Overview

The Canon RF 35mm F1.4 L VCM is optically strong, with excellent sharpness from center to corner even at f/1.4 and superb performance from f/2 to f/8. However, it relies heavily on software correction for distortion and vignetting, which is disappointing for a $1500 lens; uncorrected barrel distortion is ~4% and vignetting exceeds 3.5EV at f/1.4. Build quality is excellent with weather sealing, but the aperture ring is useless for stills and the VCM emits a low-level magnetic field. Autofocus is fast, accurate, and silent. It suits videographers and those prioritizing sharpness, but still photographers may dislike forced distortion correction.