Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
Announced June 1, 2012
PixelMeter The PixelMeter is our 1–100 aggregate of reviewer scores from trusted publications and creators. Weighted by source tier — not a raw average, and not PetaPixel’s own review.
Reviewer Consensus
Strong
The Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM is a remarkably compact pancake lens that delivers impressive optical sharpness and color performance at an accessible price point. While its diminutive size makes it an excellent, low-profile choice for travel and street photography, the autofocus system can be audible and occasionally sluggish during video capture.
Weighted from 22 reviewer scores
Pros
- Extremely compact and lightweight pancake design
- Excellent sharpness and optical clarity
- Durable build quality featuring a metal mount
- Affordable price point
- Smooth and accurate autofocus motor
Cons
- Inconsistent or slow autofocus speed
- Limited manual focus functionality
- Audible autofocus noise during video recording
- Noticeable vignetting at wide apertures
- Lack of included lens hood
- Launch price $199 (USD)
- Focal length & aperture 40mm f/2.8
- Mount & coverage Canon EF Full-Frame
- Stabilization None
- Close focus 30 cm (0.18x)
- Filter thread 52mm
- Autofocus motor STM
- Weight & size 130g (4.6 oz) · 68 x 22 mm (2.68 x 0.87 in)
What the Reviewers Say
All 22 expert reviews, weighted into the PixelMeter score.
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- DPReview 84/100
The EF 40mm F2.8 STM offers excellent image quality in a tiny, well-made package.
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The Canon EF 40mm f2.8 STM is a very interesting addition to the Canon EF lens catalogue.
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[I]’m finding "little" to not like about this tiny, inexpensive lens. It is not hard to justify this purchase. Keep a pancake in your pocket - even for use as a backup lens.
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Whether you're using a full-frame or APS-C camera, its behavior is consistently excellent.
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The results of the Canon EF 40 mm f/2.8 STM are a very nice surprise. Preparing myself for testing this “pancake” I expected a lot of problems on the edge of full frame sensor.
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The Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM is an appealingly simple, compact and capable lens that's equally at home on an APS-C or full-frame DSLR camera.
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At $199, this is a really, really good lens [...]
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This low-profile lens for full-frame Canon cameras is a solid street photography tool.
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It’s a very impressive lens. Its color and sharpness are incredible across the aperture range and from the center to the edge of the glass.
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This Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM is a tiny lens with superb optical performance. This tiny thing isn't much bigger than a lens cap, and has unbeaten optics.
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It’s not a bad lens, not at all, so if it interests you go for it: this is a lens for you there are far worse things in photography you can spend your money on.
- ExpertPhotography 78/100
The 40mm f/2.8 STM doesn’t take up much space. But it gives you excellent results.
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At $130 the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM is very inexpensive and can be a good option for Canon users who would like a very compact lens with good optical performance.
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By now you’ve probably gathered that I quite like this lens. I went into this review with high hopes but honestly, reasonably low expectations.
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Canon have produced a decent lens here for the price. It does make your Canon DSLR more stealthy like a mirrorless camera.
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The lens has a lot of things going for it. It’s small size makes is a unimposing lens for things like street photography or really anywhere you might want to have a lower profile camera.
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Again, if you want to be compact and travel, this lens is killer, and I'll show it to you on my T2i.
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At a margin of the cost of native Fujifilm G lenses, the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM offers a viable alternative at this moderate wide-angle focal length which otherwise is only covered by zoom lenses in the Fujifilm G lineup.
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[T]his is a highly recommended lens and definitely worth a spot in your camera bag.
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A cool compact lens for portraits, food, travel, and people who like to have just one lens with them with a fast aperture. Sure, not the sharpest lens on earth, but ideal for daily use.
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This lens definitely isn't the sharpest, but considering its price tag of around 135 dollars we definitely can't complain.
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[T]here is one lens above all others that I use when I hit the street with my camera.
