm, the same scene tightens right up.
Shoot With Me
Put This Lens On Real Subjects
A long lens only proves itself in the field. On my Iceland, Greenland and Antarctica workshops we can shoot puffins on the cliffs, arctic fox at distance, penguins and seals from Zodiacs, and even orcas if we’re lucky. As small as possible groups, ethical fieldcraft, and the kind of patience that turns a decent lens into a portfolio.
Handling, Inner Zoom And Build In Grímsey Wind And Sea Spray
The first thing I noticed when I picked up the RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z is how light it feels in the hand. At around 1110g it isn’t a small lens, but it balances nicely and it’s genuinely easy to handle for long stretches, which matters when you’re tracking puffins for hours.
What I really like, though, is the internal zoom. The barrel doesn’t telescope in and out as you zoom, so the lens isn’t constantly pumping air, dust and moisture through itself the way an externally zooming lens does. On somewhere like Grímsey, where sea spray and drizzle are just part of the day, that sealed, non-extending design is reassuring.
It also has proper stabilisation, which matters for handholding a telephoto in low light. Canon rates the optical IS at up to 5.5 stops on its own, and up to 7.5 stops when it works together with the in-body stabilisation in bodies like the R5 Mark II and R6 Mark III. There’s even a dedicated Mode 3 built for erratically moving subjects, which is pretty much the definition of a puffin coming in to land.
The build backs that up. It handled rain and wet conditions without any drama, which is exactly what you want for wildlife work in Iceland, and the tripod collar is one of my favourites: the foot comes off without taking the whole ring off the lens, which sounds minor but makes a real difference in the field. For a 70-200mm f/2.8, it’s also hard to beat on size, it stays genuinely compact because the zoom never extends.
And this week really tested it. We had some extreme wind and rain on Grímsey, properly wild weather, and the lens just took it in its stride. Honestly, the conditions were half the fun: puffins sheltering from the gusts and then gliding back along the wind made everything more dynamic, and the lens never once got in the way of catching it.
In practice I never reached for a gimbal. I almost always shoot these birds handheld anyway, and this lens is light enough to do exactly that all day, with the f/2.8 and the stabilisation working together so I never felt I needed one.
Autofocus On Puffins In Flight
Autofocus is fast. Really fast. Acquisition is near instant, and the Dual Nano USM system locks onto the subject without hunting in good light.
On the puffins, it just worked. Tracking birds coming in to land, it locked on and stayed locked, and the keeper rate was high enough that I stopped thinking about focus and started thinking about timing. I shot it on both the R5 Mark II and the R6 Mark III and honestly couldn’t separate them, both were excellent. The part that surprised me most: even with the 2x on, at f/5.6, I got no hunting at all. That isn’t something I can say about every lens-and-extender pairing. I lean on my custom modes to flip between settings for perched birds and birds in flight, and the lens kept pace with both.
A returning puffin at 400mm with the 2x. The autofocus stayed locked on.
Image Quality Wide Open At f/2.8
Wide open at f/2.8, the rendering is lovely. The bokeh is really nice, smooth and clean, and it does a great job of lifting a puffin off a busy cliff background.
Wide open at 200mm it’s properly sharp, with the kind of feather detail that makes editing a pleasure rather than a rescue job. Put the 2x on and you lose a touch of bite at 400mm, but with a sensible edit it honestly isn’t something I notice in the final image. For a lens reaching that far on a teleconverter, that’s impressive.
Wide open at f/2.8, the background melts away behind the birds.
Clean separation, even against a bright, busy backdrop.
Sharp on a fast bird, with the sea rendered into soft colour behind it.
How The RF 2x Extender Performs (140-400mm f/5.6)
The 2x extender buys you reach, but it isn’t free. With the RF 2x mounted the lens becomes a 140-400mm f/5.6, and that extra reach is genuinely useful on puffins that won’t let you get close.
The one thing I did notice is some colour fringing with the 2x on, but only in really harsh, high-contrast light, like a backlit dark puffin against a bright sky. In normal conditions it simply isn’t an issue. It’s lateral chromatic aberration, a known trait of the 2x specifically rather than the bare lens, and it’s largely correctable in raw with the lens profile. So it’s worth knowing about, but it’s far from a constant problem.
So is it just reach in a pinch, or reach you’d actually keep? For me, it’s the latter. With a little care in the edit, the 400mm files are keepers, not throwaways I’d only use with nothing else to hand. The fringing is the thing to watch in harsh, backlit light, but away from that, the 2x earns its place in the bag.
The full frame the crops below come from. 400mm with the 2x, backlit.
After editing: the fringing lifts out cleanly with the lens profile in raw and after applying a few smart edits targeting the purple colouring.
Straight out of camera: purple fringing along the backlit wing edges with the 2x.
How It Compares To The RF 100-300mm And RF 100-500mm
Here’s where I’ll be honest: for wildlife, this lens sits just below my other two telephotos, and the extender fringing is why.
For all-round versatility I still reach for the RF 100-500mm, especially in good light. That range is so useful for wildlife that the f/2.8 of the 70-200 doesn’t make up for it most of the time. The RF 100-300mm F2.8 is the one I love for buttery smooth bokeh and for working in lower light. It’s a special lens, though it’s heavy and it costs a small fortune. This new 70-200mm lands a step below both for me, purely because of that fringing once the 2x goes on. None of that takes away from what it is: a light, sharp, fast f/2.8 zoom. But if wildlife reach is your priority, the other two pull ahead.
| Lens | Reach (bare / with 2x) | Max aperture | Weight | Approx price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z | 70-200mm / 140-400mm | f/2.8 | ~1110g | ~US$2,799 | A light, fast f/2.8 telephoto when you can get close |
| RF 100-300mm F2.8 | 100-300mm / 200-600mm | f/2.8 | ~2650g | ~US$9,500 | The best bokeh and low-light rendering |
| RF 100-500mm | 100-500mm / 300-1000mm (restricted) | f/4.5-7.1 | ~1370g | ~US$2,899 | All-round wildlife versatility and reach |
Who The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z Is (And Isn’t) For
Buy it if you want a light, fast telephoto and you can usually get close to your subjects. If you shoot wildlife you can approach, like puffins, or you want f/2.8 for low light and separation without hauling a heavy lens around all day, this is a lovely tool. It’s also a brilliant general 70-200 for portraits, events and travel, with wildlife reach on tap the moment you add the 2x.
Skip it if reach is your main concern. If you’re regularly shooting skittish or distant wildlife, you’ll be happier with the range of the RF 100-500mm or a longer lens like the RF 200-800mm, and if bokeh and low light matter most to you, the RF 100-300mm F2.8 is the special one. For my style, on subjects I can get close to, the 70-200 Z earns its place. Just know what you need it for before you buy.
Light, fast and sharp. When you can get close, it earns its place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z Long Enough For Puffin Photography?
Often, yes. Puffins are approachable, and on a place like Grímsey you can frequently get within about five metres, where 200mm fills the frame nicely. When a bird sits further out, the RF 2x extender takes you to 400mm. So for puffins specifically it’s long enough more often than you’d think, with the extender there for the rest.
Does The RF 70-200mm Z Work With The RF 1.4x And 2x Extenders?
Yes. It’s compatible with both the RF 1.4x (giving 98-280mm f/4) and the RF 2x (giving 140-400mm f/5.6), with autofocus and stabilisation retained. I only used the 2x on this trip, and even at f/5.6 it focused without any hunting.
How Sharp Is The RF 70-200mm Z With The 2x Extender At 400mm?
You lose a little sharpness compared to the bare lens, but with a sensible edit it isn’t something I notice in the final image. At 400mm on a 2x, the files are keepers.
Is The RF 70-200mm Z Or The RF 100-300mm F2.8 Better For Puffins?
For me the RF 100-300mm F2.8 still edges it on pure image quality, with smoother bokeh and better low-light performance. The 70-200mm Z wins on weight and on price, and it’s lovely when you can get close. If you want the very best rendering, go 100-300; if you want light and fast, the 70-200 Z makes a lot of sense.
Is The RF 70-200mm Z Good In The Low Light Of The Midnight Sun?
Yes. The f/2.8 aperture and the strong stabilisation (up to 5.5 stops on its own, up to 7.5 with the in-body IS on the R5 II and R6 III) make it easy to handhold in the soft, low light of the Icelandic summer night.
Is The Internal Zoom Worth It For Wildlife In Wind?
I think so. The barrel doesn’t extend as you zoom, so it isn’t pumping air, dust and moisture through the lens, and it handled the wet, windy weather on Grímsey without any trouble. It also keeps the balance consistent in the hand.
My Quick Verdict
So can you use the RF 70-200mm F2.8 Z for wildlife? Yes, and for a lot of wildlife it’s brilliant. For subjects you can get reasonably close to, like the puffins on Grímsey, the bare lens up to 200mm is lovely: light, sharp and quick to focus. When you need more reach you add the RF 2x and get to 400mm, and that’s the one place to go in with your eyes open, because in harsh, backlit, high-contrast light the 2x can introduce some purple fringing. It’s situational rather than constant, and you can usually clean it up in raw. This isn’t a lens I’d steer anyone away from for wildlife. It’s a superb performer with one trade-off to manage if you lean on the extender a lot.
What I Like
- Lovely, smooth bokeh that lifts a subject off a busy background
- Fast, confident autofocus
- Impressively compact and light for a 70-200mm f/2.8
- Excellent weather resistance, it shrugged off rain and wet conditions
- A tripod collar whose foot comes off without taking the whole ring off the lens
- Strong stabilisation (up to 7.5 stops with IBIS) and a sealed internal zoom
What I Don’t Like
- With the RF 2x, some purple fringing in harsh, backlit, high-contrast light, though it’s situational and largely correctable in raw
Would I add it to my own bag for wildlife? Probably not while I have the 100-500mm and the 100-300mm. But as a light, sharp, do-everything f/2.8 that can moonlight as a wildlife lens when you can get close, it’s a seriously good one, and on Grímsey, with the puffins almost close enough to touch, it was a joy to shoot.
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