Canon Ef 35mm F2 Is Usm Lens Review

The Catechism EF 35mm f/2 IS USM ($599.99) is a lens that will appeal to owners of full-frame and APS-C SLRs alike. When paired with a camera like the EOS 6D, it covers a archetype wide-bending field of view. And when used with a consumer-friendly SLR like the Rebel T6s ($404.05 at Amazon Great britain) , it covers a standard-angle field of view and serves as a fine complement to the kit lens arranged with entry-level bodies, particularly for low-light shooting. It's a solid performer, but falls just shy of earning an Editors' Option recommendation. The Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD ($404.05 at Amazon UK) is priced the same, focuses closer, and is just a bit stronger in its optical performance.

Blueprint
The EF 35mm ($404.05 at Amazon Great britain)  is a fairly meaty lens. It measures 2.five by iii.i inches (HD), weighs just 11.viii ounces, and supports 67mm forepart filters. The lens barrel is fabricated from a tough composite plastic textile with a textured stop, and the transmission focus ring, which sits just behind the front element, is covered in safe. There's a window at the elevation of the barrel that shows the set focus distance, along with a depth of field scale with markings for the focus range at f/eleven and f/22. Two toggle switches—1 to change the focus mode and one to enable or disable paradigm stabilization—sit down on the left side.

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Catechism doesn't include a hood with the lens—the EW-72 hood the company recommends is priced at $70. The EF 35mm focuses to 9.5 inches, which is pretty typical for a 35mm prime. The closest you lot'll find to this on the Nikon side of the fence, the AF-Due south Nikkor 35mm F1.8G ($404.05 at Amazon Britain) , focuses to 9.8 inches. I of the big advantages that the Tamron SP 35mm has over both the Nikon and Canon lenses is its ability to focus to 7.9 inches—that gives information technology a 1:2.5 macro magnification ratio. The EF 35mm captures subjects at 1:iv.2 at its closest focus distance, projecting them onto the epitome sensor at roughly 1-quarter life size.

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Prototype stabilization is a characteristic that's common to the EF 35mm and the Tamron SP 35mm. It'southward not one that you typically find in a wide-angle prime lens. The general dominion of thumb is that you lot tin effectively handhold a camera at the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens and become sharp results—one/35-2d in this case. If you're shooting moving subjects, speeds slower than that are going to evidence blur from motion, not from camera milk shake. But the stabilization system does come in handy when photographing static subjects and when recording handheld video.

Image Quality
I used Imatest to check the sharpness of the EF 35mm when paired with the 20-megapixel, total-frame Canon EOS 6D ($404.05 at Amazon UK) . At f/2 the lens scores 2,568 lines per motion-picture show height on a center-weighted sharpness test. That'due south meliorate than the i,800 lines we wait for in an image. Fidelity does drop as you movement away from the center of the frame, merely even the outer edges testify two,149 lines at f/ii.

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Narrowing the aperture to f/2.8 improves the overall score to 2,840 lines, and likewise sharpens the edges to 2,389 lines. Functioning is more than even at f/4 and f/five.6—two,915 averaged across the frame, with edges that are just shy of 2,800 lines. Diffraction starts to detract from allegiance at f/8, where the score dips to ii,870 lines.

Distortion isn't a concern; the lens shows virtually 0.3 percent butt distortion, which isn't a factor in real-world use. Uniformity, on the other hand, is a noticeable issue. I used an ExpoDisc and Imatest'south Uniformity analysis tool to run across just how even illumination is across the frame. At f/2 there is a noticeable drop in illumination at the sides (-3EV) and corner (-four.5EV) when compared with the center of the frame. If yous edit your photos in Lightroom ($404.05 at Amazon UK) you can compensate for this, either via the manual Vignette adjustment slider, or via Adobe's profile for this lens.

Stopping down to f/2.8 reduces the issue, only doesn't rectify it. Corners bear witness a -3EV drop and sides are 1.v stops dimmer than the middle. At f/4 and narrower the sides are close enough to the centre in brightness as at not to appear dim. But corners are ane.5EV dimmer at f/4, and nearly -1.3EV through f/11. The Tamron lens does a better job—it shows a -1.8EV drop at the corners of the frame at f/1.8 and delivers very even illumination at f/2.8 and beyond.

Conclusions
The EF 35mm f/2 IS USM is another strong lens in the Canon portfolio. It'south compact, precipitous, and optically stabilized. Its bright f/2 maximum discontinuity allows you to more than hands take photographs in dim light, and makes information technology possible to capture photos with a shallow depth of field. There are a couple of drawbacks—Canon doesn't include a lens hood, and illumination at the edges and corners is dimmer than it is equally at the center. The Tamron 35mm likewise captures precipitous images, focuses a fleck closer, and draws images with even brightness—that'due south why it's our Editors' Choice. But the Tamron is larger and about half-dozen ounces heavier than the Canon lens, which are turnoffs for photographers who want to continue things small and light. If that sounds similar you, the EF 35mm f/2 IS USM is a solid alternative.

Canon EF 35mm f/two IS USM

Cons

The Bottom Line

Catechism photographers in need of a wide-bending prime lens should take a look at the EF 35mm f/2 IS USM—it's precipitous, compact, and optically stabilized.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/canon-ef-35mm-f2-is-usm

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