The reason behind the 24-105 IS STM F4-7.1

There are many hands wringing over the Canon RF 24-105 IS STM F4-7.1.

Let's face it, Canon's made a lot of success from the EOS-M lenses that are for the EF-M mount, and most of the zooms go to F6.3.  F7.1 for full frame isn't much of a jump.  In actual light-gathering, an F7.1 lens is actually faster than the EF-M zooms.

The price is small enough (relatively for full frame lenses) that Canon can bundle these into kits and take a little loss on the lens and provide the bundle at a very competitive cost.  Consider that Sony is pretty much giving away the 28-70mm kit lens right now, this is a necessary option for the RF mount.

Let's look at the current kit lenses and the EOS RP.

The Canon RF 24-105 IS STM F4-7.1 shown is an approximation of the size, but you can clearly see that it's far more balanced on the EOS RP than the other two options.  This should lead to a more pleasant shooting experience using the kit lens for consumers which the EOS RP is geared towards.

Okay so this new kit lens may not be for you.  But it's not as if the RF mount isn't spoiled for choices literally less than 2 years after the release of the RF system.  There is;

• Canon RF 24-105 F4L IS USM
• Canon RF 24-70 F2.8L IS USM
• Canon RF 28-70 F2.0L USM
• Canon RF 24-240 F4-6.3 IS USM

Canon basically has a normal zoom for any requirement.  This was the one missing piece - the low end consumer zoom.