Canon announces the Canon RF 75-300mm lens for the US markets

Okay.

This is a good example of you get what you pay for. And under no circumstances should anyone purchase this lens. I'm not even sure what bean counter thought this lens was a good idea, but it's not something anyone should waste money on. People that have read what I write here, and also on Canon Rumors, know that I love cheap, lightweight and great bang for the buck lenses. I'm not elitist in any way. But I'll never ever say you should get something that is a complete waste of money. This lens, even at $219, is exactly that.

Canon didn't even upgrade the motor on this lens to better suit mirrorless camera AF, so you are stuck with old pre digital DC micromotor technology from Canon's film days. Yes. From the FILM era, folks.

This lens was bad on 8.2mp crop cameras and 12MP full frame cameras. Now, with 24mp and 32.5mp crop cameras and a mimimum of 24MP for full frame cameras, this lens is 20 years past it's prime (if it ever had a prime).

Save your money, hunt around for a used Canon EF 70-200 F4L (original non-IS version) which will cost a little over what this lens will, and simply crop your image 15%. Your images will look fantastically better than what this Canon RF 75-300 could ever dream of accomplishing.

I'm not going to put up links for this lens or the R100 kit that it's now bundled with because I can't in good conscience do that. As much as I loathe the R100, even it deserves better than this lens.

Here's the press release. Just because.

Bring life even closer with the new RF 75-300mm F4-5.6 telephoto zoom lens

London, UK, 29 April 2025 – Today, Canon announces the RF 75-300mm F4-5.6, a lightweight, easy-to-use telephoto zoom lens that’s ideal for users starting out in nature and sports photography with an EOS R System camera.

With its amazing reach and flexible zoom range, the RF 75-300mm F4-5.6 provides creative freedom when shooting photos and video of subjects you can’t physically get close to. Users can keep their distance to avoid disturbing wild animals and birds or zoom right into the action when photographing a sports event from the sidelines. The streamlined design lets users react quickly, with a large zoom ring requiring little more than a quarter of a turn to run through the entire zoom range.

At 300mm it’s possible to get as close as 1.5m to fill the frame with detail, making this lens a practical solution for portraits of animals and people. The long zoom and wide, seven-blade aperture ensure superb separation between a sharp subject and blurred background for a refined look.

This classic entry-level, full-frame 75-300mm lens can be used on any camera equipped with Canon’s advanced RF mount. Paired with an APS-C body such as the EOS R100, it delivers a more powerful 120-480mm effective reach to bring distant subjects even closer. Despite its extensive telephoto coverage, the lens weighs just 507g and is a compact 146.1mm in length when retracted. It’s one of the lightest lenses in its class and ready to go anywhere, from local sport matches to remote nature reserves.

The versatile range of focal lengths, affordable pricing and outstanding portability of the RF 75-300mm F4-5.6 ensure that everyone is able to extend their reach and take their passion further.

Key features of the RF 75-300mm F4-5.6:

Flexible 75-300mm focal length range for full-frame EOS R System cameras, extending to 120-480mm equivalent view on APS-C models
1.5 metre minimum focusing distance at 300mm for frame-filling detail
Compact and lightweight design: Measures just 146.1mm in length when stored and weighs approximately 507g
7-blade circular aperture for beautiful background blur
Super Spectra coating to reduce ghosting and flare