In the Field: Canon EOS R5 & RF 24-70mm for travel

The travel photographer Harry Pope recently took the full-frame mirrorless Canon EOS R5 body and Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS lens, along with the DJI Mavic 2 Pro, on a trip to the Canary Islands. Read on to learn more about Harry’s verdict on the setup and check out his stunning images. Over to you, Harry.

I was excited to take the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8, with my Canon EOS R5, with me to the Canary Islands. I’ve always loved landscape photography and the 24-70mm is perfect for any type of scenery. It’s a versatile lens, allowing me to shoot an immensely wide landscape—while also punching into a subject if I want to. 

For video as well as photography, using the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 in the field really opened up a whole range of creative possibilities for me. The quality of the image I get from this lens captures the scene beautifully.

I brought the lens and drone with me on a recent trip to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. I’d lived there between 2016 and 2018—before I had found my love of photography—so I’d been looking forward to shooting in the Canary Islands. The location gave me many opportunities to put the lens and drone to good use. The Islands are full of beautiful coastlines, professional surfers and the third-highest volcanic structure on Earth. 

The DJI Mavic 2 Pro is great for capturing different perspectives, from top-down to 45-degree angles. On many days during the trip, I sat on the beachfront. Using the active tracking feature, I filmed the surfers and watched them glide over the waves as the sun set over the horizon.

Unlike most drones, the Mavic 2 Pro does not have a fixed aperture, meaning I can shoot in all lighting conditions.

Compared to the Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM, the RF 24-70MM f/2.8 is 500g lighter. And, as a travel photographer, every gram counts.

When shooting handheld video, the image stabilisation on the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 works really well. Also, during sunrise and sunset, the lens’ control ring helped me change my settings quickly to account for the fast-changing light and conditions. Overall, the Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 is the perfect lens for what I do and works perfectly with my Canon EOS R5.

Thanks, Harry. Check out more of Harry’s work on Instagram @harrypope.

You can also read our article on Landscape photographer Jonas Hanspach's thoughts on how Canon RF vs EF 24-70mm lenses compare, as well as Harry’s Canon RF 70-200mm and 85mm lenses review.