Canon - RF45mm F1.2 STM Standard Prime Lens for EOS R-Series Cameras - Black

The Canon RF 45 1.2 (RF 45) is a wonderful lens unicorn that’s not supposed to exist. After all, f/1.2 is the realm of pros, not casual or hobbyist photographers. But Canon has delivered extreme, and excellent low light performance and opportunities for creamy backgrounds and engaging bokeh. For the money the RF 45 almost definitionally unique, but it’s also a lens you want in your kit if the RF 50 “L” lenses are not in the budget. I’ve walked around town taking pictures with this lens for about a week now getting to know it and still have more to learn, but I can say 100% this is a fun lens with creative capabilities. It’s far from perfect, but it’s sharp, impressive in low light situations, and, yes, has nice-looking but not perfectly round bokeh at f/1.2 and improves from there. Backgrounds at wider apertures are mostly pleasantly soft too, which I’ll get into later. It's important to be levelheaded about the RF 45, a consumer-level lens. Its performance is great for its price, but it’s silly to compare to the RF 50 “L” lens models. They are superior lenses and priced as such. What is a sensible comparison though is the RF 45 versus the RF 50 1.8, which up to now was the only affordable R mount standard prime lens around. I enjoyed the 50 1.8 for the 5 years I’ve owned it, but RF 45, I think, has leapfrogged it with all its additional abilities, not to mention an extra 5mm of range eliminating that extra step backwards to get the composition right. WHO ITS NOT FOR The RF 45 suits a lot of photographers, but everyone. To save you time, a few words on who might not appreciate this lens. First, while the RF 45 will work with any RF mount body, it’s only 45mm on full sensor models. Put this lens on a crop sensor body like the R7 or R10 and your focal will become the equivalent of 72mm. Next, it’s neither weather nor dust sealed. This lens is your fair-weather friend. It’s a great vacation lens unless you’re in a rain forest or dusty African savannah or similar areas with excessive moisture or dust. You can use a UV filter to protect the lens, but debris can still enter other areas of the lens. The RF 45 has an STM auto focus motor which is the slowest, loudest, and least smooth that Canon employs in its RF lenses. It’s works fine, but it’s not the quickest. I consider it a modest sacrifice in exchange for an affordable 1.2 aperture lens. Finally, if you are a “pixel peeper” and perfectionist you’re unlike to find joy here. FEATURES & HANDLING The RF 45 is almost twice as long as the RF 50. But those extra inches provide the RF 45 room for both a manual focus ring and control ring. The RF 50 has a single ring whose function can only be either manual focus or control ring. Having both rings is an immediate plus for me as toggling between the two on my RF 50 was always a hassle and compromise. The RF 45’s control ring turns deliberately and transmits useful tactile clicks. The RF 50’s is loose, smooth and silent so accidentally passing and intended setting is common. The focus ring is equally enjoyable. It’s comfortably wide and easy for my fingers to find. It turns methodically regardless of whether I need to quickly focus in or slow rolling to get exact focus. The RF 45 is mostly plastic but feels as solid and dependable as my other RF lenses. It has a comfortable heft and, attached to my R5, feels balanced. Most importantly, it has a metal mount that is unlikely to warp. There’re features missing too though. I already mentioned the lack of weather and dust sealing. It also has no coatings to reduce glare and reflections, same as the RF 50 1.8. A lens hood can mitigate glare and flare, but one isn’t included. There are inexpensive 3rd party options, which is the path I took. It’s really a “must have” if you want to mitigate lens flare as much as possible, among other reasons. Finally, there is no built-in image stabilization, you’ll have to rely on your camera body’s stabilization. If your camera model doesn’t have IBIS though then you’ll need to be more vigilant about your hand grip and shutter speeds. IN USE As soon as I received my RF 45 I popped it on my R5 and took it for walk to figure out what it was all about. It was a sunny day, but I was anxious to test out the lens wide open, so I brought a ND-6 filter for help. I shoot CRAW which leaves photos unmodified. JPEG results may differ if you have in-body corrections enabled. It’s impossible to cover every aspect of a lens in a short review and timeline, so below are just a few takeaways on aspects of this lens important for me to understand as a user. Don’t be scared off by the RF 45’s unappetizing facets because on whole it’s excellent, especially at its price. Being realistic is vital to appreciating the RF 45 and understanding how to use it to create memorable images. Immediately the RF 45’s STM motor impressed me for being smoother and quieter than the RF 50’s. I’m hesitant to say it’s faster than the RF 50 1.8., but similar. There’s a second or two lag going from a near subject to a far one, otherwise it’s seamless. Tracking motion is as good as it gets with an STM lens too. I photographed a series of cars passing by me seconds after a traffic light switched green and 9 of 12 were sharp. For a lens not designed for capturing speed that’s meaningful. As I walked around town I looked for situations that would test situations like strong contrast, fine detail, bright indirect and direct light, and motion. Being late afternoon it wasn’t hard to find opportunities. The General Pershing statue at the WW I memorial was begging me to stop by when I saw an American flag flapping in the far background and the sun beaming on his face. So, this is where I’ll start. The RF 45, as I expected, is quite vulnerable to chromatic aberration, just like the RF 50. But it’s manageable. My photos of General Pershing are one example. Pershing’s head had splotches of purple, especially his high cheeks, where the sun hit them. This was likely worsened because I was shooting wide open. Adobe Lightroom removed it, no problem. I included the edited photo as a visual example of this and also background rendering in bright light. The ND-6 filter was attached when I took the picture. Some subjects I photographed, like leafy trees, were much more difficult to impossible to mitigate fringing, but this was mostly on photos taken between f/1.2 and 1.8 in daylight. Of course, normally when shooting in bright direct light the aperture is at a smaller setting, but I wanted to know my limitations with the RF 45 in this scenario. Similarly, lens flare is a prominent “feature” at just about every usable aperture, just as it is with the RF 50. This is physics. Even more expensive coated glass lenses are prone to flaring, just less of it. And to be fair, I was trying to get flare. When the lens isn’t pointed the lens directly into the sun and the picture is clean. All lenses have multiple levels of sharpness, and I haven’t’ exhaustively tested all facets of the RF 45’s. More practical to me was looking at a variety of wide and close-up shots. They all passed my personal requirements for usability, but I’m not a perfectionist. By example, I took photos of the U.S. Capitol Building from various angles a few miles away. On my monitor, using Lightroom, the columns on the dome are well defined at 100%. At 200% sharpness is good considering the magnification, but obviously softer. For close ups, subjects 1.5 to a few feet away, detail is excellent. I found some fun bronze animal statues living in office building’s landscape. The lens picked up all the 3D details, especially in the facial area. The eyes & scales on a turtle, for example, are pinpoint sharp even at 300%. That was at f/1.2. Sharpness improves to the sweet spot from f/2 to f/5.6. The RF 45’s “killer feature” for me though it it’s low light prowess. If you’ve ever been to the Lincoln Memorial you know the left and right of Abe is dim even on a bright day. I took several photos of Lincoln’s profile (f/1.2 at 1/200) with ease despite it being a contrasty area. I’ve included one to give a visual. It’s untouched except for downsizing and saving to JPEG and adding my settings. I then pointed my lens to the Gettysburg Address at one of the darkest areas of the memorial. Impressively the photo was well-lit and readable, a testament to the RF 45’s sharpness and ability to capture good photos with just minimal natural light. f/1.2 lenses are exciting too for their velvety background rendering and ornamental bokeh. If you want rounder bokeh f/1.6 is the place to start. Soft background rendering at the f1.x apertures is kind of a “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” situation. The rendering is lovely unless the background is full of similar angular objects. For example, I took a photo at f1.2 of a duck swimming in a pond with a grove of trees in the far background. The duck looked great but the trees while very out of focus had a tactile presence, like a pointillism painting with tiny sharp specks. BOTTOM LINE The RF 45 is a standout that only gets better as you learn to harness its strengths. Sure, I wish its imperfections didn’t exist, but desire can’t take photos, and the RF 45 performs an impossible job for its reasonable price. A 45mm 1.2 lens opens a creative door for me that my other lenses cannot. And so, for its low light abilities, bokeh, and (most of the time) background rendering, the RF 45 is a winner.

For many users of Canon EOS R-Series cameras, the Canon RF45mm F1.2 STM will be a must have lens! The fast f/1.2 aperture is an extremely powerful motivator for people who enjoy creative photography. The price point of the RF45mm F1.2 STM makes this lens hard to resist. Of course, Canon already has another F1.2 lens. The RF50mm F1.2 L USM lens is well established and well respected. However, the L-Series lens is significantly different in construction and price. The RF45mm F1.2 STM lens is a whopping 82% less expensive than the RF50mm F1.2 L USM lens. I have been enjoying the RF45mm F1.2 STM for several days, and I am very pleased with both the still shots and the videos that this lens is producing. The lens is producing absolutely beautiful shots that really exceed expectations. The RF45mm F1.2 STM is designed for full-frame cameras. The 45mm focal length is represented as very closely comporting with the field of view of the human eye perception (43mm). Therefore, this lens is an excellent “walk-around” lens for street photography and vlogging. The greatest strength of the RF45mm F1.2 STM is of course the very large f/1.2 aperture which has extremely high light admittance capability as well as the extremely desirable benefit of depth of field manipulation facilitating great bokeh. An additional benefit of the RF45mm F1.2 STM is that even though it is optimized as a full-frame lens, it is also fully compatible with many, newer Canon R-Series APSC (crop sensor) cameras. In fact, I selected the RF45mm F1.2 STM for use with my Canon EOS R-10 APSC camera. Given Canon’s crop factor of 1.6x, on compatible Canon cameras like the EOS R-10, EOS R-7, EOS-R50 and EOS-R100 models, the RF45mm has a field of view of an effective focal length of 72mm. The 72mm effective focal length field of view coupled with the large f/1.2 aperture makes the RF45mm F1.2 STM a great portrait lens with super bokeh. The build quality of the RF45mm F1.2 STM appears to be very good. The lens body is all plastic, but very importantly the lens mount is metal. I do not have great feelings about plastic lens mounts nor do I care for plastic lens flanges on camera bodies. I appreciate that the metal lens mount on the RF45mm mates perfectly with the metal lens flange of the EOS R-10 providing for secure, precise and potentially durable performance. The RF45mm F1.2 STM is not dust sealed or weather sealed, but neither is my EOS R-10 camera body. The relatively compact size of approximately 3”x3” and light weight of approximately 12 ounces is very comfortable and balanced and about ideal when mounted on the compact and lightweight EOS R-10. The RF45mm F1.2 STM has 9 elements in 7 groups with 1 aspheric element. The lens coating is Canon’s Super Spectra Coating (SSC). The iris has 9 aperture blades which provides rounder bokeh highlights and more starburst rays than 7 blades. The geared stepping motor autofocus is smooth and quiet. I shot video in a very quiet environment, and the motor noise was not picked up by the in-body camera microphone. There is a slight delay in achieving focus which I find most noticeable when the focus shifts between close and more distant subjects. The slight delay is not very objectionable, but it is noticeable, as is the lens breathing during focus. The slight delay in focus pull is actually a benefit in videos where it provides a more cinematic transition. The f-stop range is from f/1.2 through f/16. The lens weighs about 12 ounces and feels solid. The RF45mm F1.2 STM accepts 67mm threaded filters and accessories. There is no image stabilization on the RF45mm F1.2 STM (nor is there In-Body-Stabilization (IBS) on my EOS R-10). The physical controls on the lens include a slide selector switch for Autofocus (AF) and Manual Focus (MF). The Manual Focus Ring is an electronic control and operates smoothly. Focus Ring sensitivity can be adjusted in the camera software settings. There is a thinner Control Ring which softly but audibly clicks at each stop position. The EOS camera software allows for specific functions to be assigned to the Control Ring, including Shutter Speed, Aperture, ISO and Exposure Compensation. With the RF45mm F1.2 STM lens, my preference is to use the Control Ring for aperture selection with the camera operating in Aperture Priority Mode to capitalize on the large f/1.2 aperture. An “interesting” phenomenon to be aware of when using a wide-aperture lens like the fast RF45mm F1.2 STM is that of “Focus Shift”. Since the EOS camera autofocus normally locks focus at wide-open aperture, when the lens stops down to take the shot the focus will “shift” and soften due to spherical aberrations causing the focus to shift backwards. Fortunately, many cameras, including Canon EOS cameras manufactured since about 2020 have firmware which prevents Focus Shift. The “Display simulation” menu has an option labeled “Exposure+DOF” (exposure + depth of field), which controls the camera’s autofocus and metering to lock the focus after stopping down to the f-stop applicable for the shot so that the focus will more closely match the depth of field. Display simulation is a good default setting, especially when using a fast lens. The RF45mm F1.2 STM is supplied with a Front Lens Cap (E-67 II) and a Rear Lens Cap (RF). However, notably absent from the package is a Lens Hood, which is an essential accessory for this f/1.2 lens. Lens flare can be a significant issue, and a lens hood is needed. A lens hood should really be included with this lens, and it is a shame that it is not. Regrettably, the Canon ES-73B lens hood, which is a 1 ounce piece of plastic, is sold for an inexplicably high price. An inexpensive third-party lens hood will probably be the solution. The optical performance of the RF45mm F1.2 STM is very good. If you take test shots using a high-resolution printed Lens Test Chart or the marquee signage over the entrance of a business, some aberrations might be observable at some f-stops. The RF45mm F1.2 STM is not the same quality as the RF50mm F1.2 L USM which is about 5.5 times more expensive. The RF45mm F1.2 STM is considered a “budget lens” by comparison, and there is some potential for possible optical defects. Of course, many optical issues are exacerbated with fast lenses, and those issues tend to resolve when stopping down the lens and increasing depth of field. I believe that most fast lenses, even very high-priced models, can exhibit some color fringing when wide-open. Barrel distortion and vignetting might also occur. However, the photographs that I like to shoot and display are not of Test Targets. Over the past several days I shot a lot of frames with the RF45mm F1.2 STM under varying conditions including natural light and artificial light, wide-open shots to maximize bokeh and stopped down throughout the f-stop range of the lens. I also shot some 4K UHD videos. I am extremely satisfied with the performance of the RF45mm F1.2 STM. When shooting wide-open at f/1.2 if there were any optical aberrations, they were not noticeable in the beautiful, blurred background bokeh. Clearly, the biggest draw of a fast f/1.2 lens is the capability of shooting a very shallow depth of field and emphasizing the subject in the foreground while creating a blurred background. Bright background highlights might potentially be slightly elliptically distorted rather than perfectly round (cat’s eyes), or some color fringing might be detected, but I am not concerned about minor optical aberrations that are generally not apparent in most images. Any softening of the corners or chromatic aberrations are visually deemphasized when you are focusing on the subject in the central foreground. I am really enjoying being able to compose shots with great bokeh that really makes for visually interesting and attractive photographs. The ability to shoot in low light without the EOS R-10 demanding flash is a terrific improvement, especially as compared to the slow kit lens (18-45mm F4.5-6.2 IS STM). Although Canon has added a few more RF-S mount lenses for the EOS APSC cameras, none of them is a fast lens. The RF45mm F1.2 STM has become my favorite lens for my EOS R-10 camera. It has exceeded my expectations by a significant margin. The optical performance of the RF45mm F1.2 STM is clearly superior to the RF-S18-45mm F4.5-6.2 IS STM kit lens with dramatic improvements in sharpness and contrast. Obviously, being a prime lens it has a different primary purpose than the zoom lenses, but the field of view of the RF45mm F1.2 STM is very useful and very versatile. With the significant benefit of subject isolation with excellent bokeh and the outstanding light admittance of this fast f/1.2 lens for low light photography, coupled with impressive overall performance, the RF45mm F1.2 STM is my “must have” Canon lens. I genuinely like this lens a great deal and I am very pleased with the quality of the images shot with the RF45mm F1.2 STM. It handles beautifully on my EOS R-10 body, as well.

This is one of the most interesting lenses I’ve ever come across. Normally a lens this fast is large, heavy, and incredibly expensive. However, Canon has managed to put an f/1.2 aperture into a compact and lightweight lens that is also surprisingly affordable. The 45mm focal length is a great spot for a prime lens. I already own Canons RF 50mm F1.8 STM, and while that lens is even smaller and less expensive, there’s no denying that the new RF45 F1.2 is much more capable. A lens this fast excels at portraits or any other scenario where you want a lot background blur as well as capturing more natural looking photos in low light without a flash. I have it paired with my APS-C Canon EOS R50, which is one of the smallest and lightest mirrorless interchangeable-lens cameras that Canon makes. Despite its large f/1.2 aperture, the RF45 does not look or feel out of place on such a compact body. In fact, the two pair together really nicely. On the R50’s APS-C sensor, the lens gives you a narrower field of view, making it well suited for portraits. Performance is excellent. Open the lens to f/1.2 and you can get incredible separation between subject and the background as shown in my sample images of my pet dog and turtle. In fact, you have to be careful that you don’t get too much separation. The depth of field can be so shallow that sometimes my dog’s nose would be in focus while the eyes were not, or vice versa. Autofocus is also fast and has worked well in my experience so far. One thing I’m pleased with is I don’t see any significant vignetting in my RAW images. The smaller APS-C sensor helps as well because it mostly crops away the outer portion of the image, where vignetting is typically most noticeable The biggest downside is the lack of optical image stabilization. It matters more on my setup because my EOS R50 also lacks any in-body stabilization. The large aperture helps tremendously in low light but keeping the camera steady at a slow shutter speed can be difficult without a tripod. Canon’s specifications also list no dust or weather-resistant protection, so keep that in mind if you do shoot in those conditions. Pros - Extremely fast f/1.2 aperture - Excellent subject separation and background blur - Compact and lightweight for an f/1.2 full-frame lens - Affordable compared with Canon’s L-series f/1.2 lenses - Useful 45mm focal length - Fast autofocus - Dedicated focus and customizable control rings - 1lens mount Cons - No optical image stabilization - No weather sealing Overall – an excellent and affordable addition to Canon’s RF lens lineup.

TLDR: This new silent Canon lens is made for the current RF camera mount and fits a legion of RF mount Canon cameras. It is silent in focusing, produces very sharp images and videos, is not heavy, and consistently produces a great picture when used. I use this lens with my Canon R50V camera which has the newer RF lens mount and is mirrorless. It connects all functions instantly and produces fast and silent sharply focused pictures. In video mode it produces stunning 4K video through this new lens which allows a vast amount of light in through its f 1.2 aperture setting if needed in low light conditions. The front lens is a large glass element and it has 9 elements in total per the Canon web site specifications section. It is a large diameter lens, but lighter in weight. It is constructed with a single plastic internal aspherical lens element among the 9 elements keeping it light and more affordable. Advanced plastic molding enables greater freedom in machining and higher precision per the Canon website. It is no heavier than my other new lens that arrived with the camera; it is only 12 ounces. Even so, the 45mm f 1.2 lens has a metal mount where it attaches to the camera, (not plastic). It focuses as close as 1.5 feet and includes a nearly silent STM auto focus motor; nonetheless it is switchable to allow full manual focus if desired. In use, the auto focus is very fast and precise. This lens is perfect for portraits, lifestyle content, and low-light work, creating soft images with dramatic focus falloff. The STM motor enables quiet and smooth autofocus performance and full-time manual focus override. As I said, the internal optical design incorporates one aspherical element, which reduces spherical aberrations and distortion. Using the lens in low light allows wonderful images as if the scene was illuminated brighter than it is due to the large f 1.2 opening allowing in large amounts of light to produce great images and sharp subjects in front of the soft focus background. Or use a smaller f stop to focus up both subject and background. The blurry background bokeh that is possible with the f/1.2 aperture is stunning. The very shallow depth of field will create those backgrounds all the while keeping the subject person or persons in super sharp focus. In low light settings, this lens also delivers great images as if it was much brighter. It is your choice that this fast lens allows. The 45 mm lens seems natural, very similar to human vision going left to right. It offers a more natural view compared to some smartphone images we all make very often when we shoot using phones in wide view. Highly recommended.

This 45mm lens is quite the bargain for its capabilities. Typically for a lens like this, you're spending MUCH more. Being able to get this aperture allows for excellent bokeh/background blur. The lens is focuses quickly and is pretty quiet while focusing too. It's also surprisingly lightweight and compact for a prime lens like this. I was pretty impressed with how this felt while carrying it around too. It also includes Canon's control ring feature. Allowing you to assign custom controls to it, like aperture or ISO. I do wish it had some weather sealing, but it's still a great feeling lens, regardless. I was very impressed with the quality of the depth of field. It allows for a very thin area of focus, and the blurred areas give a really pleasing look to me. Again, it's usually pretty tough to get this quality at this price point. In the past, I have often rented lenses to achieve this. This seems like an excellent, everyday style lens that would absolutely excel at portrait style photos and video. Pros: excellent quality, great depth of field, focus ring is a useful addition Cons: I wish it included a case, and maybe a hood.