Canon has released their new RF 24mm f/1.4 L VCM lens, a wide angle prime lens designed specifically for the mirrorless EOS R system. For photographers who appreciate dramatic, wide perspectives and low-light shooting capabilities, this is an exciting lens worth your attention.
Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this detailed video provides an in-depth review of the Canon RF 24mm f/1.4 L VCM lens, highlighting both its strengths and shortcomings. The RF 24mm f/1.4 excels with an impressive maximum aperture of f/1.4, allowing plenty of light for shooting in challenging conditions and offering substantial creative control over depth of field. Frost emphasizes the lens' impressive build quality, noting the effective weather-sealing and thoughtful design choices, such as the smoothly turning aperture and manual focus rings. However, he points out a quirky limitation: the lens’ aperture ring currently works only in video mode on older EOS R cameras, although this functionality is expanded in newer models like the R1 and R5 Mark II.
One significant highlight from Frost’s review is the exceptional sharpness and contrast this lens delivers from wide open at f/1.4. Central sharpness is flawless right from the start, while the corners are impressively sharp for such a fast lens, albeit slightly less than perfect. Frost also addresses the prominent barrel distortion, a trade-off Canon seems to have intentionally made, forcing the camera or editing software to stretch corners during correction. Despite this, Frost argues that once corrected, images retain plenty of corner sharpness and detail. The lens's performance against bright light and flare control are also commendable, with minimal ghosting visible even under challenging conditions.
Key Specs
- Focal Length: 24mm
- Maximum Aperture: f/1.4
- Autofocus with silent and fast voice coil motor
- Minimum Focus Distance: 9.4" (23.9 cm)
- 15 elements in 11 groups
- Filter Size: 67 mm
- Weight: 1.1 lb (515 g)
- Dimensions: 3 x 3.9" (76.2 x 99.1 mm)
- No Image Stabilization
Frost also tests the lens on both full frame and APS-C bodies, confirming its strong performance across sensor sizes. On an APS-C sensor, the lens continues to deliver excellent center sharpness. Even though Frost observes slight purple fringing when shooting close-up at wide apertures, stopping down slightly removes this issue entirely.
The RF 24mm f/1.4 also offers impressive background blur quality (bokeh), described as particularly soft and pleasing for a lens of this focal length. Frost notes minor issues such as cat-eye-shaped bokeh highlights in the corners, which are typical in fast lenses. Check out the video above for the full rundown from Frost.
