Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM

Reviewers rate resolution as the lens's strongest point: the centre is excellent at f/1.4 and outstanding from f/2 to f/4, with corners good to very good wide open and very good from f/2. Flare resistance is strong and lateral colour is low. The catch is reliance on software: raw files show close to 4% barrel distortion and more than 3.5 stops of vignetting at f/1.4, and distortion correction cannot be switched off in camera. Testers disagree on longitudinal fringing, which one lab found pronounced at f/1.4 and gone by f/4 while another saw very little.

Autofocus from the VCM and Nano USM pair is very fast, silent and accurate for stills and smooth for video, with very little breathing. Background blur is smooth, but highlights turn to cat's eyes toward the corners until f/2.8, foreground blur is rougher, and the 11 blades give weak sunstars until f/11. Manual focus shows some focus shift on stopping down. Build is high-quality engineered plastic over a metal mount with sealing, and the clickless iris ring works for stills only on the newest bodies.

Owners include wedding, portrait and commercial photographers and hybrid shooters who use it for both stills and video. They praise very fast AF, sharpness and build, and say the light weight suits gimbals and long shooting days. Some keep it in place of heavier f/1.2 lenses, and one who moved up from the RF 35mm f/1.8 reports less distortion and fringing and sharper results.

The main complaints are the price and the internal elements moving loosely when the lens is powered off. One owner notes that distortion needs digital correction, and another saw little difference from a Tamron 35mm f/1.4.