Canon RF 50mm F/1.8 STM

Specifications01

MountCANON RF

Focal length50mm

Max aperturef/1.8

TypeCinema · Portrait · Prime

Release year2020

Weight160 g

Filter size43 mm

Physical length69.2 mm

Min focus distance0.3 m

Max magnification0.25

Aperture blades7

Optical elements6

Groups5

AutofocusYes

StabilizationNo

Aperture controlNone The aperture is controlled from the camera

Lens hoodES-65B - Bayonet-type round

TeleconvertersNot compatible

Sensor coverage43.3 mm

EraDigital era

Production statusIn production

Additional Info02

SpecialSTM

Category["Canon","Canon RF"]

Keywords["Canon","Prime","Standard"]

Lens TypeStandard prime lens

Review AuthorKlaus

Other FeaturesControl ring

Review VerdictThe Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM left us with some mixed emotions. Some aspects are really good, if not outstanding but there's an elephant or two in the room. Let's start with the positives. In terms of resolution, it is generally very decent. The broader center and even the borders have very high quality at large-aperture settings. The corners ... well ... not so much - they are very soft and dull (low contrast). In practical terms, this may not matter too much though, because you rarely tend to require ultimate corner sharpness at such settings. At f/4 and f/5.6, the lens is about as sharp as it gets by any lens standard - which is typical for most 50mm f/1.8 lenses, regardless of how cheap they are. Image distortions and lateral CAs are minimal even in RAW files. Vignetting is clearly on the high side and requires auto-correction unless you are after a keyhole effect. There are two aspects where the lens is really stumbling though. The image quality falls apart at closer focus distances and the bokeh isn't overly pleasing really. This won't be obvious in all shallow depth-of-field images but it will be in some. For the best bokeh (at cost of DoF and sheer out-of-focus blur), you should stop down to an f-stop. The build quality is good for a consumer-grade lens and especially in this price class. It feels quite solid with a combination of plastic and metal parts and a smooth control/focus ring. It's also tiny so just the right thing for casual or street shooting. On the downside, there is no weather sealing and it relies on a dated linear extension mechanism rather than internal focusing. This means that the STM has to move the entire lens system for focusing. However, the STM remains quite fast - on the R5 at least - but it is a bit noisy during focusing. All the pros and cons have to be balanced with its price tag, of course. At just $200USD/230EUR, it's really dirt cheap by today's standard and it's already a value king as such. If you are aware of its no-goes, you should be able to get some great results from it. If you'd like to support our work, please consider shopping for this or other lenses via one of the following partners: * Amazon US * Amazon Europe * B&H US * Adorama US * KEH US (used gear)

Review Published2021-04-15T04:14:00+00:00

Optical Construction6 elements in 5 groups including 1x aspherical element

Field Notes02

Canon RF 50mm F/1.8 STM is a standard prime lens with a maximum aperture of f/1.8 for low-light and shallow depth-of-field portraits on Canon RF-mount mirrorless cameras.

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Catalog note · source: thelensdb