Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM lens assessment

Widespread prime lenses for astrophotography typically are available at 24mm or wider to permit for capturing a a lot wider view of the sky with little floor curiosity, which is sensible. However whenever you’re incorporating floor parts to behave as vital foreground curiosity, barely longer focal lengths may be advantageous. That is the place 35mm lenses come into play, with the Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM providing a flexible focal size for Canon R-Collection digicam house owners.

What’s extra, 35mm is a well-liked focal size for panorama, cityscape, portraiture and avenue pictures alongside astrophotography, so this lens has the potential to be one thing of a workhorse for a lot of photographers. The quick f/1.4 most aperture will even be enticing to many for shallow depth-of-field results and capturing in low mild.

The RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM can be a hybrid lens, designed for pictures and video seize, sitting alongside the 35mm f/1.4L VCM and the 50mm f/1.4L VCM with similar dimensions and the identical 67mm filter thread. The weights do differ barely, however this does imply that videographers can swap between the three lenses when utilizing a gimbal, with minimal changes.

When you’re in search of one of many best cameras for astrophotography, try our information, the place you could simply discover the proper companion for the Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM. However for now, let’s take a better take a look at this prime lens to find whether or not or not it deserves a spot in your package bag for capturing the night time sky.

Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM: Design

• Easy and compact design
• Glorious construct high quality
• Climate sealed

Like the opposite two lenses that make up Canon’s hybrid prime lens trio, the RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM affords a easy design that is backed up by wonderful construct high quality and climate sealing. That is, in any case, a premium L-Collection lens. Prime lenses are additionally historically easy, and this lens isn’t any exception, with only a handful of controls accessible.

Controls embody an AF/MF change, a Customized Perform button and a change to maneuver the handbook aperture between the A setting for digicam management and handbook use of the stepless aperture ring when capturing video. There’s additionally a lens management ring on the entrance of the lens in entrance of the handbook focus ring that may be programmed in-camera to regulate some digicam settings.

The lens management ring is simple to unintentionally flip in the dead of night when manually specializing in stars, so it is best to depart it inactive for astrophotography. The aperture ring is stepless, so there are not any clicks to indicate a setting and maintain the ring on the desired f-stop. Stepless is a video function for clean changes, and it is a disgrace that there is not a change to permit for clicked or stepless rotation of the aperture.

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This lens is simply 3.01×3.90 in / 76.5×99.3 mm with a weight of 19.58 oz / 555 g, so though it isn’t the smallest and lightest Canon lens you should purchase, it is nonetheless pretty compact and light-weight. Plus, as beforehand talked about, it has the identical dimensions as the opposite two hybrid prime lenses, with solely a slight variance within the weight of every.

The RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM comes with a rear filter holder that is designed for gel filters for use. Which means to vary filters, it’s a must to take away the lens, which is neither handy nor sensible as a result of mud can enter the digicam.

Round and sq. filters mounted on the entrance of the lens through the 67mm filter thread are a greater choice. Rear-mounted filters are solely actually essential for lenses with extraordinarily giant or bulbous entrance parts.

Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM: Performance

• No optical Picture Stabilization
• Quick and silent autofocus
• Exact handbook focus

Autofocus is extremely quick and silent because of Nano USM mixed with Voice Coil Motor (VCM) know-how. That is incredible for common pictures however for astrophotography, it is handbook focus that is most necessary for exact specializing in stars. The minimal focusing distance of the lens is 11 in / 28 cm, which is brief and opens up inventive potentialities relying on the topic you are capturing.

Being a main lens, the 35mm f/1.4L VCM doesn’t embody Optical Picture Stabilisation, which is widespread for these kind of lenses. This function would improve the scale of the lens, and since some R-Collection cameras supply In-Physique Picture Stabilization, its absence isn’t a significant drawback. Plus, for any sort of tripod-mounted pictures, you shouldn’t use Picture Stabilization anyway.

Identical to the 24mm f/1.4L VCM, the handbook focus ring supplies a lovely degree of resistance that permits for quick and exact handbook focus. Guide focus is fly-by-wire, so it isn’t fairly as responsive as conventional handbook focus, however this strategy causes no points when capturing inanimate or extraordinarily slow-moving topics.

In fact, stars don’t transfer, however the rotation of the earth does create the phantasm of motion within the sky. However, it is so sluggish that it doesn’t negatively have an effect on focusing. We have already coated primary options together with the Customized Perform button, handbook aperture ring and the lens management ring, so let’s transfer on to the optical building of the lens.

The lens is made up of 14 parts in 11 teams, which embody two UD and two GMo Aspherical lenses. The aperture is made up of 11 blades. Lens coatings embody Tremendous Spectra to get rid of ghosting and ASC coatings preserve shade stability throughout the body, whereas the entrance factor is Fluorine-coated to assist repel grime and make cleansing simpler.

When you personal an APS-C R-Collection digicam with a 1.6x crop issue, the 35mm f/1.4L VCM will present an equal focal size of 56mm. That is additionally a helpful focal size for the themes you may shoot with a 35mm lens. To not point out, you may be capturing photos with extra of the central space of the lens which is usually the sharpest a part of any lens.

Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM: Efficiency

• Implausible sharpness at f/1.4
• Sharpest at f/8
• Discount in sharpness from f/11

The picture high quality and traits of the lens are extraordinarily just like the 24mm f/1.4L VCM, presumably virtually similar, and we have now additionally reviewed that lens. The 35mm f/1.4L VCM additionally displays wonderful sharpness at f/1.4 with the sharpest aperture total being f/8.

Sharpness will increase steadily as much as this setting, however diffraction does start to come back into play at f/11 the place sharpness drops barely and continues as much as the minimal f/16 aperture, as we discover with virtually each lens in existence. For astrophotographers sometimes capturing vast open, sharpness at f/1.4 is of course probably the most necessary factors of consideration.

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This lens depends closely on in-camera and in-software lens corrections, with uncorrected photos exhibiting barrel distortion and vignetting. The uncorrected outcomes are a lot better than the 24mm lens, however you continue to can not keep away from utilizing in-camera corrections when capturing JPEGs and software program corrections when capturing in Uncooked. The principle level to make right here is that regardless of the reliance on lens corrections, total picture high quality remains to be nice.

Vignetting is strongest at f/1.4, but it surely’s utterly eliminated with lens corrections. All the opposite aperture settings do undergo from vignetting however this reduces steadily because the lens is stopped down, with f/16 producing the lightest vignette. This will likely all sound unhealthy, however since effective element is rendered sharp and the barrel distortion and vignetting are efficiently eliminated, it isn’t a significant subject.

Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM: Worth

The Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 L VCM prices the identical because the Canon RF 24mm f/1.4L VCM within the US at $1499, whereas UK photographers must pay extra at £1679. It is a premium L-Collection lens, so it was by no means going to be budget-friendly. It is also an expert lens aimed toward photographers and videographers, so the value is to be anticipated.

Within the bo,x you get the lens, a lens hood, entrance and rear lens caps, a lens case and a rear filter holder. The rear filter holder is designed for gel filters to be positioned on the rear of the lens, however this most likely gained’t be essentially the most handy filter attachment methodology for many photographers for a few causes.

Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 L VCM: Consumer opinions

Customers are overwhelmingly impressed with the Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 L VCM. One proprietor stated, ‘I really like this lens – it amazes me each time I exploit it’, which is extremely optimistic. Whereas different customers reported that, ‘It’s fantastically sharp and renders splendidly’. With suggestions as optimistic as this, it is inconceivable to disregard the potential of the lens for astrophotography.

How we examined the Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 L VCM

The Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 L VCM was examined throughout a transparent night time paired with the Canon EOS R6 Mark II to evaluate its low-light efficiency. Extra testing passed off in daylight to asses picture high quality together with distortion, that are extra successfully seen in daylight situations.

Do you have to purchase the Canon RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM?

35mm is a well-liked focal size for astrophotography in addition to panorama, cityscape, portraiture and avenue pictures, so that is an extremely versatile lens with the potential to spend a substantial amount of time hooked up to your digicam. Picture high quality is nice total, not good, however at f/1.4, it does carry out properly.

Just like the Canon RF 24mm f/1.4 L VCM, it is a hybrid lens designed for each pictures and video, and the stepless handbook aperture is a incredible function for video. Construct high quality is great and weather-sealing makes it an interesting selection for outside photographers in want of a quick 35mm prime lens.

If this lens is not for you

The Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM is the most effective ultra-wide-angle zoom accessible for Canon R-Collection cameras and is good for a variety of topics together with panorama, cityscape and astrophotography.

The Canon RF 24mm f/1.4L VCM is a wider-angle model of the 35mm and performs equally when it comes to picture high quality. The principle distinction is the broader area of view it produces.

The Canon RF 85mm f/1.2L USM lens is a chic brief telephoto with a quick most aperture and incredible picture high quality. It is not going to be for everybody, however if you happen to want a quick telephoto, this one is the most effective.