Pros & Cons
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- Captures crisp images.
- Optically stabilized.
- Nominal distortion.
- Compact.
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- Dim corners at wide aperture.
- Hood is not included.
Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS USM Specs
| 35mm Equivalent (Wide) | 35 |
| Dimensions | 2.5 by 3.1 inches |
| Lens Mount | Canon EF |
| Stabilization | Optical |
| Type | Lens |
| Weight | 11.8 |
The Canon 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 classic wide-angle field of view. And when used with a consumer-friendly SLR like the Rebel T6s ($344.98 at Amazon) , it covers a standard-angle field of view and serves as a fine complement to the kit lens bundled with entry-level bodies, especially for low-light shooting. It's a solid performer, but falls just shy of earning an Editors' Choice recommendation. The Tamron SP 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD ($599.00 at Amazon) is priced the same, focuses closer, and is just a bit stronger in its optical performance.
Design
The EF 35mm is a fairly compact lens. It measures 2.5 by 3.1 inches (HD), weighs just 11.8 ounces, and supports 67mm front filters. The lens barrel is made from a tough composite plastic material with a textured finish, and the manual focus ring, which sits just behind the front element, is covered in rubber. There's a window at the top of the barrel that shows the set focus distance, along with a depth of field scale with markings for the focus range at f/11 and f/22. Two toggle switches—one to change the focus mode and one to enable or disable image stabilization—sit on the left side.
Canon 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'll find to this on the Nikon side of the fence, the AF-S Nikkor 35mm F1.8G ($476.95 at Amazon) , focuses to 9.8 inches. One 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 it a 1:2.5 macro magnification ratio. The EF 35mm captures subjects at 1:4.2 at its closest focus distance, projecting them onto the image sensor at roughly one-quarter life size.
Image stabilization is a feature that's common to the EF 35mm and the Tamron SP 35mm. It's not one that you typically find in a wide-angle prime lens. The general rule of thumb is that you can effectively handhold a camera at the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens and get sharp results—1/35-second in this case. If you're shooting moving subjects, speeds slower than that are going to show blur from motion, not from camera 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, full-frame Canon EOS 6D ($1,999.99 at Amazon) . At f/2 the lens scores 2,568 lines per picture height on a center-weighted sharpness test. That's better than the 1,800 lines we look for in an image. Fidelity does drop as you move away from the center of the frame, but even the outer edges show 2,149 lines at f/2.
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Narrowing the aperture to f/2.8 improves the overall score to 2,840 lines, and also sharpens the edges to 2,389 lines. Performance is more even at f/4 and f/5.6—2,915 averaged across the frame, with edges that are just shy of 2,800 lines. Diffraction starts to detract from fidelity at f/8, where the score dips to 2,870 lines.
Distortion isn't a concern; the lens shows about 0.3 percent barrel 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's Uniformity analysis tool to see just how even illumination is across the frame. At f/2 there is a noticeable drop in illumination at the sides (-3EV) and corner (-4.5EV) when compared with the center of the frame. If you edit your photos in Lightroom ($9.99/Month at Adobe) 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, but doesn't rectify it. Corners show a -3EV drop and sides are 1.5 stops dimmer than the center. At f/4 and narrower the sides are close enough to the center in brightness as at not to appear dim. But corners are 1.5EV dimmer at f/4, and about -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's compact, sharp, and optically stabilized. Its bright f/2 maximum aperture allows you to more easily take photographs in dim light, and makes it 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 as at the center. The Tamron 35mm also captures sharp images, focuses a bit closer, and draws images with even brightness—that's why it's our Editors' Choice. But the Tamron is larger and about 6 ounces heavier than the Canon lens, which are turnoffs for photographers who want to keep things small and light. If that sounds like you, the EF 35mm f/2 IS USM is a solid alternative.
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