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Compact, lightweight, and close-focusing, the RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM from Canon is a unique wide-angle prime mixing the versatility of a general wide lens with the specialty of a 1:2 macro optic. An advanced optical design is benefitted by a Super Spectra coating, which helps to control flare and ghosting for greater contrast and color accuracy when working in bright or backlit conditions. Capable of focusing down to 6.7" at half life-size, this lens is ideal for photographing everything from close-ups of plants to street scenes and landscapes. The bright f/1.8 maximum aperture offers increased control over depth of field and also suits working in a variety of lighting conditions. Complementing this is a five stop-effective image stabilization, which minimizes the appearance of camera shake for sharper handheld shooting. Also, an STM motor affords impressively quiet and smooth autofocus performance and full-time manual focus override. Additionally, a configurable Control Ring lets you adjust exposure settings, including ISO, aperture, and exposure compensation, from the lens itself.
- RF-Mount Lens/Full-Frame Format
- Aperture Range: f/1.8 to f/22
- Super Spectra Coating
- STM Stepping AF Motor
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM Overview
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM Specs
| Focal Length | |
| Maximum Aperture | |
| Minimum Aperture | |
| Lens Mount | |
| Lens Format Coverage | |
| Angle of View | |
| Minimum Focus Distance | |
| Maximum Magnification | |
| Macro Reproduction Ratio | |
| Optical Design | |
| Diaphragm Blades | |
| Focus Type | |
| Image Stabilization | |
| Filter Size | |
| Dimensions (ø x L) | |
| Length at Maximum Extension | |
| Weight |
| Package Weight | |
| Box Dimensions (LxWxH) |
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM Reviews
Portable Perfection
Is it the sharpest 35, no but it is more than sharp enough and can often be had brand new on sale for under $400 and at that price it is a steal. Works great for photo and video. Auto focus works great. I don't use the macro feature so I won't speak to that. The lens does make some noise when focusing for photo but for video it is silent and smooth. It almost mimics a focus pull as it brings the subject into focus. The lens barrel does extend in and out ever so slightly when focusing but that does not bother me. Value for money, it is hard to beat.
Great lens for beginner/intermediate photographer
I have this on a Canon RP and it's been really great. Autofocus is consistently fast, photos are really sharp, colors excellent. Overall great experience. Prior camera was a Sony A6000 with Sigma 30mm f1.4. That lens was super sharp as well but had some minor focus issues and the colors don't compare to the Canon out of camera. I think this will be great for family photos, candid shots, and travel.
Good lens but calling it a macro is a stretch
This is a solid lens with a very useful focal length. Image stabilization works very well, autofocus is solid, image quality is good. I find the macro designation quite misleading since it's not even a 1:1 magnification. It is reasonably priced too.
Not my favorite.
Not bad for a starter kit. I used this for a wedding over the weekend. I figured with it's versatility of being able to shoot some macro, low light fast aperture and light weight it'd be perfect but once I attached it to my R5 it just kept hunting. Focus was hit or miss as it had difficulty locking in sharpness even in good light. When it did lock on, it was nice. I wanted to use this for ring details and for candids because I like the classic focal range but now that I've tried it, I would not use this when seconds count. You get no retry's during a ceremony. In my opinion, anyone looking to get serious about their photos should save up a little more and get an L-series lens with a USM motor. If you're looking to get your feet wet or taking photos while on a vacation, at the family bbq, this will do just fine. All the best, everybody. - Alex
Good But Not Great
I've used this lens for two weddings now. The best part is how lightweight it is. I pop it on whenever I need a break from my 24-70. It works pretty well. It sometimes struggles to find focus in low light or low contrast, so I wouldn't want to use it for a wedding ceremony where you only have seconds to get the shot. It's great for cocktail hour and the reception when I'm milling around getting candids and group photos. The macro is okay. It can get pretty close and it's sharp when you stop down, but I find the focal length kind of strange for macro with how much of the background you can see. I've attached some test shots that I'm pretty happy with. Overall, I'll definitely be keeping this in my bag. It's a great lens for the price and the focal length is versatile.
Vacation Walk-Around Lens
My go-to lens is the EF 85 1.4; I just like the look and compression. No matter what lenses I bring with me on a shoot, that is the one that gets the most use. I brought that lens alone on a two-week trip to Spain last September, and while I was grateful for the images I got, it is, how you say, a schlep. With another two-week vacation to Europe coming up in May, I decided to get a lens that wouldn't require an adapter (shooting on a Canon R6) and would fit into a small bag. I went back and forth on the RF 35 and 50, ultimately opting for the 35 for more coverage and figuring I could use it on a gimbal, plus it would force me to work on wider compositions. It's also a macro lens, which isn't my thing necessarily but it's nice to have. While the lens itself is a little bigger than I expected, the camera/lens combo is amazingly small compared to the 85 with adapter. Build quality is fine. Not L-series sturdy, of course, but I wasn't expecting it to be. I don't like focus ring placement in rear and control ring in front, I'd prefer if they were reversed. (Full disclosure: I still haven't even used the control ring.) I was pleasantly surprised by the speed of the AF and the image quality. Images were quite sharp to my untrained eye. Being so used to the long lens look, I would often punch up the crop factor to 1.6, giving me essentially two lenses in one. Overall, I enjoyed this little lens more than expected. For sure it will be my vacation daily carry going forward.
A Very Good Lens for the Money - with a few Quirks.
Lens build quality excellent for a lens of this price range. I like the MF/AF switch. My purpose for this lens is large objects, like cars and motorcycles, with some use as a product photography and light duty as a macro lens - where I need more control over bokeh and depth. It is an accessory to my 50mm, 15-30, and 24-240 lenses. The zooms are not bright enough to provide the depth control I need, and I frequently shoot in the 32-43mm range, where the 15-30 can't go and 24-240 produces too much barrel distortion. The 35mm gives me more creative control, has sharper images and less distortion than the either zoom (at this focal length, and affords me 4+ stops more light, for the depth of field control I need. That all said, this lens does have a few quirks. First, the front glass is very forward and exposed, so the EW-52 lens hood (not included) is a necessity for protection (it should be a part of the lens and not an add on IMHO). You can also, install the ES-65B hood onto the body forward edge - but the EW-52 is better for protecting the forward optical glass, and moves with the lens as it focuses, so provides more consistent control of lens flare. You can actually install both the EW-52 and the ES-65B on this lens at the same time - which could add shading for filters installed on the front of the EW-52, but only when focusing on distant subjects (beyond the extended barrel position, as when the barrel is extended the ES-65B coverage is reduced). I have both hoods (the ES-65B is for the 50mm lens), so use the ES-65B on the 35mm when needed, but I will always leave the EW-52 on the lens to protect the glass itself. As noted, the center lens barrel extends and retracts, so installing filters (52mm size) on it can be problematic to remove, and for polarizing filters, a little difficult to engage, as they are on the inner barrel stepped in from the main body. I find myself installing accessory lenses on the front of the EW-52 hood, where they can be grabbed with a lens tool if they are being difficult to remove.Tests with video seem to be good, but it takes a little experimentation to find the right focus setting to get it to behave smoothly. Video with f1.8 is an issue, as the depth of field is so shallow, that anywhere focus is off by a small amount, it really shows. I do video with f4 or higher (f8 is my go-to anyway for all video to start from, so nothing troubling here), to provide a little cushion between depth of field and focus. Finally - auto focus is not great when the camera is set to spot auto focus mode. In macro distances, the lens often cannot find focus initially, requiring you switch to MF, get it dialed in for distance, then, if desired, switch back the AF to complete the shot. Once started in this way, you can back away from the macro distance, and auto focus follows you out. You can also walk into a subject, stepping auto focus into it as you go. However, if, upon starting, the viewfinder shows an out of focus display, spot auto focus on this lens will stall and fail to move at all, requiring you to use another focus mode, or to switch briefly to MF to get the field in partial focus, to give AF a chance to do its job. All other auto-focus modes do a better job of acquiring focus when the distance to the subject changes with this lens, but there are instances when the camera system struggles finding focus in AF mode. I use one point instead of spot mode with this lens because of this. For those using this as a walk around lens using primarily AF setting, I'm guessing there will be other moments where this causes a moment of trouble - easy enough to resolve, but annoying nonetheless. These quirks total up to a 4 star rating overall, as while its a very good lens, produces clear images, and is a great bargain - it does have a few eccentricities that keep it from deserving 5 stars. Considering the only Canon available RF option is to spend 5X the money for an L lens, 4 stars is still an attractive deal.
Awesome!
My favorite focal lengths are 24 and 35 and this lens doesn't disappoint. It's a great angle for landscapes on a FF camera. The macro is the bonus. I have taken it out for a few outings and came back with many interesting shots. Highly recommend.
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