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A short little read on why I fell in love with the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM, a brilliant ultra-wide-angle lens. Spoiler alert: I ended up purchasing one!
Before we dive in, I wanted to share that this blog is by no means a technical review of the RF 14-35mm. I merely share my thoughts on why I ended up replacing my Canon EF 16-35mm F2.8L III, which is also a brilliant lens, for something that many would describe as an “inferior” lens due to its more narrow aperture. The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM has several advantages over it, which I detail in this article. Let’s dive in!
The Canon RF 14-35mm is has a compact design with an excellent build quality – as you can expect from Canon L series lenses.
Why Change To The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM?
As a photographer, I’m pretty much always on the look-out for things that can make my gear lighter and smaller. It’s one of the guidelines I try to live by. Years ago, I used to be that guy who needed to have every lens I might have a use for when being out in the field. I quickly discovered that having such a gear-focused approach didn’t actually improve my photography but instead prevented me from becoming a better photographer. Too much choice in the field can be a bad thing, causing you to lose focus from what’s important: looking around, observing and being creative with what you have.
To tackle this gear-addiction head on, I decided to look at my Lightroom catalog. I wanted measurable data and started checking what apertures and focal lengths I primarily shot at. This allowed me to decide with a clear head what lenses I could get rid of. It’s an exercise I do regularly ever since in order to determine if I can fine-tune my gear to better suit my needs. It’s an exercise I can highly recommend to everyone who is finding themselves in a similar situation! I detailed this in a blog article I published later on after this review was published.
A few weeks ago, I did the exercise again. This time, the data showed me I most often used my wide-angle lens at the widest end. And more importantly, I rarely used the F2.8 aperture – even when photographing the aurora borealis. This begged the question: why drag around a heavy and bulky lens (with an EF-RF adapter) when I was not using the biggest advantage it had? To give it a try, I ended up reaching out to Origo, the Icelandic reseller for Canon, to ask if I could borrow the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM (what a mouthful by the way). I had read a lot about the RF 14-35mm already and I was intrigued by its universally-received praise for its design and sharpness.
All these images were taken with the Canon RF 14-35mm during the time I tested it.
What I Liked About The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM
To me, the biggest advantages of the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM are the much wider field of view, the weight and size, the standard 77mm filter thread (no spherical front element), the native RF mount benefits, and the excellent corner-to-corner image sharpness.
Wider Field Of View
The wider field of view is a pretty obvious advantage. During my testing, I managed to get shots I would otherwise not have been able to because of those extra 2mm. Two millimetres honestly doesn’t sound like much, but in landscape work the gap between 16mm and 14mm is genuinely significant. When you’re tight against a cliff edge, shooting in a confined space with limited room to back up, or working an ultra-wide aurora composition where you really want to capture the full arc of the sky, that extra 2mm is often the difference between getting the shot and clipping the corners of what you actually wanted to include. It enabling me to get shots I couldn’t before is a big selling point to me.
Weight And Size
The weight and size are an incredible feat for what the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM offers. Not only is this lens pretty short in comparison to the F2.8 counterparts (both EF and RF), it’s also much lighter. The RF 14-35mm comes in at around 540 grams, compared to roughly 840 grams for the RF 15-35mm F2.8L and around 790 grams for the EF 16-35mm F2.8L III that I was using before. That’s somewhere between 250 and 300 grams off your camera bag, which is genuinely noticeable on a full day of hiking or a long workshop where you’re carrying the camera for hours at a time. And honestly, in the field, I barely notice the lens is on the camera, which is exactly what I want from a wide-angle that’s supposed to disappear into the work.
Standard 77mm Filter Thread
Because the RF 14-35mm doesn’t have a spherical (bulged) front element, you can use regular screw-on filters at even the widest end. The thread takes standard 77mm filters, which means I can share filters across all my L-series lenses, including the Canon RF 100-500mm. Thanks to the in-camera lens corrections applied during post-processing, you also don’t get any meaningful vignetting from filters attached at 14mm, which opens up a lot of possibilities to simplify my process in the field.
This is honestly the feature that made the biggest practical difference in my workflow. Before this lens, I was using the EF-RF drop-in filter adapter with my EF 16-35mm F2.8L III, and the adapter is something I’ve had a love-hate relationship with for some time. I initially loved the idea of it: tiny filters that worked with any EF lens sounded like a dream. But to me, the execution of the idea was very poor. On countless occasions, I accidentally lost a filter because of how easy it was to unlock them. The clamp holding the filters in place isn’t tight enough, causing them to drop out with even the slightest touch. The clamp is also positioned exactly where I most frequently grab my camera from my bag, which only made the problem worse. And because the drop-in adapter doesn’t work with my RF 100-500mm (after I replaced my EF 100-400mm with it), I was already having to maintain two different filter systems anyway.
Going back to standard screw-on filters has been a relief. Same filters across both my main landscape lenses, no fiddly clamp mechanism, and no more lost filters in the bottom of the bag.
Native RF Mount Benefits
Because it’s a native RF lens, you get all the neat Canon mirrorless features that simply don’t exist on adapted EF glass. The big ones for me are seeing the precise focus distance in the EVF, which is genuinely useful when you’re hyperfocal-distance shooting at twilight, and the combined OIS and IBIS stabilisation that works beautifully together. With both systems active, I can routinely handhold this lens at 1/4 of a second at 14mm and get sharp results.
You also get the in-camera lens correction profile that handles vignetting and any minor distortion automatically, which is part of why filters at 14mm don’t introduce dark corners. The native RF protocol communicates faster too, which translates into snappier focus acquisition, especially in low light. It’s the kind of difference you don’t really appreciate until you go back to an adapted EF lens and notice everything is just slightly slower.
Image Sharpness Across The Frame
Image sharpness on the RF 14-35mm is honestly one of the best I’ve seen on an ultra-wide zoom. Corner-to-corner performance is excellent across the entire focal range, which is genuinely a step up from older Canon ultra-wides like the EF 16-35mm F2.8L III. The corners hold up well even wide open at F4, which matters more than you’d think for landscape work, because landscape compositions tend to live and die by what’s happening in the edges of the frame.
Centre sharpness is pretty much a given on any modern L-series lens. Corner sharpness is where lenses actually separate themselves. After four years with this one, I haven’t once looked at a shot and wondered if the corners were the weak point. That’s a high bar for any zoom, and especially for one at this focal length.
The Canon RF 14-35mm has excellent corner-to-corner sharpness.
What I Didn’t Like About The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM (Or Did I?)
Initially, I was very sceptical about the fact the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM didn’t have an F2.8 aperture. The primary reason for scepticism is that I often photograph at night to capture the aurora borealis. That means it’s pretty engraved in my brain that I must have the biggest possible aperture. But is that still true with how good camera sensors have become in high ISO conditions? Is that one stop of extra light really impactful for my kind of photography and worth the extra money?
During my time testing the lens, I got an excellent opportunity to try out the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM in those nightly conditions. A G1 geomagnetic storm was forecasted and produced strong northern lights. Essentially the kind of aurora I would usually try and photograph. Being located in Iceland, I have the perk of being able to choose when I go out to photograph the aurora so I almost never go when the activity isn’t great. I think that’s important to know because if you’re travelling to photograph the aurora and have to take the conditions as they are, you might have a different experience.
Long story short: the northern lights were such a treat to photograph with the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM – even with an almost full moon. Combined with my EOS R6, I was pretty comfortable shooting at night using ISO 3200. Even ISO 6400 still gives very nice results with the RF 14-35mm. It’s such a difference with how I would normally stop down to F2.8 to keep the ISO as low as possible on my old DSLR. ISO 6400 was unthinkable in such dark conditions. This, combined with a crispy sharp RF 14-35mm, makes for great results.
Pairing this lens with a properly configured landscape custom mode means I can be ready to shoot the aurora in seconds; I’ve written a separate post on my custom mode setup that covers exactly how I have C1, C2, and C3 configured for fast switching.
Truth be told, in general, I had a VERY hard time finding anything substantially wrong with the Canon RF 14-35mm. The images are sharp corner to corner (much sharper than my F2.8 lens) and combined with a good capable sensor in low light, there’s nothing to dislike about it in my workflow.
I have used the Canon RF 14-35mm for night photography with excellent results.
Conclusion: Does The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM Fit My Workflow Better?
I can safely say the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM fits my workflow really well. That’s why I went ahead and bought one for myself as soon as I returned the borrowed one (my F2.8 wide-angle lens is currently on the market). Everything about the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM fits better into my workflow than my F2.8 lens. The greater field of view of the RF 14-35mm, the increased sharpness, the excellent stabilisation combined with my Canon mirrorless bodies (currently the Canon EOS R6 Mark III and Canon EOS R5 Mark II), … Even the extra room in my bag is a welcome addition (room for a backup body now?). Maybe the lack of a bigger aperture is too big of a compromise for you but for me the trade-off doesn’t weigh up to all the extra advantages it brings.
If you’re in the market for a lightweight, quality, ultra-wide-angle lens, I can highly recommend the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM. For the long end of the same kit, see my Canon RF 100-500mm review.
Buy the Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L IS USM: https://jvn.photo/go/rf-14-35mm
FAQ
Is The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L Good For Landscape Photography?
Yes, it’s excellent for landscape work. The ultra-wide 14mm end gives you compositions that wouldn’t be possible at 16mm, the corner-to-corner sharpness is impressive even at the wide end, and the combined OIS and IBIS stabilisation makes handheld twilight work genuinely viable. This is the wide lens I’ve used for almost all my serious landscape work for the past four years.
Is The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L Good For Aurora And Astrophotography?
Yes, despite the F4 aperture. I was initially sceptical about the loss of one stop compared to F2.8, but modern camera sensors handle high ISOs well enough that the difference is functionally invisible in practice. I’ve shot strong aurora displays in Iceland on this lens and the results have been excellent.
Canon RF 14-35mm F4 vs RF 15-35mm F2.8: Which Should I Buy?
The F2.8 makes sense if you photograph fast-moving subjects in low light where one stop matters and you don’t mind the extra weight and cost. For everyone else, the F4 is the better choice: lighter, smaller, sharper at common landscape apertures, an extra 2mm of width at the wide end, and standard 77mm filter compatibility. I switched from F2.8 to F4 and don’t miss the stop.
Is The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L Sharp In The Corners?
Yes. Corner-to-corner sharpness is one of the lens’s standout features, and one of the genuine improvements over older ultra-wide zooms. Even wide open at F4, the corners hold up well across the focal range, which matters more than centre sharpness for landscape work.
What Filter Size Does The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L Use?
The RF 14-35mm F4 L uses standard 77mm screw-in filters. This is a meaningful advantage over the F2.8 versions of Canon’s ultra-wide zooms, which use bulged front elements and require either drop-in filters or specialised holders. With the 77mm thread, you can share filters across most of Canon’s L-series lenses.
Does The Canon RF 14-35mm F4 L Work Well With The Canon EOS R6 Mark III?
Yes, the pairing is excellent. The RF 14-35mm and the R6 Mark III together make a lightweight, capable landscape setup, and this was my go-to wide-angle combination throughout my recent trips to Antarctica and Madeira. The R6 Mark III’s 8.5-stop IBIS combined with the lens’s OIS makes handheld work at slow shutter speeds genuinely consistent.
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Great post and AMAZING aurora shots.
I am mostly a travel and street photographer, and I bought this lens for much the same reason you did; the combination of light weight and the versatility of 14mm with regular filters.
This lens and the also light weight RF 50mm f/1.4 VCM can cover literally 90% of anything I’d ever want to photograph.
Thank you! It’s an excellent lens which I still use today.
Informative and well crafted review. Also much appreciated that reading your thoughts helps me face my own inner gear-head nature. A digital photography instructor mentioned years ago: the most important tool all photographers have – your mobility, … walk around and see your subject from many perspectives, before falling in love with just one view.
Hi Jerome thanks for your insights about buying expensive gears
Somehow I thought that will help me get the right & best photos. I believe cameras and lenses are tools to help us makes some how a better photographer
I also one of the gearaholic who keeps buying the best equipment but in the end didn’t use them all due to limited vacations/places to shoot
I guess if we “mastered “ our equipment we could do better rather than relying on reviews by others ( that’s my opinion & thought on offense thanks)
I think you convinced me to consider a new lens. I take a lot of photos deep in the Florida Everglades where there is lots of foliage and not a lot of empty space. It’s easy to loose detail. This may solve my problem.
Thanks for the nice article.
WOW do I get to be the first replay :)))
Anyway I wanted to say GREAT post. This is the same path that I started down a few years ago but my Canon start was back in 60’s with a Canon FT. I also LOVE my RF 14-35 🙂 I had to save a bit to get it, this is a hobby for me at this time I was an Engineer. And you must know that old story about a Happy Wife 🙂
A wonderful read! Thank you for posting such an informative article regarding the lens. I am only a few years into my photography journey and plan on being in Iceland at end of September 2026. My photo shop guy said I need the RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L to capture northern lights. After reading your post, I don’t believe that is accurate. Do you feel I would be well served by the RF 14-35mm r/4 for my trip? Thank you!
Jim
Hi Jim, thanks for your kind words. I have used that lens now for the last few years on several aurora outings. It’s true that with a brighter aperture you will get to keep the ISO lower but in this day and age, I find that is becoming less and less important. Also, what is more important than any gear is waiting for the right aurora. The aurora comes in all kinds of intensities, which is why having an F2.8 or and F4 matters very little when you get a strong one to photograph. This 14-35mm is a great lens. It’s light, compact and has a great focal range. You can’t go wrong with it in my opinion.