How Good Is Canon's Budget Mirrorless 50mm Lens?

Canon's RF 50mm f/1.2L is a spectacular lens that has garnered a lot of praise, but at over $2,000, it is extremely expensive and likely overkill for a lot of photographers. Canon also has the RF 50mm f/1.8 STM, however, giving photographers a much more affordable option, and this great video review takes a look at the kind of performance you can expect from it in practice.

Coming to you from Dustin Abbott, this awesome video review takes a look at the Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 STM mirrorless lens. Even though the 50mm f/1.8 is far more affordable than its f/1.2L cousin, it still comes with a variety of useful features, including:

  • Single precision-molded aspherical element for less distortion and increased sharpness
  • STM stepping motor for fast autofocus that is also quiet enough for video work
  • Super Spectra coating for less flares and ghosting and better contrast
  • Customizable Control Ring for changing aperture, ISO, or exposure compensation
  • Rounded seven-blade diaphragm for smoother bokeh

Certainly, the RF 50mm f/1.8 STM is not going to outperform the RF 50mm f/1.2L, but it offers rather impressive performance for its price and looks like quite a versatile option for a variety of genres. Check out the video above for Abbott's full thoughts. 

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

Log in or register to post comments
1 Comment

You do know you asked exactly the same question on Dec 8th? (Albeit for the RF) and 27th
And probably several times earlier if the ten pages of results that come up when entering this article title* in search is anything to go by
Sure you were look at the RF but you even tend to use the same wording
When is Fstoppers going to stop re-hashing articles and give us something truly original?

*Edited to add that since I posted this comment the article title has been changed