The Canon RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L STM is an excessive lens. It’s the arena’s widest-angle zoom lens and has a staggering 190-degree box of view; having a look into the viewfinder is like taking a step backward.
The 14mm finish is a diagonal fisheye, turning in spectacular, ultra-wide, ultra-sharp footage proper around the body. The 7mm supplies an excessively other roughly photograph, a round shot that may in truth {photograph} the photographer — you must be careful in your face or ft showing within the body.
Canon RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L Fisheye STM: How It Feels
The lens is light-weight at 476 grams (16.8 oz.), sufficiently small to pop into maximum digicam baggage with the frame hooked up. Like any L-Sequence lenses, it includes a high quality construct this is mud and weather-resistant. However this one has a few fascinating options you could simplest to find in an ultra-wide.
Probably the most placing options is the bulbous entrance part — this outsized dome is what offers the lens its ultra-wide box of view. It’s secure through a cap that slips over the glass quite than attaching immediately to it. Underneath that sits the lens hood, which behaves relatively in a different way from a normal hood you’d depart on all the time. At 7mm, leaving the hood in position produces a distracting “butterfly” vignette, so I discovered myself repeatedly eliminating and changing the cap as I shot.
Sliding down the barrel, there’s a keep watch over ring that may be programmed to keep watch over the aperture, shutter pace, or ISO. There’s additionally a lens serve as button, which comes pre-programmed to pause the autofocus, however it may be assigned another serve as. There’s a zoom limiter transfer that locks the lens to 7mm when taking pictures on full-frame; it limits the zoom to a diagonal fisheye when taking pictures APS-C.
Sitting simply in entrance of the lens mount is the abnormal drop-in clear out machine. For the reason that lens is bulging out on the different finish, filters can’t be positioned at the glass. So for photographers short of to make use of a variable ND or polarizing clear out, Canon means that you can slide in a type of filters on the reverse finish of the lens.
Canon RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L STM Fisheye: How It Shoots
I used to be the usage of the RF 7-14mm on a Canon R6 III, and one of the vital ordinary issues about fisheye is the loss of intensity of box. It’s a must to get actually on the subject of your topic (focusing is going down lower than six inches) to succeed in any roughly bokeh, however it’s conceivable.


One of the crucial extra strenuous assessments I put it thru used to be at a skateboard tournament in a poorly lit warehouse. The machine carried out actually smartly: out of loads of pictures, there used to be just one collection the place it misplaced focal point totally. And sure, I most likely can have executed with a flash unit.
The lens is impressively sharp throughout all of the body, even within the distorted edge spaces. There may be blue fringing that happens at the 7mm finish, however Canon says that’s left in deliberately. Plus, it’s simple to do away with in put up for many who need it long past.
Just like the Canon RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM, it may well do a just right sunstar; the minimal f/29 aperture is helping, which is at hand as a result of regardless of the place you level this lens, there’s a superb opportunity you’ll get the solar in it. However not like the 14mm high, I didn’t realize any ghosting.
Canon RF 7-14mm f/2.8-3.5L Fisheye STM: A Specialised Lens In contrast to The rest Else
Fisheye lenses are related to skating, which is why I took to the skateboard jam. I used to be a bit anxious a few stray board cracking the glass, however that’s all a part of the anticipation. It’s a must to watch the skater quite than the digicam.
Astrophotography is every other evident software. That huge box of view permits for impressive starfield pictures. It’s most likely a bit too broad for standard landscapes, however I did assume it used to be amusing to shoot with across the town, the place constructions and bushes can distort across the edges, and you’ll be able to have some amusing enjoying with that within the composition.
Outdoor of that, there are evident probabilities with VR or 180/360-degree pictures. Canon means that it can be a just right underwater lens, too.
Glance, 14mm is as broad as you’ll be able to get with out dropping pixels. The 7mm finish gained’t be to everybody’s style, however I discovered myself the usage of it excess of I anticipated. A round symbol like this is abnormal, however for sure topics, I feel it actually works. Your eye begins looking for round topics to shoot. The shot of the roof of Grand Central (the only in Birmingham, England, no longer New York) is a brilliant instance. There’s no different lens within the RF circle of relatives that may reach that.
Are There Choices?
The Canon RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM high is an engaging comparability for many who simply need one thing actually broad however don’t essentially wish to devote absolutely to a fisheye lens. The RF 14mm f/1.4’s 114-degree box of view remains to be very broad, however it doesn’t include the 180-degree diagonal fisheye functions of Canon’s new RF 7-14mm. Once in a while much less is extra, particularly for photographers who don’t essentially need their pictures to seem unnatural.
I’ve been the usage of the RF 15-35mm f/2.8L as primary lens for some time, and sure, it’s a large lens, however it’s very other to the 7-14mm, which forces you to assume a bit in a different way about what you’re taking pictures and the positions you’re taking.
For Canon EOS R house owners searching for the unnatural, wild glance of a fisheye, the choices are sparse, particularly if you need autofocus functions. The obvious selection is the Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM and an EOS EF-to-RF adapter. This lens is less expensive, however it’s additionally slower and has much less box of view than the brand new RF lens. Canon has pulled out all of the stops with its new RF fisheye lens, so you’ll be able to additionally be expecting a drop in symbol high quality with the older EF lens.
The ones open to guide focal point have some choices, however no longer many. There may be the 7Artisans 10mm f/2.8 Mark II fisheye high, which has a 185-degree box of view and is locked to a diagonal fisheye viewpoint. Then there’s the reasonably absurd AstrHori 6mm f/2.8 round fisheye with its 220-degree box of view. TTArtisan has an 11mm f/2.8 diagonal fisheye, too. Those lenses vary from $235 to $299, so they’re a a lot more inexpensive access level into fisheye pictures on Canon EOS R mirrorless cameras. Any of them can be a great means for other folks to get their ft rainy to look if taking the $1,899 plunge to Canon’s new fisheye zoom is worth it.

Will have to You Purchase It?
Sure. However then Canon’s refusal to permit third-party lenses approach there’s no actual festival, in order that resolution must no longer wonder you. On the other hand, that doesn’t imply the lens isn’t price it: photographers engaged in a selected form of paintings will most probably to find this lens at hand. It’s by no means going to be any individual’s primary lens (until you simplest shoot skateboarding), but if the task requires one thing a bit other, it’s an invaluable weapon within the armory.
Symbol credit: Images through Matt Growcoot.