Im so over this lens shopping nonsense. Ive spent the last three weeks staring at review sites and YouTube videos until my eyes crossed and honestly Im no closer to an answer. I kept seeing people rave about the RF 24-105mm f/4L as the ultimate do-it-all glass for the Canon EOS R system since its versatile and weather-sealed. But then I fell down a Reddit rabbit hole where half the comments claim f/4 is way too slow for indoor shots and low light unless you wanna crank your ISO to noisy garbage levels. Someone else swore by the RF 35mm f/1.8 macro because its cheap and sharp, but then youre stuck at one focal length and what if I need to zoom in on something across the street? I live in Seattle so Im constantly running around in unpredictable drizzle trying to shoot street stuff, local band gigs in dark dive bars, and casual portraits of my dog who refuses to sit still. My budget is around 1200 bucks max and I need something I can slap on the camera and leave there for a two-week road trip down the coast next month without constantly swapping glass in the dirt. If you shoot with an R body, what is actually the best all-around lens for Canon EOS R that wont make me regret my life choices?
- Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM is solid for weather sealing, though f/4 struggles in dark bars.
- Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III VXD adds speed for low light.
Seattle drizzle and dark dive bars are a brutal combo for gear. Honestly, ditch the f/4 anxiety and look at what actually works for your road trip.
- Canon RF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM: The weather sealing handled coastal mist like a champ when I took mine down the Olympic Peninsula. Noise in bars is manageable with modern software anyway.
- Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD: A bit heavy, but that aperture range saves you inside venues while giving you reach for street stuff. I went with the canon 24-105 for my road trip and never looked back. Zero regrets, slap it on and just shoot.
^ This. Also, watching specs bounce around forums gets exhausting real fast. When I was prepping for a coastal trip last year, I spent way too much time obsessing over aperture blades and weather sealing ratings instead of actually packing. Ended up dropping my favorite lens in a puddle on day one anyway. But yeah, gear anxiety is the worst.