The Sharpest Zoom Lens Ever? Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens Image Quality Test Results

Image quality, vignetting, and distortion test results, along with specs and measurements are now available on the Canon RF 100-300mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens page.

Can you find a zoom lens sharper wide open than this one? This lens optically performs better with extenders than even the big white RF prime lenses do with them.

Here is the comparison to the Canon EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM Lens. Incredibly, the zoom lens matches the sharpness of this impressive prime lens, including in the corners.

Add the 1.4x, and the zoom lens still matches, even exceeds in the corners, the optical performance of the prime.

At this point, you are not likely surprised that the zoom lens keeps up with the prime with the 2x extender mounted. I seldom appreciate the image quality produced with a 2x extender in the optical path, but the EF 300mm F2.8 IS II lens was one of the best with-2x performers, and the RF 100-300mm lens performs similarly (with slightly more but easily correctable lateral CA).

Creating high-grade with-extender image quality vastly increases the versatility of this zoom lens, and brings another outstanding zoom lens, the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM, into the radar.

This 200mm wide-open aperture comparison shows no winner. The 420mm vs. 400mm f/4 comparison also shows no winner, and ditto in the 600mm vs. 560mm f/5.6 comparison (though the RF lens has more lateral CA).

Many other comparisons are available:

Compared to the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens.

Compared to the Canon RF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM Lens.

With 2x compared to the RF 400 with 2x.

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