Hi I'm Gordon from camera labs and this Is my first look at the Canon RF 35mm F1.4 l vcm a highend wide-angle prime Lens for eosr mirrorless cameras I tried Out a final production model and in this Video I'll show you what's new along With sharing some of my first test shots And comparisons especially against the Older ef35 1.4 L and rf35 1.8 STM the New rf35 1.4l vcm was announced in June 202 4 at a price of £ 1,819 I didn't have the dollar price When I made this video but the latest Prices are going to be linked in the Description Canon describes it as a Hybrid lens their second after the 24215 2.8 Zed with both being optimized for Photo and video but I don't personally Think we'll see a separate version That's aimed more at photographers I Think like most manufacturers this is Simply Canon recognizing that video Performance is becoming more important And factoring that into the features set And Optical design of a new lens so Unless there's a 1.2 version being Developed I'd just consider it as their High-end 35mm Prime in the RF Mount it's Actually Canon's second RF Prime with This focal length following the earlier Rf35 1.8 macro STM seen here which Helped launch their full-frame muler System back in 2018 the rf35 1.8 STM Remains one of the smallest and lightest
Fullframe RF lenses in the system but But it's aimed at a much lower price Point roughly $500 or P making it around 1/3 the price of this new L version and Weighs 305 G A Closer match is of course The older EF 35 mil 1.4 L2 which you can See here adapted to the r62 this highly Respected lens from 2015 was priced at Around $2,000 or P prior to the launch Of this new RF version so it'll be Interesting to see how those prices vary Now but as an almost 10-year-old lens You can find plenty on the used market For around $1,200 or pound and of course If you are thinking of adapting an older EF lens to a mirrorless camera you could Also consider thirdparty alternatives Like say one of sigma's art models with The new rf35 1.4l on the left and the Old ef35 1.4l on the right you can see They're in a roughly similar ballpark in Terms of size although the RF version is A tad smaller 3 mil narrower and 7 mil Shorter pick them up though you'll Notice a more significant difference in Terms of weight with the new model Working out around 200 g lighter but of Course that's for the bare lenses alone If you intend to mount the EF version on The mirrorless body you're going to need To add an adapter with the most basic Cannon version adding 24 mm to the Overall length and 110 G to the weight This now makes the EF lens 31 mil longer
Than the RF version and just over 50% Heavier that's quite a difference now in Terms of controls the rf35 1.4 L starts With an aperture ring running between F1.4 and F16 and it's permanently De-clicked for smooth operation it's Interesting to remember that Canon Doesn't traditionally equip its new Lenses with aperture rings but it did Add one to the rf24 2105 2.8 Z in order To appeal to videographers so it's their Second hybrid lens there's another one Here but unlike Sony and sigma though You may be wondering why there isn't a Switch to make this aperture ring Clickable again but like Canon's 24 205 Zed lens it sadly can't be used for Photo modes so Canon decided to keep it Smooth only instead photographers are Expected to set this ring to the Lockable a position and just use one of Their body dials to control it like any Of their other lenses I think this is a Shame as I'd certainly like to use the Aperture ring for photos with an option To click or dclick as preferred what Would you like sandwich between the Aperture and focusing ring of the iris Lock switch a customizable Focus hold Button and an auto aut Focus or manual Focus switch next comes the free Spinning motor assisted manual focusing Ring which like all L lenses is Silky Smooth to turn compare it for a moment
With the older EF version which not only Is at the end of the barrel but coupled To a focus distance window at the top of The lens meanwhile the cheaper rf35 1.8 STM has a much narrower and less smooth Manual focusing ring it's nowhere near As nice to use as those L lenses Returning to the rf35 1.4 L and at the End of the barrel there's a customizable And clicky control ring the 35 1.8 STM Also has a similar control ring but of Course the EF version does not in terms Of filters the rf35 1.4l has a 67 mil Thread versus 72 mil on the EF lens and Just 52 mil on the 1.8 STM version as You'd expect for L lenses both the new RF and old EF 1.4l models are weather Sealed with rubber grommets at their Mounts whereas the 1. STM is not with The sealed moving on to focusing these 335s all use different types of Motors The old EF used USM only the budget RF Uses STM while the new RF 1.4l becomes Canon's first lens to use a voice coil Motor hence vcm in the title Canon Claims that vcm working alongside Nano USM in this lens allows it to drive a Larger Optical group better than it Could with Nano USM alone and when Shooting side by side with the old EF Version it certainly snapped into Focus Faster plus it is very quiet I hope to Do a more detailed focusing test in the Future but for now here's how it looks
For video on the R6 m 2 wide open to F1.4 of course I actually use bright 35s For all of my b-roll and pieces to Camera including on this video and it Strikes a good balance of capturing your Surroundings but with minimal Distortion And decent separation speaking of which Here's a quick portrait taken with the Rf35 1.4 ra again at 1.4 4 on the EOS R62 using face ey detection when viewing The whole frame you can see the Potential for background blur while Taking a closer look reveals a Tremendous amount of sharp detail around My eyes and a nice soft fall off to my Ears and Beyond moving on to a more Distant test here's the rf35 1.4 L f1.4 Again on the r62 no need to angle this Shot as there's already details in the Corners but let's take a closer look in The middle first where at f1.4 the Details look crisp right out of the gate Closing the aperture to F2 brings a Minor boost in contrast but I'd Certainly be happy shooting this lens Wide open let's return to the 1.4 sample And now compare it to the older ef35 1.4 L2 on the right again at 1.4 side by Side you can see that while the older Lens is certainly very good it is not as Crisp as the newer lens when both are Wide open in fact I had to close the EF Lens to f2.8 to better match the to Let's now swap the EF lens out for the
Cheaper RF 1.8 STM on the right here at 1.8 again when pixel peeping in the Middle the new RF 1.4l on the left is Delivering crisper details out of the Gate and I'd say you'd need to close the STM lens to around F4 to come close to The results and even then it's lacking The ultimate detail and contrast okay so Now back to the RF 1.4l still wide open To 1.4 and let's head into the Far Corners to see how it performs and the Quick answer is very well indeed if You're really pixel peeping you may Notice a fractional reduction in Sharpness but it's really minimal here And there's just very slight darkening In the corners due to vignetting as I Close the aperture you'll see that Vignetting quickly dissipates although There's little to be gained in terms of Sharpness and contrast this lens is Performing very well across the frame With the aperture wide open but how does It compared to the other lenses here's The new RF on the left and the old EF Version on the right both f1.4 and the Difference in their Corners is quite Obvious the older EF lens is failing to Deliver the same sharp details in the Far Corner when wide open and closing it To F2 doesn't make that much difference At f2.8 the Quality has greatly improved But I'd say you're looking at closing it One stop further to around F4 in order
To roughly match the new RF version when That lens is wide open next let's swap The oldf lens on the right for the Budget 1.8 STM model and you'll notice a A different portion of the subject here As this lens actually captures a Slightly narrower field of view than the 2 L lenses but I'm still showing the Same portion of the actual frame itself In order to make a direct comparison of Quality here the difference is Unsurprisingly even greater with not Just more softness but some chromatic Aberration too closing the aperture sees These color artifacts mostly gone by F2.8 while the corner sharpness becomes Roughly matched from F4 note the Contrast looks a little higher here but The weather conditions were changing Before wrapping up a quick Focus Breathing test first with the new rf35 1.4 L racking from Infinity to its Closest focusing distance of 28 cm and Back again here you can see a small Amount of magnification as I focus Closer but it's pretty well behaved Which should please videographers for Comparison here's the old ef35 1.4 L Again racking Focus from Infinity to its Closest distance which coincidentally is The same 20 8 cm where this time you'll Notice the field reducing more due to The effect of focus breathing while this Actually has a side benefit of giving it
A mildly greater magnification of 0.21 Times versus 0.18 times on the new lens It will be more noticeable during Focus PS in video oh and I should say as a Macro lens the cheap 35 1.8 wins the Reproduction contest delivering greater 0.5 times magnification better than Either of the L models plus it has Optical stabilization too which is Lacking from both L lenses in case you Want that as I wrap up here's a few Extra samples taken with the new lens I Plan to get the rf35 1.4l back in again For an in-depth review at some point in The future but for now I hope that these Tests have given you a flavor of the new Lens and what it's capable of certainly As you saw it's very sharp across the Frame right out to the gate and it Outperforms both the older EF version as Well as the cheaper rf35 in that regard As should' hope for the new high-end 35 In the system it's also nice to see Canon pricing it similarly to the old Model at launch Oh and before I go the Lens was also launched alongside a new Flash the Speedlight el10 shown here on The right next to the older 430 ex that It replaces on the left the new Flash on The right has a guide number of 40 it Recharges faster in just 1.5 seconds it Can be controlled via the camera Connect App on your phone and it does require a Recent body with a multi-function
Accessory shoe like the R3 R6 2 R7 and R8 and in the absence of a sponsor for This video because I only really like to Do sponsors about once a month the only Thing that I've got left to do is to Thank you personally for watching and I Hope to see you next time bye-bye
