The Shorty Forty MTF Chart Comparison

[Canon Rumors]

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Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
Below are some comparison MTF charts of the 50 f/1.8 II, 50 f/1.4 & 40 f/2.8 STM.

The lens looks pretty decent in the center, and tails off a bit in the corners. However, it looks better than both of the current non L 50′s in the Canon lineup.

I also dig the moniker “Shorty Forty” for the new pancake. Taemobig on our forum may or may not have come up with the name.

Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Comparison MTF To the 50 f/1.4 & 50 f/1.8 II - Click for Larger

Preorder links
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM $199 B&H | Adorama | Amazon

thanks mattbru

cr

[max]

yeah but it is f/2.8...

[adhocphotographer]

yeah but it is f/2.8...

Sure...  but i think the point isn't to make an amazing low light lens, but a small one...  I'm now sold on it...  it is wider (focal range) and smaller than the 50 i have on my 450D almost every day... And for 200$, it is no brainer for me!

[seta666]

Well, black lines show maximum aperture so it is normal for the f2.8 lens to be sharper than the other 2; at f8 it is the sharpest of the three but I also guess that fast lenses with biger glass have more complicated designs.

 Whe I so this lens anouncement I inmediately thought of the C/Y carl zeiss tessar 45/2.8, known to be an ultrasharp lens. In the past I was thinking to buy that one for my 5D mkII but it is know to hit the mirror so this 40/2.8 seems as a good alternative. I find 40/2.8 quite usefull for walkaround, at least for full frame cameras

regards

[awinphoto]

It's MTF is quite impressive all things considering... just dont drop it, or sneeze on it, or pass gas near it... haha

[kode]

I made the same observations re the MTF graphs. It looks really good compared to the 50/1.8 and 50/1.4, neither of which are bad optically. I'm just about to preorder it, but it'll apparently start shipping as late as late august/early september over here.

It's MTF is quite impressive all things considering... just dont drop it, or sneeze on it, or pass gas near it... haha

Compared to the 50/1.8 II, I'm willing to bet the build quality is metric miles ahead. Half the size, same weight.

[awinphoto]

I made the same observations re the MTF graphs. It looks really good compared to the 50/1.8 and 50/1.4, neither of which are bad optically. I'm just about to preorder it, but it'll apparently start shipping as late as late august/early september over here.

It's MTF is quite impressive all things considering... just dont drop it, or sneeze on it, or pass gas near it... haha

Compared to the 50/1.8 II, I'm willing to bet the build quality is metric miles ahead. Half the size, same weight.

I just wish the MF ring didn't look like such an afterthought.  The MF ring on L lenses are wider than this lens is total most likely.  I just hope, with the pancake design, that OOF bokeh doesn't look like crap and the element doesn't extend when focusing. 

[spinworkxroy]

This only shows how badly Canon needs to update their 50 f1.4!

[garyploski]

Noob at reading these charts here. The x and y axis are not labelled, what should be there?

[garyploski]

Also, there is no legend for what the lines represent. 

[kode]

Also, there is no legend for what the lines represent. 

This is a good read on how to read MTF graphs:
http://www.luminous-landscape.com/tutorials/understanding-series/understanding-mtf.shtml

[TrumpetPower!]

Ladies unt chentlemen, ve haff a veener!

With an MTF chart like that, there's basically nothing left to complain about. Sure, it's only f/2.8, but so are the 16-35, the 24-70, the 70-200, and the fast supertelephotos. "Only" f/2.8 for a lens with this image quality, this size, silent full-time manual autofocus, all in a package hardly bigger than its rear lens cap?

Sign me up!

b&

[kode]

I just wish the MF ring didn't look like such an afterthought.  The MF ring on L lenses are wider than this lens is total most likely.  I just hope, with the pancake design, that OOF bokeh doesn't look like crap and the element doesn't extend when focusing.

Certainly. The focus ring is probably as large as they could make it, more or less, but it'll still beat the 50/1.8 II focus ring (and it has FTM, to boot).

Background rendering with pancake lenses can be really good, so I share your hopes there. Press release (or at least dpreview) says internal focusing, so I guess it shouldn't extend?

[Dylan777]

side by side + above .8 = I'll take one

[rpt]

Also, there is no legend for what the lines represent. 

Don't worry about it. Read, google, YouTube and it will not need legends. I was there a few months back. now a MTF chart does not rattle me...