Canon RF28mm f/2.8 STM Pancake Lens Real World Review

[@KevinDeal]

Do you have the RF28mm f2.8? If so, hows it going for you?

[@EverythingCameFromNothing]

Thanks for the review. Any chance you can review the new RF 28-70 f2.8? 😊

[@KevinDeal]

Need someone to give me one to review.

[@marksuchomelsr6698]

Kevin, I have this lens. I used it last November in Tahiti with a polarizer filter. I found that my images were all soft due to what appeared to be ghosting of the image. I later used the lens without the filter and had no issues. I love its size and without the filter the images are tack sharp. I also invested in the hood to cut down on flare. I bought the Amazon JJC brand hood for $15 and it fits and works fine.

[@KevinDeal]

I don't use filters because I don't like how they make my images look.

[@neilthomas9651]

Taking this lens with my R5 to Himalayas and Everest base camp needed something super light as weight is very restricted. Thanks for review it helped persuade me to get this and take my R5 instead of a compact camera.

[@KevinDeal]

Have fun!

[@ZPOLLAK]

Thinking about grabbing this for wedding/prom type dance floor photos. Thoughts?

[@KevinDeal]

If you think 28MM is wide enough for dance floors you should be golden. I like to be a little wider personally but that’s personal preference.

[@ZPOLLAK]

@@KevinDeal Thank you! I have the RF 16, will try that too. Not a fan of the RF 24 1.8. anything in-between you might suggest?

[@KevinDeal]

@@ZPOLLAK I would try the 16mm. I use the RF24-35 f/4 with a flash.

[@wujacqueline3388]

I own this lens for my R8. This is a very low profile lens for street documentary. Nice review, Kevin. Thank you.

[@KevinDeal]

I love it. Just wish it was f2.

[@MrKeith57]

I've been shooting the R50 with the 50 1.8. Didn't really get that set up for landscape but find myself lacking when I do snap an occasional landscape. Next lens, 35 1.8 or the 28 2.8??.

[@KevinDeal]

Not sure I’d use either lens for landscape on the R50 with it being a crop. Might want to look into the 16mm. 28 might be too tight depending on how you like to see landscapes.

[@Mike-qh8hp]

I have this lens for my R50 and love using it for street photography and it is a nice sharp lens

[@KevinDeal]

It's a perfect pairing with the R50. So light, fast and sharp!

[@Promikes]

hmmm r50 with this 28 lens is like about 1,6 crop, so it is 44,8mm ... so it is like +- 50mm on ff, so i dont get your point... also it will be f2,8 x 1,6 crop = f4,48 (f4,5) am i wrong guys?

[@KevinDeal]

@@Promikes my point is that it's in between 35 and 50. So it resides in a sweet spot that makes it easy to zoom with your feet toward to common perspectives. People don't buy 28mm lenses for bokeh, so the depth of field f stop doesn't really matter. The light transmission is still f2.8.

[@pochuanpeng1729]

Thanks for sharing, I have one question. Would you say it is an issue to use RF 28 F2.8 together with Canon RP which has no in-body stabilization?

[@KevinDeal]

It could be an issue with video or in handheld low-lighting situations where you have to get the shutter below 1/30. In well-lit situations or situations where you are able to raise your ISO to keep your shutter speed over 1/30, I don't see it being an issue at all. When I shoot at lower shutter speeds, I might take 3-4 pictures just in case one of them ends up being blurry. When the lighting is good, I am confident enough with this lens to just take one picture and it always ends up being razor sharp.

[@userlicioustv]

Bought the RF 28mm 2.8 yesterday and found this video to be a good "missing manual" :). Got this for slimming down my R5 setup for ... street photography! What's are a few raindrops going to do anyway? Experimenting with keeping my 35mm and 85mm in my small sling, so the walking around setup stays inconspicuous. Thanks for posting, and happy shooting!

[@KevinDeal]

Thanks. Yes, I've never had an issue with the weather with the non-weather sealed lenses, but I figured they could throw in a 3 cent gasket ring into the design. lol Love pairing it with my R5.

[@OstrichSocks]

Thinking about buying this for my first non-kit lens for my r50. Mostly just love the portability. But as a beginner I also don’t know anything about lenses lol

[@KevinDeal]

If you like the perspective of slightly further back than where you currently stand, it's perfect for that on an R50.

[@OstrichSocks]

@@KevinDeal good to know!! I think that would be perfect

[@h.o.j2375]

Just bought the 28mm few days ago and I had exact same idea using it for my R50 because the size is perfect for the R50. I hate the kit 18-45mm that comes with it, the initial turning to start shooting mode makes me want to spit fire😂 every other lens I find is disproportionately large on the R50 including the 24mm which I used for it previously. The 28mm being so compact it turns the R50 setup into an everyday camera, most men could keep it in their pants pocket and women can put it in their tiny handbags. As a person who carries a tiny handbag on days I don’t intend on taking my full frame setup, I don’t even have to think twice about taking the R50+28mm with me, it will stay with me like my phone or wallet. I also have a R6mkii that I’ll be using it on, the 28mm is also good for when I need to get close and personal or in narrow settings where I don’t want to be noticed because I have a huge lens on my camera. The 35mm 1.8 would be perfect for my R6ii but I had to choose one lens for the time being for both cameras so I went with the 28mm. I hope this helps everyone else making a decision to buy or not.

[@KevinDeal]

Great insight! Glad to see you that also see what a great combo the R50 and 28mm are. Thanks for watching!

[@Promikes]

@@KevinDeal why not r8 for this purpose?

[@KevinDeal]

@@Promikes because for many, 28mm is too wide, but in a 1.6 crop the perspective is perfect. It depends on the style of photography you shoot. If you were a landscape photographer a full frame would be a better solution likely. For street photography and story telling, where the subject become more important, you want to get closer to them so they are easy to identify. WIth a 1.6 crop, that makes the R50 paired with the 28mm more suitable for genres like street photography over the wider perspective of a camera like the R8. Hope that helps.

[@georgemahlum6542]

I am not a video guy...but...I love pancakes and I love the ef28/2.8 lens .. Goes great with an RP... (RP.. viltrox ef to RF adapter...RF16/2.8...EF 24/2.8..EF40/2.8...RF 85/2...EF70-300/4-5.6)...Note...I have never had a rain problem (clear plastic bag with a couple of rubber bands...or even a simple umbrella) Cheers from Bangkok

[@KevinDeal]

It's a fun little lens!

[@philipphill9518]

There is a clear distinction between a lens that is weather sealed and a lens that has a rubber gasket at the back. Canon lenses with weather sealing (most L lenses as well as the RF28-70 2.8, RF200-800) have seals throughout the lens (including the gasket at the mount). Many lenses (most Sigma contemporary lenses for instance) that have the gasket at the back are by themselves not weather sealed, meaning water and dust can still very much get into the lens, just not at the mount.

[@KevinDeal]

Correct

[@markdbey]

You’re an awesome photographer… So you make the lens look good… 😌 You help make me buy the 28-70 f2… I’ll stick to that… lol

[@KevinDeal]

Thanks! Always glad to help! Yes, the 28-70 is the opposite of this lens in terms of size. Lol.

[@markdbey]

@@KevinDeal it IS! Lol But as you said, and I have to agree… Everything shot on the 28-70 looks editorial. It’s really a unicorn lens…

[@KevinDeal]

@@markdbey facts!

[@MattHalpain]

I have an Canon R100 camera. I definitely will be adding this 28mm lens to my kit in the future. 28mm x 1.6 = 44.8mm.

[@KevinDeal]

It's a fun lens. Enjoy!

[@JohnScarrott]

I prefer waffles to pancakes! 🤣 Nice option to go lightweight if on holiday, as you say. I don't have it but have it on a wish list to buy sometime.

[@KevinDeal]

Definitely good to have but nowhere near a top necessity.

[@georgemahlum6542]

I live in Bangkok...(rains often)...Never had a problem with rain getting in the camera....

[@KevinDeal]

That's excellent!

[@WarKrieg]

All your complaints would have just made the lens bigger and no longer a pancake lens. The 28mm fits in my jacket pocket with the R8. The 35mm is SIGNIFICANTLY bigger and absolutely does not. It's fine to prefer the 35 but if you want a pancake lens, you gotta get rid of features. I would NOT have bought the 28mm if it were bigger.

[@KevinDeal]

Yes. I also mentioned that in the video - the fact that compromises had to be made in order for it to be a pancake. There's only so much they can physically do.

[@bigbluerios]

I just ordered mine and it comes in later today. I have the 24/105 stm 7.1 , 50mm 1.8 and 16mm and now the 28mm. I want the 35 but can't decide between 35 and 85 2.0. I'm curious if I get the 24 1.8 can I just go into crop mode 1.6 and then I'll have a 37ish mm and still have the 1.8 aperture

[@KevinDeal]

Yes, you will get a 37ish perspective, but you will throw away pixels, so the files will be smaller, since you're only using part of your sensor. It's like you took the picture, loaded into Lightroom, then cropped it. Whatever you didn't use got thrown away. Congrats on the 28mm. It's a fun little lens!

[@notyetchef]

What makes it better than Iphone 15pro?

[@KevinDeal]

It’s just a lens. But the glass is better than the glass in the iPhone.

[@ghalibsworld]

Canon could price it under 200 USD like the 50mm F1.8. It will then be a super-budget lens for the R50 street photographer. Canon Must bring 22m F2 in RF-S mount just like the EF-M. The lack of lenses in RF-S and the worst kit lens is the main reason behind the slow sale of R50. R10 and R7 people need RF-S 17-55mm F2.8 IS as EF-S 17-55mm F2.8. The kit lens must be changed it could be 16-55mm F3.5-5.6. Canon's biggest mistake in APS-C was the RF-s 18-45mm F4.5-6.3 kit lens.

[@KevinDeal]

I think this is why they let Sigma make lenses for RF-S.

[@ghalibsworld]

@@KevinDeal I do not think it will solve the problem. In general R50 type users need two lenses one is a kit and another is a prime. Sigma 16mm F1.4 will solve the problem (although 22m F2 was better in the case of price point) but the kit lens will struggle. The M50 kit lens is far more workable than the new RF-S 18-45mm F4.5-6.3

[@KevinDeal]

@@ghalibsworld you don't think a Sigma 18-50 2.8 would solve problems?

[@ladyethyme]

Thanks for the review! Do you ever do a video on the new Fuji XT 50? I feel like it's all gimmick and hype… For another 300 bucks you could get the XT 5 with a hell of a lot of upgrades. What are your thoughts on this?

[@KevinDeal]

I've never tried the XT50, so I can't comment. But it's impossible to ignore how close the price is to a XT5. And if I had the money to get the XT50, I'd just get the XT5 or, the XH2 (which is what I have).

[@ladyethyme]

@@KevinDeal yeah pretty much my thoughts exactly. I think the dedicated SIM dial is absolutely absurd. (with no way to save recipes ) And with that price… Yeah. I don't do much if any video, so the XT5 is probably what I'm going to end up going for

[@KevinDeal]

@@ladyethyme Sounds like you're making the right choice

[@Ehbraham]

I’d rather have a tiny and light lens than larger with is.

[@KevinDeal]

In many cases, I agree

[@albertma5467]

Definitely not for me. My current light weight travel camera is Q2, which I have a love hate relationship with. Love the image quality, hate the focal length. I wish it’s a 35. 😅. And why doesn’t Canon make f2.0 lenses? It would be a sweet spot for size and low light.

[@KevinDeal]

Agreed.

[@morscodez]

My 35 1.8 focus hunts, I've replaced it 3 times and they all functioned the same. Can't recommend that 35

[@KevinDeal]

You’re right. That is a known shortcoming of that lens.

[@Aiproductions713]

Especially in lowlight. The 28mm performs much better.

[@KevinDeal]

@@Aiproductions713 the new 35mm 1.4 VCM doesn't have this issue. Of course, it's $1000 more, so I would hope that it doesn't.

[@UP209D]

Reallly tempting, but 2.8 is not enough for my taste, I wish it was 2.0 with this form factor for double money, my trigger gonna be pulled

[@KevinDeal]

2.0 would have been perfect.