Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM

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The 35mm F1.4 lens formula is the go-to option for a lot of pro photographers due to its wider-than-normal coverage angle, exceptional light gathering, and shallow depth of field. Canon took a while to bring its first made-for-mirrorless version of the lens to the EOS R camera system, but the Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM ($1,499) is finally here to satisfy pros and enthusiasts who've waited patiently. It lives up to earlier SLR entries like the EF 35mm F1.4L II USM in construction quality and resolving power, though we're a bit disappointed with the RF 35mm's tendency to show flare and false color, especially given the premium pricing. We don't have an Editors' Choice winner in this focal length for RF, but we can point creators to the RF 35mm F1.8 IS Macro STM as a more affordable option; it also suffers from false color but is a good performer thanks to its 1:2 macro focus and optical stabilization.

Design: Consistent With Other RF F1.4 Primes

The RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM is decently small, given its angle, aperture, and full-frame optics. It measures 3.9 by 3.0 inches (HD), weighs 1.2 pounds, and supports 67mm front filters, specs that match up nearly exactly to the RF 24mm F1.4 L VCM (1.1 pounds) and the RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM (1.3 pounds).

The consistency is not a coincidence. Canon is billing this trio as hybrid lenses for photo and video, and cinema lenses are typically matched for consistent operation among focal lengths. Camera operators can enjoy the same ergonomics when switching lenses. You can use all three with the same matte box and follow focus setups, and change between lenses without having to rebalance a gimbal.

The RF 35mm uses polycarbonate materials for its lens barrel, which is the default choice for mirrorless lenses. The materials and construction are top-notch—these are not flimsy plastics. The lens feels solid in the hands and is built to withstand the rigors of professional use. It includes full dust and splash protection, including anti-smudge fluorine on the front glass. This gives the RF 35mm F1.4 a leg up on the RF 35mm F1.8, which omits weather protection and fluorine.

The lens ships with a reversible petal-style lens hood, front and rear caps, and a drawstring pouch. It also includes a filter holder for rear gels, an uncommon feature among lenses that have front filter threads.

Controls: Handles Differently Depending on the Camera Body

The RF 35mm F1.4 L includes a few on-barrel controls. It has discrete control, aperture, and manual focus rings, plus a function button, an AF/MF toggle, and an Iris Lock switch.

I'll address the aperture ring first, simply because its function requires some explanation. The ring supports smooth adjustment from f/1.4-16 with markings at every third stop, but no click points to lock it into place. On most Canon cameras it only works for movie recording, not photos. This introduces some headaches for creators who work in both mediums. You'll need to be cognizant of where the aperture ring is set when swapping capture modes or risk a blown exposure.

If you are worried, you can set the ring to its A position, which moves f-stop control to the body in all modes. The corresponding Iris Lock switch comes into play here, as you'll need to press and hold it in order to move in or out of the A setting. I expect this issue to disappear over time, as the aperture ring works for photos with Canon's most recent releases, the EOS R1 and the R5 Mark II, and I expect future models to follow suit. Lenses often stay in production for a decade or longer, while camera bodies are replaced every few years.

If you use an older camera and prefer on-barrel aperture control, you are covered, too. The Control Ring, which is included in this and the vast majority of RF lenses, can be set to change the f-stop via the camera body. If you prefer a different function, there are around a dozen assignable to the ring, including shutter speed, EV, ISO, and white balance, among others. The Control Ring turns with click stops for precise adjustments with tactile feedback and can be changed over to silent, clickless operation by Canon technical support for a $79.99 fee.

The AF/MF switch is self-explanatory, but that doesn't discount its utility. You may also change the focus mode via the camera body (either from a menu or, in the case of some like the EOS R7, a toggle switch), but having it on the lens is convenient. The manual focus experience is excellent; the lens responds to focus changes without any lag, and you can swap between nonlinear and linear focus responses via the camera menu. The breathing effect is also minimal for this lens, as there's barely any change in angle of view when setting focus, so it can be used for cinematic rack focus shots without the distracting blooming or shrinking you get with lenses that aren't optimized to reduce it.

The function button is easy to find by touch; it's on the left side, mid-barrel, and is assignable via the camera menu. By default, the camera sets it to focus lock (AF-L), but you can change what it does via the menu. I prefer using it to drive focus (AF-ON), but you can change it to suit your style. The R5 Mark II supports 45 different options for this button, ranging from esoteric options like file format to more common ones like focus point selection.

Autofocus: Instant Results From Voice Coil Motor

The RF 35mm F1.4 L is the first Canon lens I've tried with a Voice Coil Motor (VCM) focus system, which is Canon's version of a magnet-driven focus system. I've seen this type of tech from other manufacturers, however. Sony has a similar system (XD Linear), and Nikon refers to it as Silky Swift VCM. Canon's VCM works just as well. The RF 35mm F1.4's focusing group enjoys instant, precise shifts without any audible noise, so it's usable for video and in very quiet environments. On the R5 Mark II, the RF 35mm F1.4 snaps from near to distant focus in an instant without making any noise that'll be picked up on a video soundtrack.

Close focus is available to 11 inches, which is useful for photos but a little shy of what we consider macro. At its nearest focus distance, the RF 35mm projects at 1:5.6 life-size onto an image sensor. It's good enough to pick out details and textures in smaller objects, but you'll want a lens that focuses closer for insects, jewelry, and other traditional macro subjects. As you can infer from its name, the RF 35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM is a better option for those subjects—it focuses to 6.7 inches for 1:2 magnification.

The RF 35mm F1.4 L does not include optical stabilization, a feature that's relatively common among Canon RF lenses. I didn't really miss it, however, as I tested the lens with cameras that include in-body stabilization (IBIS). With the R5 Mark II, I was able to get clear handheld exposures with lengthy 1- to 2-second shutter speeds with a decent hit rate and 1/2-second consistently. Most of Canon's higher end models include IBIS, among full-frame releases it's only missing from the first-generation EOS R and entry-level EOS RP and R8.

Image Quality: Razor Sharp, With Some Flaws

I tested the RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM with a pair of 45MP full-frame cameras, the R5 and the R5 Mark II, in the field and used the former for an Imatest evaluation in my at-home testing lab. The lens scores at the top of our very good scale for the R5's sensor at f/1.4 (3,900 lines) and shows excellent numbers from f/2-8 (4,000-4,400 lines), falling just shy of the 4,500 lines we consider outstanding for 45MP. I see very little to complain about with regard to resolving power; it shows clear results at the point of focus for wide aperture images (which commonly have a shallow depth of field) and is sharp from edge to edge at the stopped-down settings that are used for landscapes and other deep focus scenes.

Resolution drops off slightly at f/11 (3,900 lines) and more noticeably at f/16 (3,300 lines), an expected result of optical diffraction. Light particles scatter when passing through a small aperture, which softens detail and contrast. There's still a reason to use these settings, however, the same diffraction that cuts into detail makes small points of light render as 22-point starbursts. Starbursts can show up in reflections on metallic objects or on the surface of water and are easy to get if you decide to incorporate the sun itself in your photo.

You should take care with this lens for scenes with the sun or another bright light source placed prominently in the image. Flare control is below what I'd expect from a Canon L series lens. I see heavy flare and ghosts in scenes where the sun falls directly on the front element, so you should take care to find angles that avoid it unless, of course, you are trying to copy the look of J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot. Lens flare is often used for creative effect in cinema, so perhaps this is Canon's intention with this optical formula, though some may consider it more of a flaw than a feature.

If you use your camera for JPG or HEIF images or for video, you'll enjoy built-in corrections to remove distortion and compensate for a vignette. However, photo hobbyists and pros often go with Raw capture, a file format that records more color depth and eschews lossy compression for more leeway when editing exposure and color. Uncorrected Raw images show darkened edges and corners at f/1.4-2 and bulging barrel distortion at any aperture. Thankfully, both are easy to correct with software tools. Adobe Lightroom Classic includes a profile for the lens that compensates for both. The profile can be toggled, so you can turn it off if you like, but a vignette can be desirable for a portrait or adding an antique look to an image. Likewise, turning off distortion correction gives a picture a slightly wider angle of view, and for many scenes, the distortion isn't noticeable unless viewed side-by-side with the corrected picture.

Many creators reach for an f/1.4 lens to snap photos with a shallow depth of field. It's very easy to get blurry backgrounds with a lens when you use it in the f/1.4-2.8 range. The RF 35mm F1.4 L delivers clean, inoffensive bokeh with a smooth fall-off from focus to blur. I see some cat's eye shapes in specular highlights, especially those positioned toward the edges of the picture, at f/1.4. These highlights take the shape of the rounded 11-blade aperture when the lens is stopped down, so you see circular highlights when using the lens at f/2 or a narrower setting. I spotted a slight onion skin texture in bright, defocused highlights, but it's pretty minor, and you really have to look for it in most instances.

While I didn't see any signs of false color caused by longitudinal chromatic aberration (LoCA) in the transitory areas between focus and blur, the lens does not avoid the issue entirely. There is a heavy amount of false purple and green color on either side of the plane of focus in scenes with bright points of light, as is evident in the surface of the water in the image below. This type of LoCA is most visible when using the lens with a wide open aperture and is lessened at the narrower f-stops you'll want to use for landscape scenes, but it's still a bit of a shock to see in an L series prime.

Canon's ultimate entry in this focal length during the SLR era, the EF 35mm F1.4L II USM, included a Blue Spectrum Refractive (BR) lens element that practically eliminated LoCA, but this lens does not. I've come to expect an upgrade in optical performance when using lenses made for mirrorless systems versus comparable ones for SLRs, but in this case, Canon has taken a step backward. Granted, the RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM is a half-pound lighter and priced $500 below the EF 35mm F1.4L II USM. If you prefer the older lens, it can be used with an EOS R camera along with any of Canon's official autofocus adapters. The EF EOS R is the most basic and affordable. That said, I'd still recommend a native lens over an adapted EF lens when buying new for EOS R, as the adapter adds some bulk and USM autofocus is not nearly as responsive as VCM.

Verdict: Beautiful Images, Even With Technical Imperfections

The 35mm focal length is a favorite among photographers. It's a good fit for documentary-style images that capture a subject in its environment, making it a go-to option for everything from weddings to reportage to family memories. Many photogs who use Canon and have made the jump to mirrorless have eagerly awaited this one, as its release comes in the sixth year of the EOS R system's lifespan. The RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM succeeds on several fronts: It cuts weight versus the SLR edition to better balance with mirrorless cameras, includes vastly upgraded autofocus, and is razor sharp, with a corresponding razor-thin depth of field when used at its widest aperture. Even with all these positives, we're rating it a bit lower than the older EF 35mm F1.4 L II USM, as the newer lens shows more flare and LoCA than we'd like. Ultimately, the RF 35mm F1.8 IS Macro STM is a better pick for budget-strapped photographers; it doesn't focus as quickly or quietly, but it costs far less, focuses closer, and still has a bright f-stop. Event photographers and photojournalists can justify the cost of the RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM because of its lightning-fast focus, weather sealing, and overall strong image quality.