Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 Pancake

kipliq wrote in post #14658896
I'm mainly liking macro with my 100L but on vacation i keep like a photo journal of the trip. I shoot random things. I did enjoy my 10-22 on my last Disneyland trip but the indoor and night shots did not turn out as well the I would have liked. I'm very a random shooter. I'm gonna bring my 10-22, 24-105 and the pancake. Pancake is more for the indoors stuff and night only. I shoot with a 7D

7D + 100mm is a fantastic combo for macro shots. In your photo journal / casual shooting, do you find ~60mm (40mm x crop) wide enough? If yes, then get it. To be honest, for guys like us with our gear list, $200 for a lens is a pretty cheap gamble to make. If you don't like it, sell it for a small loss.

rinthiran wrote in post #14660594
7D + 100mm is a fantastic combo for macro shots. In your photo journal / casual shooting, do you find ~60mm (40mm x crop) wide enough? If yes, then get it. To be honest, for guys like us with our gear list, $200 for a lens is a pretty cheap gamble to make. If you don't like it, sell it for a small loss.

I'm so trying to find problems with this lens but the I more I use it I'm liking! I tested the lens with low light, it wasn't superman fast but It didn't hunt and it was spot on. I took a picture in a dark room of my nephews face while he was near the computer monitor. The Nifty hunted for his face! I have the L fever so I'm giving myself excuses to buy it, if the 35L was ultra sharp at f1.4 and not the f2 I would be on it. I have a few month till my Disney World trip so I'll keep playing with the lens.

I found the nifity good for portraits and usable but in the same space the 40 makes it a little easier. I wish I had the 5D3 in my gear list lol

kipliq wrote in post #14660805
I have the L fever so I'm giving myself excuses to buy it, if the 35L was ultra sharp at f1.4 and not the f2 I would be on it.

I have and love my 40mm pancake, but honestly, if it's between the 40mm and the 35L, and you can swing the price difference, the L is the winner no contest.

I don't know what qualifies as "ultra sharp" for you, but here's an unedited 100% crop from a 35L wide open at F/1.4 (pic of my dog on my 60D):

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Immaculens wrote in post #14660380
Just ordered my Hotcake...

Hotcake !
I'm still sticking with 'biscuit' for the moniker. That way, I can say "you have a biscuit in the oven" !

hammer418 wrote in post #14661036
Hotcake !
I'm still sticking with 'biscuit' for the moniker. That way, I can say "you have a biscuit in the oven" !

I call it my optical lens cap

Good one, Dave !

I call mine my Contact Lens

Well .... you pays your money, you get to call it what YOU want !

manfesto wrote in post #14661027
I have and love my 40mm pancake, but honestly, if it's between the 40mm and the 35L, and you can swing the price difference, the L is the winner no contest.

I don't know what qualifies as "ultra sharp" for you, but here's an unedited 100% crop from a 35L wide open at F/1.4 (pic of my dog on my 60D):

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Yeah, F/2 is slightly better, but not by leaps and bounds. I find the 35L way more than useable wide-open (at any reasonable print or web size, it looks perfectly sharp, even before post-processing. Post-processing will get it "ultra sharp" at 100%).

The 35L is also the auto-focusing speed winner by a mile.

I bought the 40mm to tide me over while I save for the 35L, and it's more than adequate for that purpose (frames slightly tighter than the 35L of course, but I take a half step backwards and I'm good). I'll also keep the 40mm after I get the 35L since it is the clear winner for when size is a concern and I need the smallest possible kit - but it's no 35L replacement.

Not trying to insult you in anyway but it looks soft. Money is not the problem its that I have bad buyers remorse when I spend the money for a few months and as an amateur I don't need the best but nice to have lol

kipliq wrote in post #14661278
Not trying to insult you in anyway but it looks soft. Money is not the problem its that I have bad buyers remorse when I spend the money for a few months and as an amateur I don't need the best but nice to have lol

Fair enough, we all have different standards for what we consider sharp. Speaking for myself, if I have good separation of the individual hairs on my dog's chin at F/1.4 at 100% on an 18MP APS-C body before applying extra sharpening and post-processing (which it takes to very well), I'm happy .

At $200, the 40mm is definitely buyers-remorse-proof, it's a steal.

At $1400, the 35L is a much more considered investment, but I can say for myself that, as nice as the 40mm F/2.8 is, it has done nothing to satisfy my lust for the 35L, haha!

manfesto wrote in post #14661425
Fair enough, we all have different standards for what we consider sharp. Speaking for myself, if I have good separation of the individual hairs on my dog's chin at F/1.4 at 100% on an 18MP APS-C body before applying extra sharpening and post-processing (which it takes to very well), I'm happy .

At $200, the 40mm is definitely buyers-remorse-proof, it's a steal.

At $1400, the 35L is a much more considered investment, but I can say for myself that, as nice as the 40mm F/2.8 is, it has done nothing to satisfy my lust for the 35L, haha!

LOL your like me you want the Red Ring and the letter L is better then A,B,C,D and F

kipliq wrote in post #14661602
LOL your like me you want the Red Ring and the letter L is better then A,B,C,D and F

Haha, red ring or not, for me it's more about having a fast-focusing lens, that's good at F/1.4, in a focal length I find useful on both my 60D and my EOS620 (and any future full-frame DSLRs I may purchase), and only the 35L hits all of those points .

The 40mm pancake hits that third point beautifully though - it's loads of fun on both of my EOSes.

I was worried that 40mm on crop would be a bit of an odd focal length, but 64mm-equivalent puts it pretty close to the long end of my 28-70mm on my film camera, which I find very comfortable for shooting people.

//did my best to bring it all back on topic to the 40mm, haha

I don't have it yet (shipping!) but when I look at the difference between 50mm & 40mm (on my 15-85mm) - I do like how it pushes my subject back a little further, which will be helpful for portraiture in my small home studio space, and events photography in general. So in addition to the above reason for buying it - I like that it has faster/more accurate focusing than my (sold) 50 1.8., and sample photos show it on par for sharpness - at least good enough for me!

Looking forward to some hotcake goodness...

I think its ok for close up head and shoulder shots.

This is my 8 year old son messing about.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/davebass5/74855​31604/

Just unwrapped it when I got home from work. Mounted it to my 7D and then took some quick shots around the yard - SOOC. Pretty good amount of CA on the white flower and couldn't get the clover to crisp up no matter what - might need a little MFA on the 7D. Overall I'm please with the build quality, image quality, and it just looks awesomely covert on the 7D's body. I can't wait to try it out on the 5D once it arrives hopefully later this week.

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/chriskoran/7490​472082/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com/​photos/chriskoran/7490​473530/

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