40/2.8 STM hands on

<p>This is not a review but some notes after just one afternoon with that lens.<br>

OK, it is small and looks positively goofy on a 1Ds3 or 1D4 body but surprisingly at home on a smaller (40D, 7D) body. On a 1D/1Ds body its miniscule weight doesn’t really matter because the body itself is heavy, but a 7D-40/2.8 STM combo feels lightweight. Ergonomically it is an AF only lens, esp. on a camera with a protruding flash: the focus ring is just too narrow and recessed for comfortable MF operation. It is easier to operate on a 1D/1Ds body (more clearance.)<br>

Focusing speed resembles that of an 85/1.2 L (which is a rather slow focusing hunk of glass) and I can actually hear and “feel” the lens turning rather slowly. But the focusing itself is snappy, without any noticeable focus hunting except at “macro” distances where the lens focuses back and forth, sometimes several times, close to its MFD. It does focus pretty much the same way with an extension tube (I tried a 12 mm tube) but of course with more magnification. The focusing noise is close to the noises made by my EF 50/1.4 USM, but smoother, without the “hoarse”, grating noises.<br>

The focal length suits me fine on a 24x36 mm sensor since a lot of my pleasure shooting runs around 35 mm.<br>

I like its contrast, color rendition (close to that of L lenses)) and general “feel” of the image it produces, esp. on a 24x36 mm sensor. Yes, it does vignette a lot at f/2.8 but I actually like light fall-off in pictorial photography so this is no biggie for me. (Vignetting decreases considerably at f/4.5 – 5.0 or so anyway.) The center sharpness is perfectly all right at f/2.8, nearly as good as EF 50/1.4 closed down to f/2.8 and noticeably increases, and becomes more uniform across the frame, when the lens is closed down, peeking, IMO, at f/5.6. Judging by its negligible distortion I strongly suspect that it’ll be perfectly fine for architecture when closed down to f/5.6 or 8.<br>

Wide open the 40/2.8 STM definitely has a very unique pictorial character.<br>

One more thing, its mount is much tighter than pretty much on any other lenses I own.<br>

I’m intrigued…</p>

<p>Thanks for this real user review. Very helpful. I will try it on my 5D MKii the next time I go to my local camera store.<br>

"its mount is much tighter than pretty much on any other lenses I own"<br /> Could be from the fact that its very low weight and its minimal length produces much less lever effect on the mount. And of course, the mount is also brand new.</p>

<p>Thanks for the report, Michael. I'm on "lighter-is-better" kick these days and this lens is definitely on my radar.</p>

<p>It is a tighter fit on all cameras I have mounted it on (8 different DSLRs and 2 film bodies, I wanted to verify that it indeed is tighter) than any other lens regardless of its weight/size. Nothing objectionable, though.</p>

<p>It's a nice walk around lens because the view is similar to what your eyes see. Of course, this means taking a few steps forward or backward to frame the shot (gasp, what a concept). The camera with this lens on actually feels a lot lighter and less cumbersome. The pictorial quality is great. Gives that Canon creamy color look to your photos..</p>

<p>What is about its distortion? </p>

<p>Photozone found that "The Canon pancake lens produces only a slight amount of barrel distortion (0.6%) which is basically negligible."<br>

<a href="http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/752-canon_40_28_ff?start=1">http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/752-canon_40_28_ff?start=1</a></p>

 

<p>Yep, I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of visible barrel/pincushion distortion. No idea about coma though, as I haven't tested the lens on starry skies, charts and printed targets. CA is also very, very low. The lens data is not yet available in DPP so it is difficult to say if, and to what degree, any flaws will be auto correctable.<br>

One more totally subjective observation: I like the images it produces also because at normal shooting distances the near-far objects size relationship looks very pleasant, "natural" to me (on a 24x36 mm sensor.)<br>

In short, this is a much better lens than its low price tag would indicate, so apparently Canon can...</p>

<p>I'm personally thinking that, considering the price, this is a lens that I want in my kit. Another of those prime lenses that Canon rewards the faithful with (e.g., 50mm f/1.8, 28mm f/2.8, 35mm f/2, etc.)</p>

<p>I'm sorry I still don't have my Rebel to mount it on; it would be especially sweet as a lightweight shooter with those smaller APS-C bodies.</p>

<p>I'm enjoying this lens immensely on my 7D! Together they make a superb lightweight kit that is proving to be a wonderful walk-around set-up, and the results are excellent.</p>

<p>Tried it on a new 4Ti and loved it. Problem is I didn't love the 4Ti and returned it. Got a great deal on a 5DI and used the 40 on it today. Superb on full frame. Even at F2.8 which is where I'm most often going to leave it.</p>