GEAR MINI TESTS
50MM LENS
CANON 50MM F/1.2L USM AND 24-70MM F/2.8L IS USM LENSES 50mm: £2389/$2299, 24-70mm: £2359/$2399 canon.co.uk
true if using adapted EF glass on the latest EOS R3 or R5 cameras. You’re losing out on all the performance you could get. Two of the most popular lenses for stills shooters and filmmaking professionals are a fast 50mm prime and quick, all-round 24-70mm zoom. That’s where this pair come in: the Canon 50mm f/1.2L USM and 24-70mm f/2.8L IS USM lenses in RF mount. But the penalty is the price, as the cost is a cool £2389/$2299 for the prime; £2359/$2399 for the zoom. But you are buying a lot of new technology and a mount that will be around for many years. Consider it a long-term investment in your work. Time to focus Starting with the 50mm RF lens, this is essentially the improved version of the pro photographer and vlogger favourite, the 50mm f/1.2L EF. But the new one is about a grand more expensive, of course. It’s also heavier and bigger in every dimension, with two additional rounded aperture blades for even smoother bokeh, and the addition of an aspherical element. It does focus a tad closer, though. The RF lens is nowmore than three years old, as it was one of the first exotic optics launched with the original EOS R camera. But it isn’t showing its age at all. It is fast to focus, the image is sharp and contrasty right across the frame, and the colours are natural. This is simply the king of 50mm lenses for the RF mount. It’s not perfect – for a wide-open shot, there is slight vignetting in the corners of the frame. This is easy to remove in post, but can add a nice aesthetic quality. After all, you end up shooting a lens like this wide open for creatively shallow depth-of-field, so a bit of darkening in the corners adds to the effect.
Canon’s range of EF mount lenses are by far the most dominant optics for independent filmmakers. Maybe it’s because so many started their video journey with the Canon EOS 5DMark II – and therefore bought into EF – then continued to use them after switching to other brands like Sony, employing adapters. And they work perfectly on Canon’s latest mirrorless range. It might be because Canon’s range is so vast and plentiful – both new and used at a range of prices. The EF mount also comes on some other cameras, like Blackmagic, Red and Panasonic. A set of EF lenses can fit on pretty much any modern camera, either natively or with an adapter. The quality and reliability is excellent, too. But the writing is on the wall for the EF mount, which was always designed for DSLRs. Canon revealed that it is not actively investigating new technology for EF mount DSLR cameras and, therefore, the AF lenses to go on them. All the focus is on the larger RF mount that fits the new full- frame mirrorless Canons – as well as the latest small cinema camera from the brand, the EOS C70. It also comes on the Red Komodo – and you just know the next EOS cinema camera is likely to have an RF mount``. Size is important The RF mount is bigger, allowing for faster maximum apertures, adjustable in eighth-stop increments – and has a 12-pin connection to the camera, rather than the 8-pin EF style. This helps increase the speed and volume of data between lens and body, leading to faster AF and better image stabilisation. It also allows many lenses to have a customisable extra control ring that can be programmed, for example, to allow exposure changes. If you are a Canon shooter, your next lens upgrade could well be to an RF mount. And that’s especially
SIDE-ON The prime is shorter than
24-70MM LENS
the zoom, but doesn't have IS
50MM LENS
24-70MM LENS
For video shooters who want to use manual focus, it’s not ideal. The fly-by-wire focus ring could never replicate the tactile control of a fully manual cine prime, but you can’t have it all. In AF mode, move the MF ring and you can instantly change focus. The optical construction of 15 elements in nine groups means a number of glass surfaces to reflect light around, but flare is controlled well and there is no ghosting. Flare can occur if you provoke it, but it’s not distracting. And the ten-bladed aperture gives super-smooth bokeh and pleasing sunstars on brilliant points of light. There is very little focus breathing, thanks again to technology made possible by the large RF mount.
FILTER FACTOR The 50mm has a smaller front thread than the 24-70mm
“The RFmount is bigger, allowing for faster maximumapertures, adjustable in eighth-stop increments – and has a 12-pin camera connection”
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PRO MOVIEMAKER
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