Is a 35mm Prime Lens All You Need For Travel? Canon RF 35mm 1.4L VCM

[@pekkahatonen9700]

I always travel with my R8 paired to a RF 35 1.8. I love how compact that set is, fits in a tiny bag and always ready! Love your videos, informative and a unique perspective 👍

[@carlmartin8805]

what I like about your videos is that you're straight to the point, easily one of my favourite channels 🙏

[@chadpurser]

The Nikon 24-120mm f/4 stays glued to my camera when I travel. What a great lens. It's only slightly bigger than your setup in this video.

[@PhilippeDHooghe]

Ahhh... another great video with the nice atmosphere, beautiful stills and... a trip to memory lane, we were there in 2009. Thanks for this moment! I totally agree, James, 35mm is a great focal length for travel. In my teens (1970s) I bought the Pentor Super TL SLR with a 50mm f/1.8 Pentacon as kit lens. A few years later I bought the Carl Zeiss Jena Flektogon "Zebra" 35mm f/2.8 for it and it was always screwed on, as most of my photography was travel. So do I agree? Of course! 35mm is the versatility king of primes. I was in Santorini too, in 2009, with a Canon 40D and its kit lens, the 17-85 mm f/4-5.6. Kit lenses are often zooms these days. And without paying attention to what I was doing, I was zooming in slightly to the 22 - 26 mm range, which is about 35mm FF equivalent FOV. Coincidence? Today, for street and travel, I'm using the RF 28 mm f/2.8 a lot, because it is so good. On the R8 it is especially good. My R7 works very well with it too. The equivalent FOV is 45mm and the detail in the images are really good. I did Berlin with the R7 / 28 and found the images were great but too tight. I did Lisbon with the R8 / 28 and that was much better. I like the 28 for travel. I have other lenses for portrait :-). Finally, the iPhone shot... Apple does it with pure tech (bracketing etc...) and the results for that kind of shot are very good indeed. In your video, the comparison isn't totally fair as there is some time between them and it looks to me the iPhone had the better timing, with the sun shimmering on the water. But the R6 II one gives away its higher class when you watch the clouds.

[@warrenshepherdphotography]

Always informative, always inspiring...

[@GerhardBothaWFF]

Yes. That is why I am packing a whole bunch of lenses

[@tonykeltsflorida]

Travel lens: Sigma 16mm f/1.4. Camera: Canon M6 mark II. It shoots nice wide at f/8 for travel. You can shoot bokeh shots too. I just got a Canon 22mm f/2 pancake to put on an EOS-M camera to do some street shots. I like to use cheaper cameras that work when I travel.

[@77dris]

Great as always. The RF 35 1.8 is currently on sale $100 off in Canada for the holidays and I'm considering it, especially for the near macro abilities. For $499 cdn (about $399 us) , it's a steal! I had the Sigma Art 35 1.4 and 85 1.4 for a while and was always wanted the 50 since it was sort of the best of both worlds. I sold all my gear during covid, then got the 50 1.4 when I got the R6 II and really like it for everything. It's just not great for closeups. I really like the shot at 6:45 !!! Almost looks like she's standing on the engine of an airplane at first glance. I do prefer the colours and lighting of the iPhone sunset shot. I love the warmer tones and the way the light reflected off the water (sun was higher in sky?) What a beautiful location! I'm so jealous of Europeans that can travel from country to country in such a short distance. I think Wales to Greece is closer than going from my city to the north part of my same province. LOL

[@808islandlife_HI]

Beautiful compositions and toning. Great job!

[@JamesReader]

Thank you so much!

[@tim_biller]

I travel with a Nikon Df and 24-120f4 and it's a monster to lug about. I think a 35mm f1.8 or f2 is my ideal. I spent 20+ years as a press photographer and 80% of my pictures were taken with 20, a 35 and a 105. Great video and subbed.

[@gregmonforton4103]

I've got the RF "budget primes" in 16, 24, 35, and 50 and I love them for video and for indoors or low-light, but for this sort of work I'd really have my 24-105 F4. The 28-70 F2.8 you recently reviewed might actually be a perfect travel lens.

[@enzoguimaraescost]

i think it is to heavy for that purpose

[@lyubendikov]

28-70 F/2 *

[@gregmonforton4103]

@@lyubendikov there’s a new 28-70 2.8

[@gregmonforton4103]

@@enzoguimaraescost There’s a new 28-70 2.8 that is lighter than the 2.0

[@PhilippeDHooghe]

I agree. 24-105 f/4 is great, the 28-70 brighter and sharper, but missing a bit of range in my opinion. You are missing the 28mm f/2.8 pancake. This is a terrific lens.

[@lamddd]

Use to be a dedicated 50mm shooter, but now the 35mm - for all the reasons you mentioned. It’s also gives you more breathing room to take photos of kids!

[@guilhermeproducer]

The photos are very beautiful! I liked how you recorded POV, what did you use?

[@i3lueclragon]

wow what a coincidence that your go to model was also in Santorini! I also feel that 35mm captures what we see as well as our peripheral vision really well.

[@ghalibsworld]

Did you sell your RF28-70mm F2.8?

[@parmanduke]

35mm is my favorite most versatile focal length. Great photos and great video

[@JamesReader]

Thank you so much!

[@DanYosua]

Recreating the phone shot is tough haha. Usually there's a good reason to have reached for it in the moment whether it's the only option, or maybe a better focal length than what's on the camera. Been mixing in some more phone shots lately, most compact 24mm I've got 😂 crazy how crowded it was looking, glad you found some peaceful time!

[@JamesReader]

It really is! I used it a lot this trip and honestly it’s made me regret not using it more in the past. Do you edit your phone shots right on your phone too?

[@DanYosua]

@@JamesReader I still drag em all the way into LRC but would love to try out an ipad mini/pencil workflow someday for trips when the laptop stays behind.

[@theRealAstroNut]

I’ve got the RF 24-105 f/4L and am thinking of adding either the 24mm f/1.4 or 35mm f/1.4 to my travel kit for low light and indoor shoot. Which one would you personally go for?

[@brianode11]

Still love the EF 35 1.4 ii on my 5d, 6d, and R6.

[@JamesReader]

Yeah the EF version is still incredible.

[@thelookoflifefilms]

Excellent ! Will you be reviewing the 50mm 1.4 soon?

[@JamesReader]

Hoping to get my hands on one soon!

[@thelookoflifefilms]

@@JamesReader Me too, I got to play around with an R1 and the 35 1.4 (which I own) and its an amazing camera and paired with these new VCM lenses is a photographer and videographers dream

[@Hdden-Beauty]

Another great video thanks James! How do you think the 35 1.4 and 1.8 compare?

[@JamesReader]

They compare really well! I think the RF 35 1.8 punches way above its weight. I compared them a few videos ago

[@Hdden-Beauty]

@ Cool thanks for the info! Checking your comparison video :)

[@N.Sem.]

good frame processing without acidity and all these fashionable presets))

[@CanonEurope]

Love those portraits ❤

[@defge_cd]

As a teen I only shot a 35 on full frame. I miss that lens even after moving to mirrorless.

[@hikertrashfilms]

...no 35mm blows... I always carry a 20 1.8 & 50 1.2 on dual stacks

[@doktorr23]

Most of your shots are at f2 or above. Wouldn’t the rf 35 f1.8 be a better travel companion ?

[@tuanminh3720]

Yes, i think 35f1.8 will be good enough, but a 1.4 lens is on another level

[@doktorr23]

@ It is but only if you pixel peep at 200%. I have both and trying to figure out if the f1.4 is actually worth it. It’s nice for good bokeh but for travel, you want to show the background I feel. Haha

[@BW_Maher]

Thanks. Images look great. Waiting to see if the price settles on the 35mm f1.4 before I buy one but I expect that to be my new travel standard. I tried to make the Rf 24-105L work and it's just not for me. The 28 f2.8 is a little wide for how I see plus the iPhone is quite good at wider aspect photos. If Canon gives us a similar 85 f1.4 that would make a nice companion lens. The 85 f2 takes great photos but it's a little clunky to operate.

[@JamesReader]

Yeah hopefully we see a price reduction soon! The 35 1.8 is pretty damn good too though. A more compact 85mm 1.4 has gotta be the next move for Canon I think. Got my fingers crossed 🤞

[@dayeah765caoni3]

R8+ 28MM pancake eats iphone for breakfast

[@BW_Maher]

@@JamesReader The 35 1.8 is a great lens. That was the first RF lens I purchased. My only concern is that it seems a bit delicate and I wonder how well it would hold up to daily use as a single lens solution. I also still have the EF 35 f2 which is a fine lens but a little large with an adaptor fitted. Not sure how many 35's I've owned over the years. Thanks again. I always enjoy the content. Cold and rainy here in Philadelphia today so warm and sunny is a pleasant diversion.

[@forgewire]

@@dayeah765caoni3youtubers don't know how to use Lightroom and go for hype all the time

[@BW_Maher]

​@@dayeah765caoni3 I'd find the lack of stabilization to be limiting for a travel combo. I like the 28 but it's wider than I compose for standard scenes and not wide enough for how I'd compose wide shots. If that makes any sense. Personally I'm pretty happy with my iPhone. I recently did a photo submission for a local organization I support and 2 out of the 4 photos were taken with my phone. Of course, the best received photo was one of the iPhone photos. Zero negative feedback about it lacking in image quality.

[@pk6221]

compositions 👌

[@chaseyourdream8264]

😂 great work. I still like to pick the 1.8 version, save some weight

[@KentSpain85]

I'm more of a zoom guy, 24-70+70-200 or 24-70+100-500 but I always take the 35mm 1.8. It's small, light, and if I don't want take out heavy gear for an evening or afternoon, it's a great lens.

[@Pixelpeeps-69]

Personally for outdoors I much prefer a compact zoom even if it a canon silver zoom lens non l glass

[@JamesReader]

Yeah zooms are super handy for outdoors. I recently used the 24-105 kit lens (non L) and was really impressed

[@kashifswaynerobinson]

I own this lens, but I could never recommend it. Go with the EF Mark II version. It’s better corrected and renders better.

[@TradeshowThomas]

If I had to use a single prime for events 35mm

[@axelmols1778]

First 🎉

[@HezyTech]

I don’t care for low apertures. I like zooming

[@forgewire]

Do you know how to use Lightroom?

[@lbeetech]

The phone shots are fake. Think of it that way....

[@PillsGrabber]

The phones can make the better photos in these scenarios because they're always automatically bracketing the photos, not the easiest thing to do with a mirrorless 😔😔

[@JamesReader]

Very true!

[@ricardocarvalho1184]

Sorry man..any lens do a god job there..

[@JamesReader]

That’s true!