Zoom Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM

This superb lens is a worthy successor to the highly regarded EF 16-35L. Coupled with the RF 24-105L it makes the idea travel pair. The ability to crop significantly on the R5, for instance, largely negates the need for longer lenses for general urban travel purposes, making the 16-35 coupled with the 24-105 the perfect light weight kit, IMHO.

I simply love this lens. In the DSLR world I owned the EF 17-40 F4 L for full frame as well as the EF-S 10-22 on my 7DII. I tried both lenses with the adapter on my R5 and eventually also on my R7. I was underwhelmed in both cases. The 17-40 L eventually made its way to my son for Christmas, while I still (for now) have the EF-S lens.

When Canon ran a special on the RF 14-35 F4 L I went for it. I have simply been blown away.

The image quality is outstanding. Both the sharpness as well as the color rendition are excellent. I do not find the distortion to be an issue, as the corrections are enabled by default in the cameras for JPGs, and in every raw converter (Adobe, DXO, DPP) that I use when converting Raws. Some people see this as a Con, I see it as a complete non-issue. The size is just perfect, much smaller (IMHO) than the RF 15-35 F2.8 L and I don’t really see an IQ difference (admittedly just from casual use of a friends 15-35 F4 L). The difference between the F2.8 of the 15-35 L and the F4 of the 14-35 L is simply not significant to me, especially since I typically use somewhere between F4 and F8 for most of my wide angle indoor work.

Size and weight do not mean much to me when I am at home, or driving to a place where I will be shooting. However, for travel it really becomes an issue. This is especially true when one is traveling by air, or for a significant period of time. The RF 14-35 F4 L pairs superbly with the RF 24-105 F4 L and either my RF 70-200 F2.8 L or, for maximal reach, my RF 100-500L (this latter choice is obviously not light or small!). More spectacularly, paired with the RF 24-240 F4-6.3 IS USM this is an exceptional wide range, high quality combination on the R5. It even works well as a combination on the R7, giving a Full-Frame equivalent range of 22-388 (although I would really love to see an RF-S 11-22 copy of the EF-M lens).

Overall, very highly recommended.

I bought this to replace my EF 16-35 f4 L which was very good and one of my favourite lenses on my 5D4. However on my R5, with the adapter, the 16-35 was large and unwieldy.

Having read as many reviews and comparisons as possible I chose the 14-35/4 over the 15-35/2.8 and have been very happy with the results on my R5 and RP. It also works really well on my R10 where it is equivalent to 22.5 - 55mm focal length. I have no need for an aperture larger than f4 with this lens as I mainly use it for landscapes or architecture. It also takes standard 77mm filters or 100mm filter holders (eg Lee, Nisi) without vignetting, which is great for a 14mm lens.

I'm not concerned by the need for software correction, as the lens was designed for this. As I use DXO Photolab as my Raw converter I never have to see the uncorrected image. Those who are worried by the need for a profile should consider that some lenses in the MFT and Fuji APS-C ranges also need software correction but this is baked into the Raw file, and nobody complains about that. At least Canon gives you the option, and most Raw converters have a suitable profile. With correction, this lens is as sharp to the edges at 16mm as my 16-35 was, and at 14mm is almost as sharp, any slight softness seemingly due to the stretching of the corners to give a rectilinear view, which is much less evident in a print than on a monitor.

Bear in mind also that a rectilinear ultrawide does introduce its own "distortion" towards the edges and especially the corners. Actually this is not distortion as such - it is the rectilinear projection which causes round objects to become ovals, and people or objects to appear wider or more elongated. To reduce this effect DXO Photolab has a diagonal deformation correction available, which is often more flattering for people at the edges, but horizontal straight lines become slightly curved as a result - rather like the Pannini projection for panoramas. We do not observe the world in a rectilinear projection.

The light weight and compact size of this lens are very welcome, and demonstrate one of the potential benefits of the mirrorless format in reducing size. It makes for a light and compact travel "trinity" together with the RF 24-105 f4 L and the RF 70-200 f4 L.