In summary
Due to its video-orientated functions, the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM lens will be useful to ‘content creators’ who shoot more video than stills, although it’s still usable for stills shooting.
As well as being one of the new ‘hybrid’ lenses, the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM also completes a trio of ‘nifty fifty’ lenses for RF mount cameras. It’s positioned between the larger, heavier, costlier and faster RF 50mm f/1.2L USM and the smaller, slower and significantly cheaper RF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens.
Full review
Announced on 30 October, 2024, the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM lens (and the RF 24mm f/1.4 L VCM, which was announced simultaneously) are the second and third entrants into what has now (with the addition of the RF 20mm f/1.4L VCM lens in March 2025) become a set of four ‘hybrid’ fast prime lenses developed primarily for video shooting but also usable for stills. All four lenses are similar in size and weight to the original RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM lens, which entered the market in June 2024. All are weather-resistant and they will be of interest to photographers who frequently switch between stills and video capture. We reviewed the lens on a Canon EOS R5 II camera body.
Angled view of the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM lens without the bundled lens hood. (Source: Canon.)
The optical design of this lens contains 14 elements in 11 groups and includes one ultra-low dispersion (UD) element to minimise chromatic aberration plus two aspherical elements for edge-to-edge sharpness. Air Sphere Coating (ASC) and Super Spectra Coating have been applied to various elements to reduce ghosting and flare and a fluorine coating on the front element repels moisture and dust and makes the lens easy to keep clean.
This diagram shows the positions of the various components in the optical design of the lens. (Source: Canon.)
The 11-bladed iris diaphragm is manually adjustable via a dedicated ring, enabling users to create soft, cinematic bokeh effects at wide aperture settings. The lens resists focus breathing, enabling smooth focus pulls and the focus ring can be used full-time thanks to integrated manual override
This diagram shows the extensive weather-resistant seals in the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM lens. (Source: Canon.)
Note: this review should be read in conjunction with the review of the RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM lens since both lenses are almost identical in structure and functionality.
Who’s it For?
As well as being one of the new ‘hybrid’ lenses, the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM also completes a trio of ‘nifty fifty’ lenses for RF mount cameras. It’s positioned between the larger, heavier, costlier and faster RF 50mm f/1.2L USM and the smaller, slower and significantly cheaper RF 50mm f/1.8 STM lens. Popularly known as ‘standard’ lenses, 50mm lenses are versatile enough to cover a wide variety of subject types, from event photography to landscapes, fashion, product, street and travel shooting. The table below compares key features of these lenses.
| RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM | RF 50mm f/1.2L USM | RF 50mm f/1.8 STM | |
| Minimum aperture | f/16 | f/16 | f/22 |
| Diaphragm Blades | 11 | 10 | 7 |
| Weather resistance | Yes | Yes | No |
| Focus drive | VCM plus Nano USM | Nano USM | STM |
| Minimum focus | 40 cm | 40 cm | 30 cm |
| Stabilisation | No | No | No |
| Filter size | 67 mm (plus rear-mounted gel filter slot) | 77 mm | 43 mm |
| Dimensions (d x length) | 76.5 x 99.3 mm | 89.8 x 108 mm | 69.2 x 40.5 mm |
| Weight | 580 grams | 950 grams | 160 grams |
| Hood included | ES-73 | ES-83N | No |
| RRP at launch | $2429 | $3599 | $389 |
The fast f/1.4 maximum aperture in this lens makes it ideal for low-light work, such as astrophotography. It’s also useful in situations where control over depth of focus is important.
It’s worth noting the RF 50mm f/1.2L USM is only a third of a stop faster than the f/1.4 lens, while the f/1.8 is two thirds of a stop slower – which isn’t all that much from a practical viewpoint. In addition to whether you need its video capabilities, the importance of maximum lens speed will probably determine which of the three lenses you choose, with the f/1.4 lens sitting in the ‘sweet spot’ in terms of speed, size and price.
Build and Ergonomics
Like its 35mm sibling, the RF 50mm f/1.4L VCM lens is made from a combination of engineering plastic and metal, with metal used for the mount (and, presumably at least part of the inner barrel). The most visible difference between the two lenses lies in their lens hoods; the 35mm lens has a petal-shaped hood, while the 50mm lens’s hood is cylindrical.
The front element on the 50mm lens is approximately 46 mm in diameter and surrounded by a partially-ribbed annulus that is 10 mm wide and extends outwards to meet the 67 mm diameter, raised filter thread. There is a bayonet moulding on the outside rim for the supplied lens hood.
A 4 mm wide band, which ends with the red branding ring, separates the hood mount from the 10 mm wide control ring, which is programmable and adjustable in soft click stops. Note: these shouldn’t interfere unduly with video recording and Canon will de-click the ring for a service fee. Fine rubber-like hatching covers the control ring to provide a secure grip surface.
A 5 mm wide band separates the control ring from the focusing ring, which is 25 mm wide and almost entirely clad in thin rubberlike ribbing. Because focusing is driven from the camera, this ring turns through 360 degrees when no power is supplied.
Like the RF 35mm f/1.4 lens, the floating autofocus mechanism will shift within the lens barrel when the lens is not attached to a camera and when it is attached but the camera is switched off. Powering-up the camera engages the AF motors which control the motion of this lens group so the ‘rattling’ noise will stop.
Aft of the focusing ring is a 21 mm wide band that carries the main lens controls, which consist of an AF/MF slider switch, lens function button and iris ring lock release switch. The name of the lens is also stamped on the top of the lens barrel, while a white line just behind the ‘35’ mark provides an index for aligning the iris ring (which is not clicked).
The iris ring is approximately 11 mm wide, with aperture labels at 1EV intervals and intermediate markings in 1/3EV steps around its leading edge. Moulded ribbing forms a grip band around the trailing edge. The lens barrel extends for roughly 11 mm behind this ring, curving inwards to meet the chromed mounting plate.
This illustration shows how the supplied gel filter holder is installed and removed from the rear of the lens barrel. (Source: Canon.)
A detachable rear bayonet mount gel filter holder is provided with the lens for photographers who use special filters. Canon also offers a downloadable filter template to make cutting gels to size straightforward.
The lens features a dust- and moisture-resistant design, with a rubber gasket around the lens mount. The supplied lens hood is plastic with a plastic bayonet mount and plastic locking button.
Performance
Our Imatest tests showed the review lens delivered slightly higher resolution overall than the 35mm lens we tested simultaneously. Both lenses came close to meeting expectations for the 44-megapixel sensor on the EOS R5 II camera we used for our tests for both JPEG and CR3.RAW files at optimal aperture settings.
However, more important is the consistency of its performance across the aperture range. Even stopped well down, the measured resolution remained relatively high, including towards the edges of the frame, as shown in the graph of our test results below.
As with the 35mm f/1.4 lens, we disabled all in-camera processing of JPEGs before assessing vignetting and rectilinear distortion. But we still made all measurements on raw files, which had been converted into TIFF format using Adobe Camera Raw. Vignetting was apparent at f/1.4 but it had been largely eliminated by f/2.5.
We found obvious barrel distortion evident in uncorrected files, whether they were JPEGs or raw files. Fortunately, it is fully addressed by activating in-camera corrections and neither aberration would be problematic for normal shooting.
There was little evidence of coloured fringing in most uncorrected shots, although we did find one example of a slight green fringe along some contrast edges in one shot. But it was nowhere near as pronounced as the purple fringing we found in test shots taken with the RF 35mm f/1.4L VCM lens.
Autofocusing was fast and accurate when shooting normal subjects in bright conditions, as well as virtually noise-free, which will please videographers. However, we experienced occasional hunting when framing close-up shots with a few AF mode settings (mostly those with restricted areas), although not with wide area AF.
Users should experiment to find the most appropriate AF mode and AF area to suit different shooting conditions. Subject recognition worked well for picking up human faces, even in relatively dim lighting.
The minimum focusing distance of 40 cm is of little value for ‘macro’ work unless you’re photographing subjects larger than about 10 cm wide. However, it can work for product and food photography, where control over depth of focus is required.
Bokeh at wide aperture settings was variable. Tonal transitions were mainly smooth in low-contrast areas at f/1.4, although some soft outlining could be seen around brighter areas. This became more obvious as the lens aperture was stopped down.
Also, at f/1.4, bright background highlights tended to take on ‘cat’s eye’ shapes towards the edges of the image frame, while we also noticed traces of the ‘onion skin’ effect near the central area. Fortunately, normal backlit scenes were handled quite well.
Stopping the lens down to f/16 produced 22-pointed sunstars around direct light sources within the frame. However, if the light source was very direct and strong it often created flare artefacts.
Conclusion
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SPECS
Picture angle: 46 degrees diagonal
Minimum aperture: f/16
Lens construction: 14 elements in 11 groups (including 1 UD, 2 aspherical elements) plus Air Sphere and Super Spectra coatings plus a fluorine coating on the front element
Lens mounts: Canon RF
Diaphragm Blades: 11 (circular aperture)
Weather resistance: Yes
Focus drive: Voice coil driven plus Nano USM motor
Stabilisation: No
Minimum focus: 40 cm
Maximum magnification: 0.15x
Filter size: 67 mm
Dimensions (Diameter x L): 76.5 x 99.3 mm
Weight: 580 grams
Standard Accessories: Front and rear caps, ES-73 lens hood, LP1219 lens pouch
Distributor: Canon Australia
TESTS
Based on JPEG files taken with the Canon EOS R5 II camera.
Based on CR3.RAW files converted into 16-bit TIFF format with Adobe Camera Raw.
SAMPLES
Vignetting at f/1.4.
Rectilinear distortion.
Close-up at f/1.4; 1/4000 second, ISO 100.
Close-up at f/4; 1/4000 second, ISO 100.
Close-up at f/1.4; 1/4000 second, ISO 100.
Bokeh at f/1.4, 1/4000 second, ISO 100.
Close-up; ISO 640, 1/80 second at f/2.8.
ISO 200, 1/160 second at f/9.
Crop from the above image enlarged to 100% showing traces of green fringing along high-contrast edges.
ISO 100, 1/250 second at f/8.
ISO 100, 1/500 second at f/8.
ISO 100, 1/100 second at f/7.1.
ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/16.
ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/5.
ISO 200, 1/60 second at f/6.3.
ISO 1600, 1/80 second at f/5.6.
ISO 400, 1/25 second at f/5.6.
ISO 2500, 1/40 second at f/5.6.
ISO 200, 1/40 second at f/6.3.
Sunstar; ISO 100, 1/125 second at f/16.
Sunstar and flare artefacts; ISO 100, 1/640 second at f/16.
Rating
RRP: AU$2429
- Build: 9.0
- Handling: 8.8
- Image quality: 8.8
- Autofocusing: 8.8
- Versatility: 8.7
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