[Review] Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM vs Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL-II

The new Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM ($199, click here) is getting very good reviews, so it’s time to compare it to other lenses, in our case to the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 SL-II ($499, click here) lens. The comparison was done by Photo Pensieve.The Voigtlander is a manual focus lens, has faster aperture, better build quality and costs $300 more. Nevertheless, I think the comparison is interesting. The little Canon pancake doesn’t fall short when it comes to positive surprises (as seen in previous reviews, here and here). The review/comparison is fairly exhaustive, with lots of sample images and technical details. From the conclusion:

 […] I did not expect that it beats the sharpness of already excellent Voigtlander 40mm F2.0, but it did. It is also showed more resistance to flare. […]The canon is much cheaper than the Voigtlander, but its built quality is not in the same league as the Voigtlander’s. Although the Canon is built very well, and at least considerably better than the 50mm F1.8 and 35mm F2.0. The only shortcoming that I can see with the Canon is that it does not focus fast, like the Canon 85mm f1.8, for example. But if you compare the autofocus speed on the Canon with “your” manual focus speed with the Voigtlander, it’s a no-brainer.[…]
So all in all, if you need f2.0, shallower depth of field, love the metallic lenses, and are ok with focusing manually, the Voigtlander is the choice. Otherwise, the Canon is a tiny bit Sharper (specifically in the corner, wide open), more resistant to flare, punchier, slightly wider, considerably cheaper and lighter, and it does AUTOFOCUS.[…]
Sounds good, doesn’t it? No wonder the little Canon pancake is selling that good.
Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM availability and price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Voigtlander 40mm f/2 SL-II availability and price check: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA

EOS 1D-X Finally Hitting Retailers In Singapore (And Soon In The Rest Of Asia)

Someone got the EOS 1D-X – Image: clubsnap forum

According to the clubsnap forum (see here too), first copies of the EOS 1D-X arrived to resellers in Singapore and should soon be available elsewhere in Asia. It should go over the counter in Singapore starting by today, June 22 (and this means engadget’s prediction was true). If you want to have a look in the 1D-X user guide click here. For the time being the EOS 1D-X can be pre-ordered for $6,799.00 at Adorama (click here), B&H (click here), Amazon US (click here) and DigitalRev (click here).

[via CR]

Unpacked – image: clubsnap forum

 

[Rumor] Canon Mirrorless To Be Announced July 24?

canonrumors just posted a rumour about Canon’s possible and upcoming announcement of a mirrorless system camera. Rumors are saying that Cannon will announce its mirrorless camera on July 24th, and that it should be an “entry-level” camera. A more professional mirrorless system camera cabin expected for September (Photokina). There are no specs for Canon’s mirrorless, except that it should have the sensor of the PowerShot G1 X. A camera announcement in th middle of the summer and close to Photokina…weird but not impossible. And what about the supposed June announcement? No news so far. Anyone?

 

[Review] Rebel T4i/650D vs. Rebel T3i/600D

At borrowlenses.com they made a short comparison between the Rebel T4i/650D and the Rebel T3i/600D. The comparison is made side by side. Watch and judge for yourself. Btw, the Rebel T3i/600D may be available at reduced price since the T4i is out and shipping. Check the live-ticker below for possible T3i bargains.

[shariff]

[Review] An Excellent Lens: The EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake

Roger Cicala at lensrental.com tested the brand new EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake lens (he tested eight copies of the lens.) The impressions are more than positive, and in the title of the post, Roger is asking “how did they do that?“. Imatest MTF 50 was used to test the lens.

My first impression was the build quality was better than I expected. It has a metal mount, not plastic. The aperture blades appear more curved than most of the Canon 7 blade aperture rings, making a more circular opening. The little STM motor is not silent, but it’s pretty quiet.

The (very good) results were consistent over all tested copies, showing that Canon is able to produce such a high quality yet affordable lens in batch. The conclusion of the test says it all:

Overall, though, I’m extremely impressed. I’d be impressed if a lens this size and price was just decent, but this one is excellent. I might as well go ahead and get in trouble with the business manager: if you think you want this lens, just go ahead and buy it. At this price, unless some of the more thorough reviewers find something I missed on this quick overview, you can’t go wrong.

The EF 40mm f/2.8 STM pancake can be bought for $199, and it is in stock at Adorama (click here), B&H (click here) and Amazon US (click here). DigitalRev (click here) also has the pancake in stock. Note: due to high request there may be shipping delays, and the lens may soon be temporary out of stock.

[via dpreview]

World-wide EF 40mm f/2.8 STM availability and price check:

America: B&H Photo, Adorama, Amazon USA, Amazon Canada, Canon Canada, Canon USA
Europe & UK: Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon IT, Canon IT, WEX Photographic, Canon FR, Canon UK, Canon DE