Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM officially discontinued

[ctk]

As more EF lenses get discontinued, the odds of a new 5D Mark V being introduced continues to decline.

This is a good point, and unfortunate.

I hope Canon replaces this lens in RF mount, and seizes the opportunity to make more improvements than they did with the 50 1.8.

I have mixed feelings about the 40/2.8. I love the FL and got some of my best photos with it. But I don't enjoy using it as it forces me to dig deeper to get great photos. That can be a good or bad thing depending on perspective. I would love an F/2 version with a focus on smooth bokeh and overall rendering. I will settle for the Samyang 45 if that ever comes our way.

 

[Groundhog]

Love the shorty forty for the size and IQ but I am not surprised it is discontinued as one of the first lenses, since it was a bit special and not for everyone ... hopefully Canon will make native RF pancakes, maybe even a new 40mm.

 

[David - Sydney]

The EF40 + adapter basically doubled the size/weight and cost to put it on R mount. A RF version would make a lot of sense and quieten down the noise about cheap / small RF lenses.

 

[Bennymiata]

I think Canon makes lenses in batches and when the final batches of the pancake lens ran out, they decided to use the factory to make the newer RF lenses. Probably the same with the 200mm lens.
I'm pretty sure this will continue with the not-so-popular lenses in the near future too.

 

[adrian_bacon]

Not quite sure about that. I figured that Canon has decided to cancel several lense and stopped production all at the same time. This probably happened last year when they had great difficulties with their supply chain. The official cancelation in my opinion is made public when they run out of stock of a particular lense. This could be due to low production numbers or a bigger demand. We´ll probably never hear about the exact reasons.

True. Either way, I hope they make an RF version.

 

[mclaren777]

This news is deeply disappointing!

The 40mm pancake was easily the best bang-for-the-buck lens in all of photography so I'm amazed that Canon is discontinuing it so early.

 

[bdeutsch]

The odds are not going to continues to decline... as their are rock bottom 0.

No offence, but at this point I don't think we will see any new DSLR from Canon. I do expect a full shift to mirrorless.
Thinking about the existence of a 5D mk V is like thinking that there will be a 1Dx mk IV in 4 years.

Also this was posted a while ago as CR2: https://www.canonrumors.com/there-will-not-be-an-eos-5d-mark-v-cr2/
[CR2] – Good information from a known source
Which pretty much means certainty.

Also in their Intro to R5 video, Canon clearly designated the R5 as the successor of the 5D.

The real question is why anyone cares about a successor to the 5d4 now? I love my 5d4, and really don't need anything better in the still photo category. But the things that could be better...lighter and better video all point toward mirrorless.

---

Deutsch Photography, Inc.: NYC Wedding Photographer | Actor and Executive Headshots NYC | Family and Baby Portraits

 

[SnowMiku]

I'm surprised they are discontinuing the EF lenses already, I suppose they will start discontinuing the least profitable lenses first and they will keep the more profitable lenses for a few more years.

 

[Sean C]

Add me to the list of folks who really like the 40mm pancake. It seems to somehow avoid pancake IQ issues, and it's image and build quality are both great for its price range.

 

[adrian_bacon]

The EF40 + adapter basically doubled the size/weight and cost to put it on R mount. A RF version would make a lot of sense and quieten down the noise about cheap / small RF lenses.

If they made the pancake 40 an RF pancake 40 that would go on my RP and never come off. As it is now, I switch between the RF 35 and the RF 50 STM. The R6 gets the RF 24-105, and the R5 gets the RF 70-200.

 

[unfocused]

This says as much about prime lenses as it does about the EF mount. Face it, prime lenses are a dying breed. These days they don't offer any advantage over zooms for image quality and most buyers are not interested in carrying two or three prime lenses when they can get by with a single zoom. Prime lenses will be limited to a few very fast and expensive primes, specialty macro or telephoto lenses and maybe a couple of consumer grade lenses like the 50mm STM lens.

 

[noncho]

I have 40 2.8 since they produced it - the compact size and image quality are great. I like it more than EF 50 1.8 options.
I was going to get RF 50 1.8 to replace it, but it's with the same image quality as the EF nifty-fifty.

 

[Antono Refa]

I'm surprised they are discontinuing the EF lenses already, I suppose they will start discontinuing the least profitable lenses first and they will keep the more profitable lenses for a few more years.

Profit considerations are a bit tricky.

One issue is limited resources. Canon can make only so many lenses, so it might prefer making a more profitable lens, or an RF lens to support migration.

Another is some lenses, e.g. EF 200mm f/2L, are made in batches. As a slow selling item, Canon might not sell a whole batch before the market moves to RF.

Lastly, I have my doubts as to how profitable the EF 40mm was. Over the last decade, Canon introduced very few new EF primes* - the 40mm f/2.8 STM in '12, the 50mm f/1.8 got an STM in '15, and the 24-28-35mm got an upgrade in '12. My bet is...

• Sales of primes took a bigger hit than zooms.
• Pancakes didn't catch on FF, my guess is the camera is too big for lens size to matter that much.
• STM didn't catch on FF.

* No, I haven't forgotten Canon released three TS-E lenses in '17, but rather think those are subject to different considerations.

 

[Maximilian]

This says as much about prime lenses as it does about the EF mount. Face it, prime lenses are a dying breed. ...

I fear you are right here, but ...

... These days they don't offer any advantage over zooms for image quality ...

... but here you are dead wrong, sorry. Show me a non-L zoom lens that offers the same IQ at 40 mm and f/2.8.
And the RF50 STM shows that Canon sees it similar. But they wanted to raise the price as well.

... most buyers are not interested in carrying two or three prime lenses when they can get by with a single zoom. ...

Because nobody tells them. I did to some of my consumer friends and the EF40 and 50 STM both opened their eyes and they are happy now with their much better portraits and landscape pics.
The other buyers not willing to change lens shouldn't buy an ILC system and are better off with the latest smart phone cams.

Edit:
Did a sharpness comparison at TDP with the 10 times more expensive 24-70L II.
And I must say: "Not bad for such a cheapo!"

 

[padam]

Great little lens, by far the smallest and cheapest with full coverage on a medium format sensor.

 

[Skux]

What a shame, it's an amazing lens, and not just because it's cheap.

I had both the 50mm STM and the 40mm and had to sell one. I kept the 40mm, it's just too good. Razor sharp even wide open, fast enough for almost any kind of unplanned shot, and tiny enough to keep on my 5D3 in case I need to grab my camera for a quick photo, or when out doing street photography.

I bought mine used and it came with the pouch and hood. I'm definitely holding on to it now.

 

[ctk]

This says as much about prime lenses as it does about the EF mount. Face it, prime lenses are a dying breed. These days they don't offer any advantage over zooms for image quality and most buyers are not interested in carrying two or three prime lenses when they can get by with a single zoom. Prime lenses will be limited to a few very fast and expensive primes, specialty macro or telephoto lenses and maybe a couple of consumer grade lenses like the 50mm STM lens.

Respectfully, this is all wrong. There are no F/1.4 or faster zooms, and what few F/2 zooms are out there are insanely heavy. Every new FF system is full of primes, usually with 2 or even 3 covering the same focal length. Primes aren't going anywhere.

 

[Tom W]

I would suspect that an RF version of this lens, or similar, will be forthcoming. The pancake design loses a little of its size advantage with the adapter, but it's still a cool little package. Small, simple, decent IQ.

 

[[email protected]]

Of the many lenses I've sold over the years, there are only 2 that I bought back again after missing it, and this was one of them. For me, the rendering on this little guy had something special for short-range portraits. I sold it years ago, and then was doing an end-of-year photo book for the family and realized all the shots I liked most were from it. Looked for a while on the used market before I found one at a discount. Seemed like there was a lot of demand for them. I am using it primarily now as a lens for outdoor remote cameras, which often require a small size for the weird applications I'm doing. The RF 35mm macro is about the same size, if you count the adapter on the EF 40, but the new RF 35 has lots more color aberration.

I bet, unfortunately, Canon considers the 35mm macro its replacement already.

 

[slclick]

The 40 has great micro contrast. It's sweet spot is 3.5. Those who have given it enough time and opportunity have really appreciated it.