Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM Specs & DoF

100–500 mm

Focal length

f/4.5–7.1

Maximum aperture

24°–5°

Diagonal angle of view (Full frame)

Full frame

Designed for

5.0×

Zoom ratio

Specifications#

Brand: Canon
Model: RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM
Lens type: Telephoto zoom
Focal length: 100–500 mm
Maximum aperture: f/4.5–7.1
Image circle: Full frame (36×24 mm)
Mount(s): Canon RF
Projection: Rectilinear
Stabilisation: Yes (optical)
Autofocus motor: ultrasonic (USM)
Lensfun correction profile: Yes — distortion/vignetting/TCA

Equivalent focal length on different cameras#

Field of view and depth-of-field equivalence when this lens is used on bodies with different sensor sizes (natively or via an adapter).

Camera format	At 100 mm	At 224 mm	At 500 mm	Equiv. aperture (DoF)
Full frame	100 mm · 24°	224 mm · 11°	500 mm · 5°	f/4.5
APS-C	150 mm · 16°	336 mm · 7°	750 mm · 3°	f/6.8
APS-C (Canon)	160 mm · 15°	358 mm · 7°	800 mm · 3°	f/7.2
Micro Four Thirds	200 mm · 12°	448 mm · 6°	1000 mm · 2°	f/9.0

Depth of field & background blur#

Computed on its native Full frame format (CoC 30 µm). “Blur @2 m” is the size of an out-of-focus point at infinity, as a percentage of frame width, with the subject at 2 m — a simple bokeh index. Full table: 105 mm f/5.6 on full frame.

Focal	Aperture	at 1 m	at 2 m	at 5 m	at 10 m	Hyperfocal	Blur @2 m
100 mm	f/4.5	2.4 cm	10.3 cm	66.4 cm	2.72 m	74.2 m	3.2%
100 mm	f/8	4.3 cm	18.3 cm	1.19 m	5.04 m	41.8 m	1.8%
224 mm	f/4.5	0.4 cm	1.9 cm	12.9 cm	52.6 cm	372 m	17.4%
224 mm	f/8	0.7 cm	3.4 cm	22.9 cm	93.7 cm	209 m	9.8%
500 mm	f/4.5	—	0.3 cm	2.4 cm	10.3 cm	1.9 km	102.9%
500 mm	f/8	—	0.6 cm	4.3 cm	18.2 cm	1.0 km	57.9%

Handheld & night-sky limits#

NPF assumes typical 20–24 MP sensors (≈6 µm pixels on full frame, ≈3.9 µm on APS-C, ≈3.3 µm on Micro Four Thirds).

Body	Min. handheld shutter (longest focal)	500 rule at 100 mm	NPF at 100 mm, f/4.5
Full frame	1/500 s	5 s	3 s
APS-C	1/800 s	3 s	3 s
APS-C (Canon)	1/800 s	3 s	3 s
Micro Four Thirds	1/1000 s	2 s	3 s

Compatible cameras#

Bodies in our database with a native Canon RF mount.

Adapt it to other systems#

Sony E-mount Nikon Z Fujifilm X-mount Canon EF-M Hasselblad XCD Nikon 1 (CX)Pentax Q

Similar lenses#

Canon RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM f/5.6–8
Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8L IS USM f/2.8
Canon RF 70-200mm F4L IS USM f/4
Canon RF 200-800mm F6.3-9 IS USM f/6.3–9

Frequently asked questions#

Is the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM full frame?

Yes — it covers the full 36 × 24 mm frame.

What is the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM equivalent to on APS-C?

On a 1.5× APS-C body it frames like 150–750 mm, and like 160–800 mm on Canon APS-C.

What is the Canon RF 100-500mm F4.5-7.1L IS USM good for?

As a telephoto zoom it suits sport, wildlife, events and compressed landscapes.

Sources & licences#

Lensfun lens database — CC BY-SA 3.0

Last updated October 03, 2026 · How we calculate · Sources