Canon RF50mm F1.8 STM Lens | Mirrorless Fixed Focal Length Lens, Compact, Lightweight Design, Portraits, Low Light

Product overview

Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM: What to Know

The aperture is the whole argument. Every kit zoom Canon sells in the RF range opens to f/4 at best and f/7.1 at the long end, and that is the difference between a usable indoor photograph and a noisy one. At f/1.8 this lens gathers several times more light than a kit zoom at the same focal length, which means lower ISO, faster shutter speeds and the shallow depth of field that separates a face from a background. For a camera owner who finds their photographs flat, this is the cheapest fix available.

Two features make it more than a budget prime. The stepping motor, gear-type STM in Canon's terminology, gives smooth and quiet continuous autofocus during video as well as stills, so it is not the buzzing focus of older cheap primes. And there is a control ring, which on RF bodies is assignable to aperture, ISO or exposure compensation and is normally reserved for more expensive lenses. Canon also specifies optimised lens placement and coatings to minimise ghosting and flare.

The filter thread is 43mm, which matters more than it looks: the RF 16mm F2.8 in this guide shares the same 43mm thread, so one filter set covers both primes. That is a genuine saving and a reason to pair those two specifically.

What you give up is zoom. A 50mm prime on a full-frame body is a normal field of view and you reframe by moving, which is a discipline rather than a flaw. On an APS-C body such as an R10 or R50 it behaves closer to an 80mm, which is flattering for portraits and tight for anything else. Canon rates no optical image stabilisation on this lens, so the body's IBIS, if it has any, is doing that work.

Key Listed Features