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Canon EF 40mm F2.8 STM Lens
Showing 1 of 52 conversations about:
Canon EF 40mm F2.8 STM Lens
syobwoc
70
Apr 5, 2016
Does anyone have any comparisons from this to the Canon 50mm f/1.8 STM?
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nidhogg
11
Apr 6, 2016
syobwocThe 40mm f/2.8 is about 1.5 stops slower than the 50mm f/1.8, but has a slightly wider field of view. Neither is a bad "cheap" prime lens choice, but it really comes down to preference. A "normal" lens in full-frame photography would be 50mm, however on a crop sensor camera that comes out to about a 80mm lens due to the 1.6x crop factor on crop sensor cameras. For a Canon body, if you paid anything less than $1000 on the body with the exception of the 7D Mark II, it is a crop sensor. Conversely, what you would see as a normal lens on a crop sensor body comes out to about 35mm, which is just a bit wider than the 40mm. I found the 50mm f/1.8 rather telephoto and very cramped on my 70D (crop sensor) as a general use lens, and although I haven't tried this particular 40mm lens, I certainly would appreciate the added FoV, but perhaps not over the reduced depth of field and better subject isolation that the 50 f/1.8 offers. It comes down to what you like to shoot, and whether wider FoV or wider depth of field is your priority. Almost all of the photos I have taken on my 50mm f/1.8 are at an aperture of 1.8, either for low-light photography or added subject isolation, and that lens has been invaluable for getting low-light photos that would have otherwise required huge ISO numbers with a kit lens or for getting great subject isolation that a kit lens could never provide. The 40mm f/2.8 will not get you as great of a result with regard to subject isolation nor low-light, however it will definitely outperform your kit lens at that focal length, and it will probably mostly avoid the cramped feeling you will probably feel trying to use a 50mm lens on a crop body.
In short, if you have a kit zoom lens, use the focal length indicator and get a feel for the two focal lengths. If you prefer the 50mm focal length, the 50mm f/1.8 has far more to offer in terms of low-light photography and subject isolation, but as a general use walk-around lens, you will likely find the 50mm too narrow on a crop-sensor body. If you want to see more about this, there are countless YouTube videos to explain this and more.
Hopefully this answered your question and then some.
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syobwoc
70
Apr 6, 2016
nidhoggthanks for the post nidhogg! Very informative. Funny you should mention the 7D Mark II since thats what I have, which uses the aps-c sensor. I really do like playing with bokeh and low light so I think I should hold off on the 1.8 STM version. Thanks again for the informative post!
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davidrools
37
Apr 13, 2016
nidhoggI have the 40mm 2.8 STM and the slightly older 50mm 1.8 II (not the newest 50mm 1.8 STM). The 40mm is a lot more solid, and obviously smaller. For a crop body like the 7D, 70D, Rebels, etc. I like the EF-S 24mm 2.8 STM pancake lens a whole lot more than either of these other two. 40 and 50mm are too long...Even this 40mm lens on a full-frame body is long for my preference. I prefer to shoot a 35mm prime on FF most of the time. But, the size and weight are what really set this lens apart. I'd rather carry this 40mm lens on my 6D for hours and miles than my 35mm 1.4.
tl;dr: Both the 40mm 2.8 and 50mm 1.8 can be used to take fantastic photos, but I highly recommend the EF-S 24mm 2.8 STM for a crop body.
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J_A_Keefer
2
Jul 28, 2016
syobwocThe 50mm f1.8 is faster and sharper.... but larger.... this 40mm is really nice for keeping it light, for times when you're only carrying one lens.
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