The Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro is a lightweight prime capable of 1:2 close focus photography. At $499, it is positioned as a value option rather than one of Canon’s high-end L-series lenses, but it still has some tricks up its sleeve. Should you add the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro to your bag? Read on to find out!
When I initially decided to start reviewing Canon lenses, the RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro was the one of the first two lenses I requested. It looks extremely promising on paper – small, light, bright, and with great features like image stabilization and near-macro capabilities. Depending upon how it performed, I knew that the RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro could turn into one of my favorite lenses.
As you’ll see later in this review, while there are some drawbacks to this lens (especially in terms of build quality), it certainly holds its own and makes for a versatile choice for almost any type of photography. Below is my full review of the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro after using it for several months of photography in the field as well as testing it extensively in the lab for sharpness, vignetting, distortion, and chromatic aberration. I hope you find it useful!
Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro Specifications
- Mount Type: Canon RF Mount
- Focal Length: 35mm prime
- Angle of View (Full Frame): 63°
- Maximum Aperture: f/1.8
- Minimum Aperture: f/22
- Aperture Blades: 9, rounded
- Filter Size: 52mm
- Lens Elements: 11
- Lens Groups: 9
- Special Elements: 1 aspherical
- Anti-Reflection Coatings: Super Spectra
- Fluorine Coated Front Element: No
- Image Stabilization: Yes
- Internal Focusing: No
- Control Rings: Focus and custom ring
- Switches: AF/MF and image stabilization on/off
- Focus Motor: STM
- Minimum Focus Distance: 170mm (6.7 inches)
- Maximum Magnification: 0.5× (1:2)
- Mount Material: Metal
- Weather/Dust Sealing: No
- Dimensions (Length × Diameter): 63 × 74 mm (2.5 × 2.9 inches)
- Weight: 305 g (0.67 lbs)
- MSRP: $499 (check current price)
These are so-so specs for a $499 lens. On the bright side, the inclusion of image stabilization and extensive manual controls is much more advanced than expected. However, the external-focusing design and lack of weather sealing indicate a relatively cheap construction.
Build Quality
Although the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro is a relatively inexpensive lens, the quality of the plastic itself feels the same as expensive lenses like the Canon 15-35mm f/2.8 L side-by-side. I have no issue with the lens’s use of high-quality plastics for the main barrel. However, the RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro does not have weather sealing, and the front element is not fluorine coated (useful for repelling dust and water).
One of the biggest issues with the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro’s build quality is that it’s an externally focusing lens, with the lens barrel extending as you focus more closely. The type of plastic used in the extending barrel feels distinctly cheaper than the high-quality main barrel of the lens. Also, each time that you turn on the camera, the lens initializes by racking in and out – just like point-and-shoot cameras of yore.
None of this is good if you plan to use the lens in harsh weather or dusty environments. To make maters worse, the barrel of the lens clearly wobbles slightly when it’s extended (under 1 mm in any direction, but you can distinctly feel it). I don’t think this would be enough to cause optical problems, but it does allow grit to get into the mechanism more easily.
Having said all that, I still used the lens quite a bit in rainy and dusty conditions in the field. I didn’t run into any malfunctions in my time with it (although I also took a lot of care to keep it clean and dry). The real problem is for long-term usage, where I would feel a lot more comfortable with an internally focusing lens that has weather sealing. It definitely harms the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro’s otherwise impressive versatility.
Handling
The Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 has an impressive set of handling features for a relatively inexpensive lens. There are dedicated switches both for autofocus/manual focus and for image stabilization on/off. There’s also the usual focus ring as well as a custom control ring. The extent of these features is something found more often on expensive lenses, and it’s nice to see that Canon didn’t cut corners here. Even so, I would have liked to see a focus limiter switch as well, considering that this is a near-macro lens.
Image stabilization works great on the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro, allowing you to shoot handheld with the lens in low-light environments even with cameras like the EOS R8, R10, or R50 that don’t have in-body image stabilization. I was comfortable working handheld with a shutter speed from about 1/6th to 1/10th second, and I probably could have pushed it further if I loosened my standards or took more photos in order to select the sharpest one later. It’s a great system.
That said, something worth noting about the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 is that it does not ship with a lens hood. This is just cheap on Canon’s part. The official Canon EW-52 lens hood for the 35mm f/1.8 costs $45, which feels high for a small piece of plastic that should have been included in the first place. There are knock-off lens hoods available on Amazon for roughly $15, which I’d get instead.
As it happens, there’s a separate issue even if you do buy a lens hood: The hood attaches to the portion of the RF 35mm f/1.8 barrel that moves when focusing. This makes it a questionable choice for protecting the lens (one of the two main duties of a lens hood), since the moving barrel could be damaged by a heavy impact that hits the hood.
The next page of this review covers the optical characteristics of the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro, including focusing performance and sharpness tests in the lab. So, click the menu below to go to “Optical Features”:
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