The ‘Coke Can’ Ships Thursday

Readers report that retailers will start shipping the Canon RF 70-200 f/4L on Thursday, with the first customers getting theirs on Friday. Several have gotten emails from retailers telling them of the shipping plan. The long-anticipated lens that was originally to debut a few weeks before Christmas.

The f/4 version of the 70-20 RF-mount 70-200 will have a 0.28x magnification ratio, 5-stop IS, and very good sharpness across the frame, especially at the 200mm focal length, according to its MTF chart. The 70mm end isn’t bad, but will show some sharpness hits on the edge. The call-out feature of this lens, though, is its size: it borrows the variable-length feature of its f/2.8 sister, combining that with the narrower optical chain allowed with an f/4 lens to create what’s been called a “Coke can” form factor.

It costs $1600, which is what a 70-200 f/2.8L used to cost a year after launch before the RF line got going.