Canon RF 14-35mm 4.0 L IS USM

The Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L USM IS is one of the best ultra-wide zoom lenses that we have tested to date. And that's quite an achievement given that the focal length range starts at 14mm. The image sharpness is consistently high across the zoom range with only a slight drop at 35mm f/4. Distortion correction does come at a cost at the 14mm setting, but even so, the results remain impressive. Speaking of autocorrection, the lens relies heavily on the vignetting and distortion compensation, but that's not unusual in this lens class. Lateral CAs are a bit elevated but not dramatically so. The sun star rendering is pretty nice and shows up "early". There are no surprises with the mechanical construction of the RF 14-35mm f/4 L. It follows the usual Canon design rules. Canon's engineering plastics for the lens body have this strange combination of feeling a little hollow while also being tough. Weather-sealing for professional uses has, of course, been added as well. The zoom action is a little unusual in that the lens extends towards the extreme ends. The Nano USM AF is certainly fast enough. Canon did somehow manage to integrate an optical image stabilizer into the lens, which is quite an achievement for a lens this wide. This helps with low-light photography despite the rather slow max. aperture of f/4. And unless you really need an extra stop in speed, the Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L USM IS is an easy recommendation.

Editor's Choice – A superb and highly versatile ultra-wide to wide standard zoom lens.