Canon RF35mm F1.8 is Macro STM Lens, Black

I purchased this lens as a smaller and lighter alternative to my RF 24-70 f/2.8 L and 24-105 f/4 L for street photography. The lens produces sharp and colorful photos but I wouldn't use it for videos. The macro capabilities come in handy when walking around and want to photograph smaller, detailed subjects to expand my range of possibilities. This is something my two zoom lenses cannot do. For the price, size, weight, and capabilities, this little lens does a lot.

This lens is cheap enough anyone can get their hands on it, but still has amazing results. Definitely a lens to buy!

Took it to Arizona and Alaska this winter with an EOS RP. Captures a great deal of stars (greater if you amplify whites using Adobe Lightroom). The RP doesn't have IBIS so the 35mm with optical IS really helps, and even allowed me to photograph stars from the plane.

it is a fantastic lens for price and size, but the focus is quite a big problem. It should have a focus limiter like the 85, because when you are on a documentary project and it is dark inside the focus starts to hunt and go to macro mode, which takes too much time and you loose some scenes and shots, that is really bad. I think it would be an easy fix if canon engineers develop a firmware update for cameras where you have a mode which disables the lens to go to macro mode (close focus), Like the button on the 85mm f2, just digital, because now it seems to be too late for a switch haha. I wish Canon would develop more high quality compact lenses for full frame mirrorless systems, i

Great lens for the price. I am using as my go to lens over a 50mm lens. Gives a little more viewing options. Images turn out great. Camera R5.

I just love… Look at this colors, perfect for portrait

Pros - This lens takes great photos that are very sharp and the colors are great. It is lightweight and a good size. Cons - It is so noisy! And that noise is exacerbated by the fact that it has to hunt for focus way more often than any of my other RF lenses. Also, when it looses focus it retracts all the way back so it takes a maddeningly long time to find it again. I shoot documentary and I don't know how many moments I've been waiting for just the right expression or gesture and the lens just loses focus at the wrong moment and by the time it's finally back I've missed what I was looking for. My RF 28-70 never does this, and also never hunts in low light the way this lens does. I find this lens very frustrating to use and not on par with the rest of the RF lenses.

Very sharp. Autofocus works great for my commercials when I’m short crewed or gimbaled. Light weight and the macro is amazing. IS makes gimbal unnecessary in some circumstances. Great value. Every RF owner should have this little jewel.

For what you’re paying for this 35mm is quite good and very fun. The fact it also has image stabilization and a half macro feature allowing you to take photos incredibly close to your subject also make this lens so much fun. The sharpness is a little soft wide open but not badly in the center of frame and you can always stop down to F2.2 for a sharper image that’s still really good with a reasonable depth of field. F1.8 isn’t as wide as a F1.4 but it allows this lens to be very light and smaller while still producing moderate bokeh/out of focus backgrounds.

I wanted to love this lens based on the reviews but found it had a really hard time focusing on my subject in low light, whereas my 24-70 f2.8 @ 35mm caught the focus on the same subject matter immediately. I don't know if it was a defect out of the box or just a problem with this particular lens but moving forward it looks like Ill have to break the bank and stick with the L-series.

This lens is as sharp or shaper than my two "L" lenses. 24-105 f4 and the 70-200 f4. Very impressive. It's small, light and sharp. maybe I just got a good one, but I'm happy and frankly surprised by its' performance, My only complaint is the lack of weather sealing.

I got this lens a couple of weeks ago. I have already used it for a gig (group photos). I think it's beautiful, especially for the price. I tested it in low light and didn't have an issue with it hunting for focus. It focused fast. Then again, I also just upgraded my whole camera set-up, so it could just be that I am used to a slower camera & slower focusing lenses. I think the images come out beautifully & look sharp. I am very, very happy! Highly recommend (so far)

1.5 years ago I wrote a review on this site that I tested two copies of this lens at wide open aperture shooting a tall brick building across the street and found a peculiar result that the center is blur but four corners are sharp. Eventually I bought the EF 35mm f2 IS USM for my R camera, but it becomes 'big' and 'heavy' with the EF-to-R adaptor. Recently I retested a brand new RF 35mm f1.8 lens with the same conditions, and I found that the problem is gone! I do not know if it is due to hardware or firmware improvements. It is impressively sharp from center to edges; extreme corners are very acceptable. It is a solid A- performer. Now I am very happy to own this RF lens; it is small, light weight for travel and sharp.

Pros: • This is the lightest and most compact RF lens and a great choice for street and family photos. Great pairing for EOS RP. But not a “pancake” PROS: • This is the lightest and most compact RF lens and a great choice for street and family photos. Great pairing for EOS RP. But not a “pancake”. • Fastest RF lens in its price range. • Very close macro, but short focal length means that the lens will block the light in some situations. CONS: • FOCUS MOTOR NOISE. This is not a quiet lens. My other Canons are virtually silent. Besides motor hum it clunks at it reverses which may be more feel than sound. Sounds and feels like a point-and-shoot not a pro lens. • Keeps focusing when lens capped. Then lens isn’t compact for removal and storage. How to remove this in a compact condition without switching to manual first? • When focus hunting much of its efforts are at very close focus. This begs for a focus range limitation that would reduce the duration of the focusing noise. I’d use full range only when deliberately shooting macro. If focus speed is from 1.0m to infinity, then this might be fast, but if it’s a cycle hunting to closest and back to infinity, this doesn’t seem fast. If one has a midrange zoom this is a nice alternative. It’s a fast (and compact) alternative to the 24-240, and a compact (and faster) alternative to the 24-70 f2.8, the 28-70 f2, and even 24-105 f4. Consider the 40mm f2.8 EF on an adapter as a cheaper, lighter, smaller alternative until Canon makes an RF pancake.

Paired with the RP camera, this lens makes for a very small and light kit you can take anywhere. As a matter of fact, this lens on the RP just feels perfect in hand. My experience with the lens is that it's very quick to focus and very accurate in locking onto subjects. The macro is very, very handy, especially when combined with focus stacking. Image stabilization combined with 1.8 aperture makes this a fantastic low-light lens. I've used this as a walk-around lens as well for weddings, and it's been wonderful for its ease of use and results.

I am a faithful user of Canon for 4 decades. I love the R system. I wanted to buy this lens. I tried two RF 35mm samples on my R shooting at f1.8 and found both could not focus correctly far at 150 feet away building (‘infinity’), sharp only at 30 feet. With identical condition, the EF 35mm f1.4 L mk2 was so sharp corner to corner at wide open.

I bought this a month ago. It’s amazing for the price, I promise you won’t regret. The macro feature was a big selling point for me.

I own both the EF35/1.5L and the RF35/1.8. Even in very low light situations, the IS more than makes up for the ⅔ stop lower aperture. The balance on the R is perfect. Carry all day for street photography. The EF35f1.4L feel great on the other EOS bodies. I feel that 1.8 is a great aperture, especially with IS. Autofocus is just instant. Image Quality: the resolving power amazes me. Somehow the bokeh is as amazing as the EF35/1.4! Even when “pixel peeping”, this lens matches the 1.4L -PLUS- the R will zoom in when manually touching up the focus. I hold the lens in my left hand with index finger on control ring for exposure compensation while I zoom in for focus perfection. Only complaint: the lens hood and bag should be included!

I have been waiting for this lens since it was announced. It finally came a little before it's rumored release. The lens is fast, sharp, and light weight. I guess the first reviewer got a bad copy? Very happy with it so far.

I was so excited to get my first native lens for the EOS R which I love. I love the ability to adjust ISO or Aperture or SS with the ring. I attached the lens and did a few shots and thought everything looked rather soft and that the lens focused slowly. I did a few more shots and then attached the 24mm 2.8 EF-S pancake and found that the pancake not only was faster but also sharper. I'm not sure if I got a defective copy but the quality reminds me of the EF-M 22 2.8. I know it it not L glass but still, it should be sharper and react faster.