Advantages Of A Pancake Lens (Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM)

Intersting article by professional photographer Andrew Gibson at picturecorrect about advantages of pancake lenses in general, and of Canon's supersharp EF 40mm f/2.8 STM in particular. The pancake is tested for various photograhic settings, i.e. landscape, portrait and so on. Close up/macro photography is also contemplated. Moreover, EF 40mm f/2.8 is lightweighted, not too espensive ($199), and has excellent optical properties. From the conclusion:

Landscape photography aside, the Canon 40mm pancake lens hasn’t disappointed. It’s light, well-built, the autofocus works well and it has excellent image quality. Furthermore it’s one of Canon’s cheapest lenses and probably the best value for money out of the entire Canon range.

Technical specifications of the Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM:

• Continuous Autofocus for Video With Rebel T4i/EOS M
• Bright f/2.8 Aperture
• Lightweight 4.6 oz Lens
• Unobtrusive–Less Than 1″ Long
• Aspherical Element–High Image Quality
• Optimized Coatings Reduce Ghost & Flare
• Exceptional Color Balance
• 7-Blade Diaphragm for Beautiful Bokeh
• Close Focusing to 11.81″
• 64mm Equivalent If Used on APS-C Camera

Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM price check: B&H Photo, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA