| Customer Reviews Collected from usa.canon.com |
Canon - EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Standard Lens - Black
Average Customer Rating:
4.6
Rating breakdown 63 reviews
5 Stars
45
4 Stars
14
3 Stars
3
2 Stars
1
1 Star
0
96%of customers recommend this product.
(
50 out of
52)
Customer Reviews for Canon - EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Standard Lens - Black
Customer Rating
5
Great little lens
on November 22, 2015
Posted by: Anonymous
from Juliette, GA, United States
So light weight I didn't think it was on my camera. I shoot sport photography and shot some filler shots of coaches and start players. Tack Sharp, Sot some of Cheerleader Squad Tack Sharp
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Best "street photography" lens ever?
on June 15, 2016
Posted by: AGO
from İstanbul, Turkey
Before mentioning about the 40 mm f/2.8 lens, some background information first;
I have a 6D and its kit lens 24-105 mm f/4. It is a very good camera as an entry level full frame and the lens covers quite a satisfactory focal range with its constant f/4 for the entire range. I use my camera for travel, architectural and street photography mostly. Here is a brief about my personal experience;
1. Travel photography: I can say that, this set of body and the lens is quite good for travel photography. The benefit of carrying one lens during travels outweighs the benefits of carrying a number of lenses most of the time.
2. Architectural photography: Although a 20 mm lens is my personal preference for architectural photography, the 24-105 mm lens covers most of my needs in that field. So, no serious complaints there.
3. Street photography: I also use my 6D for street photography. A camera with exceptional low light capability and a general purpose lens is what you need for street photography because you never know what you will experience especially in the streets of Istanbul. Walking with the camera for hours has one major disadvantage though. Weight! Don't get me wrong. The weight of 6D with the 24-105 mm kit lens (almost 1425 grams) is quite acceptable as a full frame set but sometimes you want a much lighter camera if you have to carry it all day.
Finally, I decided to check the lightweight alternatives. The final destination was mirrorless cameras. I made some research and narrowed down the choices to a few cameras. I even tested some of them. I saw that the mirrorless cameras I liked was between 600 to 900 grams including their lenses (mostly 35 mm full frame equivalent). So, at the end of the day, I had to spend almost two grand for a mirrorless camera and a lens if I really wanted to save around 500 grams of weight from my backpack.
Although, mirrorless cameras were lighter, they were not as light as I expected. They were not cheap either. Further, I had to to sacrifice the full frame sensor quality, some sharpness, all day battery capability and usability of my existing lenses. This did not make sense.
While I was thinking about the best solution, I came across the 40 mm pancake lens. Its size and weight was very attractive. I knew that most of my street photography shots were taken around 20 to 50 mm focal lengths. Further, f/2.8 was not bad at all. Further, 6D with a 40 mm lens was almost 885 grams. It was interesting that the weight was within the range of the mirrorless cameras I tested. So, instead of spending a grand or two for a mirrorless camera, this pancake lens seemed a very good alternative.
The result? I can say that this 40 mm f/2.8 converted my 6D to a very good camera for street photography. Interestingly sharp photos and the low profile look of this lens (which is sometimes very important for street photography) made it my primary choice for street and even travel photography!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Compact and Sharp
on July 2, 2014
Posted by: JZZ
from San Francisco
I bought this prime lense for my SL1 so we can lighten the load when traveling. The 40mm takes extremely sharp pictures and the combo weighs 1.3 lbs total.
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
3
A Good Buy
on July 11, 2012
Posted by: Eyeballer
from Los Angeles, CA
I purchased this lens mainly because of its size and weight. The lock-up is nice and tight. I use a 5Dii. It's a great lens if you want to drop the overall weight and size of your set up for a day of snapping. Lugging around a camera with thick, heavy glass does become a drag. Image quality is good and I get usable photos. Background blur is nice. Build quality is impressive when considering its price. It has full-time manual focus, too.
Some of my minor complaints are that the lens goes to sleep too quickly and on occasion it will not wake up. I'll have to turn the camera off, then on again to get the lens working. Manual focus doesn't work when the lens is asleep. It's a little noisy when focusing and its focusing speed could be better. It's not slow, but it's not fast either. Of course it's not a USM, however focusing is accurate.
Some of my major complaints are that the lens is not very fast at only 2.8. I think a prime lens should be faster, at least a 1.8, but if that were the case it would probably out compete the 50mm 1.8. The relatively small max. aperture is disappointing and irksome. Canon should have made this lens faster. Also, image quality is slightly soft wide open. It's not as sharp as others at 2.8 (it's sharp enough, just not razor sharp) and vignetting is very obvious on a full frame.
This lens could be better, but considering what it sells for I'm not too surprised about its overall quality and performance. You get what you pay for.
If you already have the 50mm 1.8 or the 1.4, then there's no reason to buy this lens except for its attractive size. The focal length makes it a great walk-around for the streets or indoors, but the 50mm 1.4 would do the same with slightly better IQ at 2.8. Plus, you'll have the option of going larger in low light conditions.
Overall, I'm happy with this lens for what it is and I am satisfied that I purchased it. It's discreet, compact, affordable, and easy to carry and produces usable photos. However, if you're thinking about buying this lens before the 50mm 1.4 or 1.8, then don't.
Pros: small and light, good build quality, convenient focal length
Cons: slightly soft at 2.8, sleeps too quickly, needs a larger aperture
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
Fantastic lens
on August 21, 2014
Posted by: SnapDragon
from AK
I'm so impressed by this little lens. Super sharp and excellent bokeh. Just a sweet lens that makes shooting common item found in my yard so much fun. I just love it.
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images, beautiful bokeh
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
THE BEST
on September 12, 2012
Posted by: Hoborg
from Jacksonville
I used a 15-85mm, on my 60D and i was happy with that lens, carrying it everywhere for daily shooting, since i got this beauty, i can't take it off! it is lighter, sharper and makes the life easy in low light. MUST HAVE!
Pros: Fast auto-focus, Superior build quality, Super-sharp images
Cons: doesn't buy me coffee
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
a remarkable lens
on December 17, 2014
Posted by: ASK
from Baltimore, MD
Impressively sharp and remarkably compact. No apparent chromatic or geometric distortion on my 6D, focusses well with little noise. The 6D will never be a shirt pocket camera, but this lens is the closest it will get to that.
Need to make sure lens is retracted before shutting off camera, a small bother.
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com
Customer Rating
5
i love it
on April 3, 2017
Posted by: slickdirector101 INSTA
from Oceanside, CA, United States
I got this from a friend at I love it. it's perfect for video and photo
I would recommend this to a friend!
Written by a customer while visiting usa.canon.com