Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM "Pancake"

[5pacedog]

Selfportrait handheld, natural light through window behind me.
Iso 400, f2.8

I like the pancake!!!

[swrightgfx]

Selfportrait handheld, natural light through window behind me.
Iso 400, f2.8

I like the pancake!!!

Not sure what that looks like pre-sharpening and 100% crop, but looks to be nice sharpness wide-open. It is fantastic that this lens has such a short minimum focus distance to allow for you to get shots you often can't without a tripod, like self portraits.

[briansquibb]

This lens would be fun for macro ie 25mm tubes on

[crasher8]

Ok, I am impressed. Glad I got a good copy. Sharp wide open, nice colors, pleasing bokeh, And the 64 FL isn't too bad. Film test on the weekend with some Tmax 100.

[GDub]

Got my "Shorty Forty" yesterday and took some "test" shots. Here's one:



I did some very slight processing of the RAW file in Lightroom 4.1--boosted the blacks and contrast a tad.

The Shorty Forty is a keeper.

Stuff: Canon 5D Mark III w/Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM. 1/80 second at f/2.8, ISO 160.

[briansquibb]

Seems we have two camps forming here. Those that have it and love it, and those that haven't got and can see nothing but problems even though the reviews praise it for the low price and high IQ

[Kernuak]

Seems we have two camps forming here. Those that have it and love it, and those that haven't got and can see nothing but problems even though the reviews praise it for the low price and high IQ

I'm a non-conformist . I don't have it but am intrigued, as it would be handy for my usual use of that range, landscapes, but it would probably be an addition to, rather than a replacement for the 50 f/1.4, as the wide aperture may come in handy one day. Mind you, I've never managed to get results I'm happy with when I open it up. AF is unreliable and manual focus through the viewfinder with such narrow depth of field is awkward. Strangely, I cope alright with the 135 f/2 though with manual focus.

[mb66energy]

Processing etc.:

• EOS 40D
• Cloudy weather with moderate contrasty light, rain.
• f/4.0
• ISO 100
• Color setting: Neutral
• WB: Sunlight
• RAW converted via DPP with following settings:
• Sharpness (in RAW): 3
• NO (!) noise filtering
• The rest: no modification
• JPEG quality: 3 (out of 10)

Opinion:

This lens is a great little companion: Very contrasty, great color reproduction, good sharpness, fits easily under a jacket and can be used under an umbrella with ease (single handed, no protruding elements collecting water).
About focusing noise: Slow focusing speed is nearly inaudible, faster focusing actions (searching focus between infinity and minimum focusing dist) makes the noise well known of stepper motors in printers. Focusing in video will be inaudible if it is done at slower speeds - cannot check it ... 40D (still waiting for an APS-C mirrorless from Canon accepting EF & EF-S lenses, FF also accepted:-) ).

[SambalOelek]

Seems we have two camps forming here. Those that have it and love it, and those that haven't got and can see nothing but problems even though the reviews praise it for the low price and high IQ

And a third camp for those who have it and appreciate the size and optical quality, but are dissatisfied with the AF and the quirky manual focusing.

[crasher8]

In the 4 days I have had it I have already used it more than I had my 50 1.4 in the past 6 months. The FL just works for me. Now, it won't replace my 24-70 in any area other than weight but while at a child's birthday party yesterday it turned my 7D into the size of a rangefinder and made it quite handy for having it on me while juggling kids, cake, mimosa's etc and I had no dslr concerns such as I might when toting an L lens around.

[Bosman]

How is the accuracy of the 40 using the other focus points of the 5DM3 on it? The 50L works most accurate using only center focus point on the 5DM3.

[rhysb123]

I'm still loving mine!

[Jarques]

New here, loving this lens:









Wrote a quick review here: http://jarqu.es/b/canon-40mm-stm/

[drjlo]

New here, loving this lens:









Wrote a quick review here: http://jarqu.es/b/canon-40mm-stm/

Those are some nice photo's you got from the 40.  I'm sure the 40 wide open (2. is sharper than 50 1.8 wide open (1., but is 50 sharper at 2.8?  I also feel exactly the same as you wrote:

"The 40mm is comparable to the 50mm 1.8 in terms of smooth bokeh, but with the 50mm 1.8 you gain a shallower depth of field which makes me wish that Canon gave this little 40mm an f-stop of 2 or even a 1.8."

[Jarques]

Those are some nice photo's you got from the 40.  I'm sure the 40 wide open (2. is sharper than 50 1.8 wide open (1., but is 50 sharper at 2.8?  I also feel exactly the same as you wrote:

"The 40mm is comparable to the 50mm 1.8 in terms of smooth bokeh, but with the 50mm 1.8 you gain a shallower depth of field which makes me wish that Canon gave this little 40mm an f-stop of 2 or even a 1.8."

Thank you!

That is a good question about sharpness with both at 2.8. I have some testing out to do tonight!