Canon 40mm f/2.8 Lens: Thoughts? Reviews? Is it worth getting?

[cayenne]

Hi all,

I was just browsing around Amazon, looking at lens prices, etc...

I came across the little 40mm pancake lens...it has good reviews there, looking it is slightly wide angle, fairly fast lens....and only $150.

So, I'm wondering..is this one of those "bang for the buck" lenses? Would this be good for video? With it being so small, I can't tell if there's a manual focusing ring on it....

I was hoping someone out here that owns it could tell what they think its strengths and weaknesses are...how is it shooting wide open?

What kind of pictures do you most often take with this lens?

Anyway, for $150...I was thinking of playing with it...but wondering if so cheap, is it worth messing with at all?

Thanks in advance,

cayenne

 

[Loswr]

I like it. Yes, it has a manual focus ring - note that it's an STM lens, so it's 'focus by wire' (power is required for manual focusing).

It's quite sharp wide open. I find it most useful because of it's small size - when I'm primarly planning to shoot with a long lens, I can easily bring the 40/2.8 along. I often use the 70-200/2.8 for events, and since it's hanging from a Blackrapid strap, if I need wider I can switch to the 40/2.8 which I keep in my pocket, leaving the white zoom hanging from the strap. I could use my 24-70, but I'd have to carry that in a belt pouch - the pancake is very convenient.

 

[Sporgon]

So, I'm wondering..is this one of those "bang for the buck" lenses?

Does the Pope kiss tarmac ?

Every Canon user should have one of these. Manual 'focus by wire' not bad when you get used to it. No distance scale which can be a pain for some specialised uses. Otherwise - just get it !

 

[mackguyver]

I bought mine six weeks ago, played with it for 15 minutes and haven't used it since. Great little lens, but mine is probably going on the auction block. My new EOS-M serves the main purpose I bought it for, though it would be a good lens to bring along on any shoot.

 

[Deleted member 7828]

Strengths:

It's small! Easy to carry around.
It's very affordable.
For the price it delivers very good IQ, even at 2.8. And since I have experience with some highly regarded L lenses, my standards for IQ are high...

Weaknesses:

No IS (but that would make it bigger, of course)
Tendency to back-focus slightly at moderate distances (if your body has AFMA, you can correct for this somewhat...or you can use Live View if accurate focus is critical)


Recommended...the price/performance ratio is really hard to beat.

 

[ecka]

It works beautifully on FF, but it's a different story on APSC.
The worst thing about the "focus by wire" is that Canon didn't figure out how to make it go back to infinity automatically when the battery dies. Small, sharp, very nice bokeh, reasonably priced.

 

[timmy_650]

I have had mine about a year probably now. On my t2i it was about the same as my nifty 50 not much difference, I wouldn't keep both if I sold stuff. I just got a 6D and I am using it more and more. I don't really like my 50 on my 6D (yet) but I use my 40 often.
I got mine about $100 for that price I would buy it again again.

 

[ahsanford]

Hi all,

I was just browsing around Amazon, looking at lens prices, etc...

I came across the little 40mm pancake lens...it has good reviews there, looking it is slightly wide angle, fairly fast lens....and only $150.

So, I'm wondering..is this one of those "bang for the buck" lenses? Would this be good for video? With it being so small, I can't tell if there's a manual focusing ring on it....

I was hoping someone out here that owns it could tell what they think its strengths and weaknesses are...how is it shooting wide open?

What kind of pictures do you most often take with this lens?

Anyway, for $150...I was thinking of playing with it...but wondering if so cheap, is it worth messing with at all?

Thanks in advance,

cayenne

Pros: Absurdly small, exceptionally sharp (the sharpness seems best towards the F/2.8-4 side of things, which is great), inexpensive, and inconspicuous looking.

Cons: Slow focusing, no IS, you could argue F/2.8 is slow (for a prime)

It's a lovely lens if you are a walkaround-and-think-about-each-shot person, you take proper time to compose a shot, etc. But it focuses far, far slower than a good USM lens. So it will generate great images if your subject isn't moving around too much -- so it's a poor choice for sports, children, pets, etc. I know I will eat those words and someone will post awesome kid/pet/sports shots taken with it, but the hit rate will be far lower than if you had a proper USM lens.

- A

 

[Dylan777]

The best $130 I ever spend on Canon lens. It's compact and sharp @ wide open. It feels like FF mirrorless when you attach to your 5D III. Maybe I should cancel my A7 and stay with this combo : : :

 

[kennephoto]

I love mine when I use it on full frame, great image quality and compact makes the 5d a nice walk-around camera. On my 1d camera it's like a 50mm so it's fun for that too.

 

[Sporgon]

The best $130 I ever spend on Canon lens. It's compact and sharp @ wide open. It feels like FF mirrorless when you attach to your 5D III. Maybe I should cancel my A7 and stay with this combo : : :

I've seen this picture when you posted it a whole ago. Can't remember it I posted a comment then, but the qualities of this picture really reminds me of the Ektachrome transparencies my father shot of us when we were kids, using his Pentax Spotmatic and 50mm takumar f1.7.

So that's a complement

 

[chilledXpress]

I bought mine six weeks ago, played with it for 15 minutes and haven't used it since. Great little lens, but mine is probably going on the auction block. My new EOS-M serves the main purpose I bought it for, though it would be a good lens to bring along on any shoot.

Pretty much the same for me... Haven't used it much after the first week. Bought it to throw on a used XS as an almost "disposable" camera if something went wrong in action. Now i let my kid take pictures with that set up, so probably will keep it. Wicked sharp at 2.8 for the price but found it to start going soft around 5.6-8, so not as useful as i hoped it to be.

 

[albron00]

I use more often on my 5Dm3 I'd ever imagine.
It’s pretty sharp wide open, inexpensive, small and always in your bag.
What else do you need?

 

[ajperk]

I suppose I don't have a whole lot to add to what has been said so far, but I have also been very happy with the 40mm.

On my T2i it saw some use, but once I got a 6D I found that I really liked the perspective and have used it a lot. After using the 40mm for a few months I bought a 50mm 1.4 a few weeks ago thinking that it would be close with the added benefit of a much wider maximum aperture. I ended up returning the 50mm last week. I just didn't like it as much as the slightly wider 40mm, though that is admittedly an issue of personal taste. (There were some other things I didn't like about the 50mm in addition to the perspective)

So I'd say go for it!

 

[cayenne]

Interesting...

Thanks for all the responses. At $150 it is cheap and I think I'll get it to play with.

I'm saving right now for a 50L f/1.2 lens and I have a bit of a gap on my lens selection for this 40-50mm area...so, I might get it to play with till I get my 50L.....

Hmm...and heck, will be interesting to try on for video as well....

How's the bokeh on this thing?


C

 

[Renaissance]

On my 5D Mark III, it's like a "baby - L" lens; sharp, great color & contrast from f2.8 - f8.
I test shot it against my previously owned 50 (1.8, 1.4, 1.2,) canon 35 f2 IS, and sigma 35 1.4.
The 40mm holds up really well against all those lenses. But it was much better on FF than on my 60D.

I was about to buy the 24-70 L II but decided to hold off for now, especially since I'd shoot primarily between 30-50mm; the pancake does that with low distortion! If I need a more durable versatile lens, I can still myself eventually getting the 24-70. In the meantime, I will use the money saved on a 2nd body, like a 6D or even a fuji x100s possibly.

I agree with neuroanatomist - when I borrow my friend's 70-200 L II, having the 40mm is such a convenience that gives me a great range while still maintaining mobility. Definitely get it!

Great pic Dylan! I actually used the 40mm on my 5d Mark III for a weekend at Disneyland and the beach, and it never bogged me down!

 

[distant.star]

.
I got the lens when it was first announced. I still think it's the best glass for the money in the Canon lineup.

Since getting the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 I haven't used the 40 on my 5D3. It's the mainstay on my T2i these days. Great little lens.

 

[lux]

I've used the 70-200 a lot at kid sporting events then pop that off and put on the 40 to take a picture of the team. I just keep it in my pocket. I find that I don't use my 50 1.4 much because it's really soft until stopped down to at least 2 and at 2.8 my 40 seems a little better...and the 50 1.4 doesn't fit as well in my pocket. I keep it because I might need the 1.4 sometime but in reality I haven't used it much since I bought the 40.

 

[Ripley]

I've used the 70-200mmii/40mm combo several times in the last couple of months and the IQ is closer than I'd like to admit. Even once I get the 24-70ii, I plan on keeping the 40 as a backup and for kicks.

 

[gilmorephoto]

It's my everyday lens. I love it so much that I am going to get a second one as a back up in case Canon freaks out and cancels it for some dumb reason. It hold its own again my more expensive glass but since it's compact it actually gets used. 24-70 II is great but hell to carry around all day.