Assessment of Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 Wide-Angle Zoom Lens
The Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM is a versatile lens that caters to a wide range of underwater subjects, from reefscapes to sharks, dolphins, and whales. With a U.S. MSRP of $1699, this rectilinear wide-angle lens offers an 114-degree field of view, ensuring a broad perspective for your underwater photography.
The lens features a minimum focusing distance of 7.9 inches at all focal lengths, allowing for close-up shots of intricate marine life. Its autofocus tracking covers 100% of the field of view, ensuring sharp focus on even the quickest subjects like angelfish and cleaner wrasse.
The Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM boasts impressive optical quality, with 16 lens elements in 12 groups, including three UD-glass elements and three Aspherical elements. This complex design ensures excellent image quality, even at the widest focal length.
The lens offers beautiful bokeh and background separation at 35mm, encouraging experimentation with shots that were not previously considered. It also features Canon's super spectra coating, sub-wavelength structure coating, air sphere coating, and a fluorine coating on the front surface of the front element, ensuring high-quality images with minimal lens flares and ghosting.
When mounted on a Canon EOS R5, the autofocus speed of the Canon 14-35mm f/4 is incredibly fast, making it an ideal choice for capturing quick, elusive marine life. However, it's worth noting that the lens has more background separation than a fisheye lens, requiring careful focus on the subject rather than a full reefscape due to shallower depth of field at longer focal lengths.
When it comes to underwater performance, the Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM, with its wide-angle zoom range and optical design optimized for mirrorless bodies, should perform well with a dome port. However, EF lenses currently have more extensive proven underwater housing and dome port support, which may affect practical underwater performance and availability.
Despite these considerations, the Canon 14-35mm RF f/4 is an impressive lens with excellent image quality. It's particularly suitable for photographing shy wrasse, hawkfish, and angelfish due to its ability to capture subjects in greater detail in the corners. When combined with an in-body image-stabilization system, the Canon 14-35mm f/4 can correct up to 7 stops of exposure, enabling shooting at very low shutter speeds without motion blur.
However, it's worth noting that the lens exhibits noticeable vignetting at 14mm that cannot be corrected without cropping or post-processing. This is a common issue with wide-angle lenses and is something to consider when framing your shots.
In conclusion, the Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM is a versatile and high-quality lens for underwater photography. While it may not have the same level of housing and dome port support as EF lenses, its wide-angle capabilities and fast autofocus make it an attractive choice for underwater photographers.
The Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM is suitable for capturing shy wrasse, hawkfish, and angelfish during dives, thanks to its close-up focusing capabilities. With its ability to focus on quick subjects like cleaner wrasse, this lens is a great tool for underwater travel photography.
The lens's autofocus and image stabilization technology enable shooting at very low shutter speeds without motion blur, ensuring clear images even in bluewater environments. For underwater photography enthusiasts, the lens's compact size and impressive optical quality make it a valuable addition to their gadget collection.
With a wide-angle zoom range and a broad field of view, the lens is ideal for capturing extensive reefscapes, though it may require careful focus due to the shallower depth of field at longer focal lengths. The lens's beautiful color rendition and bokeh effects add depth and intrigue to underwater shots, enhancing the overall travel photography experience.
The lens's technology-driven design, including its super spectra coating and air sphere coating, minimizes lens flares and ghosting, contributing to its high-quality images. Despite some vignetting at the widest focal length that may need post-processing, the lens's performance underwater should be commendable, especially with a dome port.
In summary, with its versatility, optical quality, and fast autofocus, the Canon RF 14-35mm f/4 L IS USM is a suitable choice for both amateur and professional underwater photographers seeking to capture stunning images of various marine life and vibrant reefscapes during their travels.
