Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM Review: Sharper and Lighter Than the EF 35L II, With an Unusual Aperture Ring

The Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM is the first of Canon’s hybrid VCM primes, lenses designed as much for video as for stills. Canon announced it in June 2024 at $1,499. It weighs 555 grams, more than 30 percent lighter than the old EF 35mm f/1.4L II, and costs less too.

35mm is the classic street and documentary focal length. It shows a whole city block, shopfronts and passers-by, without the stretched look of wider lenses.

Wide-angle view of rue Saint-Honoré in Paris with shoppers on the pavement and scooters parked at the curb

Photo: Media Gallery

The VCM in the name stands for voice coil motor. It shares its size, filter thread and control layout with the RF 50mm F1.4 L VCM, so you can swap them on a gimbal without rebalancing much.

Video review: Dustin Abbott

What it does well

Sharpness at f/1.4 is exceptional, according to Cameralabs, DCW and Dustin Abbott. Autofocus pairs the VCM with a Nano USM motor, and it’s fast and quiet, excellent for video. Focus breathing is minimal.

Build is strong, with weather sealing at a dozen points and fluorine coatings on the front and rear elements. It takes common 67mm filters. Close focus is 28 centimeters, useful for details and food. DCW called it an instant classic.

What’s polarizing

The aperture ring is the oddity. It’s declicked and meant for video. On newer bodies like the EOS R5 Mark II and R1 it can set aperture for stills too; on older bodies it works only for video. DCW, Abbott and Cameralabs all found it confusing.

Uncorrected distortion and vignetting are strong, so the lens relies on in-camera correction you can’t turn off. There’s no stabilization. Abbott found some flare and felt the bokeh doesn’t match the old EF 35L II or Sony’s 35mm GM, which is why he called it a polarizing successor.

Who should buy it

Hybrid shooters on Canon full frame who want a fast, light 35mm for both stills and video, especially wedding and documentary filmmakers. If you shoot only stills and want to save money, the RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM costs a third as much, adds stabilization and focuses closer.

On an EOS R6 Mark III or R8, it makes a compact street and event kit.