Customer Ratings & Reviews

This prime lens has it all, it's image quality is excellent, it's well constructed, and it's affordable. Image quality on my 60D is great. At 2.8 it is sharp, and provides awesome bokeh. It is very similar to the 50mm 1.8II, but is a bit more user friendly for those of us with APS-C sensors. I can shoot indoors easier due to its focal equivalent of 64mm compared to the 50mm being more like a 85mm when used on an APS-C camera. No vignetting in the corners either. Build quality is excellent, the metal mount and mechanicals give the feeling of quality beyond its price. The lens is really small, it will probably become a lot of people's body cap when traveling. It's size makes it perfect for candid photography, it's not imposing or distracting to the subject. Finally affordability, at 200 dollars, I would recommend it to anyone with a camera. It's extremely versatile and does not require a large investment, I would say Canon should have a camera kit with this lens, much better than what the kit 18-55 offers.

good for close up shots, focus is on the subject, background is foreshadowed.

I am using this lens on my 7D and it is barely noticable on the camera. This is bargain of a lens at this price. It is tack sharp through most of the stops. It produces a wonderful bokeh with a nice pleasing separation of the subject from the background. When trying this out for filming the lens makes very little noise when focusing. It's hard to believe that such a small lens could be so versatile.

This lens gets historically high reviews no matter where I look, and now that I own it, I understand why. It's compact, so it's a great walking around lens. It's got great image quality -- some of the best photos of my kids, I've taken with this lens. The price is right -- it's very affordable. I consider it a "must have" in your first three lenses you'll have in your Canon camera bag -- your kit lens, a telephoto lens, and this lens. My Nikon friends are jealous b/c they don't have a pancake lens like this one. Love it!

This little lens is a gem. Very sharp, all the way to the corners. Low distortion. Great colors. All in a very inexpensive lens. I use this lens on a full frame Canon 5D Mark III and it is just outstanding value.

The reason this lens caught my eye was because of the low cost. I figured that getting a lens at this price would be worth it since I'd be able to capture different shots than I can with my current lens'. This is definitely not a lens you'd want in your arsenal.. Not very good quality at all.

Sharp lens, very light weight, portable, great images!

I originally purchased the 50mm 1.8 as a light weight, nonthreatening lens when traveling and shooting people abroad. I ultimately exchanged the 50mm for this 40mm. While a bit more expensive and slower, the lens does fit the bill for inexpensive, relatively fast, and light weight. The size is amazingly small...protruding only slightly more thttan my 5D MkII body cap. I understand the lens is designed for the next generation of bodies, specifically video recording, but I think it is a great lens in any bag. It won't take much space or add much weight!

Opened the box and whoa the lens is really flat! Compared to the nifty fifty this lens has more substance as the plastic material is much better quality and has a metal bayonet flange. I have the Canon 50mm f/1.8 but found the reach is a bit much. A 40mm on a full frame camera is an ideal lens combination for me. It takes sharp images and can also handle close-ups well. This lens was specifically made for the T4i but it works with all EF/EF-S systems too.

Bought this before black friday of 2013. Great Len, shoots really fast just like any other prime lens. I do like the 50mm more but love the pancake look. it drawns people attention when i put this super small lens on my T4i and 5DM2. The bad... if you get one, Please update the firmware to the most current. there is a problem on the lens when using filter or putting pressure on the tip. it gets stuck and does not focus no more until remove the lens and reattach, that resets the Len to go back to normal. If you are shooting with no filter, chances are you won't notice it. I believe it's pressure on the lens and makes the motor stuck. Was going to return it but decide to update the firmware to see if it fixes it. after update, it's been working fine for me. I stop using the filter recently as it's so cheap that if gets damage i can just get a new one. Have fun

I love my new 40 mm i had the 50 mm and need more in my small studio and I love the fixed lens. It take great photos and so small it is light weight so my Mark ii is not as heavy .. Great lens for the money

This lens is by far the best purchase I have made for my camera. It is the perfect lens for getting that blurry background look. Love, love , love the 40mm lens!!

This does great indoor and outdoor portraits. I would definitely recommend this to a new photographer. Cheap lens with expensive results :)

This lens is tiny. I may as well replace the body cap. It takes very good images with about 11.5 inches minimum distance. It's great if you want to make your DSLR a bit less conspicuous. I don't do video, so I haven't really tested how the STM motor works. The lens doesn't focus as fast as my other L Lenses, but it's not slow. Is hard to pass this up for the price. Makes a great backup lens.

I just picked up this lens today. It was on sale and I couldn't beat that price. I have always wanted this lens for my collection. I played around with it today and the pictures were so clear. You can hear the autofocus though it a bit loud but it's worth the money. $50 bucks cheaper than the regular price can't really beat that.

Excellent. Very sharp. Light!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I bought this lens couple days ago and i have to say that i'm very impressed. For only $200 its great. Picture quality and sharpness of the image and colors are amazing. Way better than 50mm f1.8. Highly recomended.

I was not sure what I was getting into when I was buying my camera, but the sales associate talked me into buying a second lens, and I am glad he did. I almost never use the one that came with the camera.

This is great lens to carry and use for some quick shots when you don't want to carry your heavy zoom lens and convert your DSLR to a semi point and shoot camera. Good build quality and image at this price range. Only negative is the hard to use manual focus and slow auto focus.

When we first got this lens for our Canon T3i, we thought the sharpness of the images was great (just as some of the other reviewers have stated). Unfortunately, after having it less than a month, the lens stopped focusing. This is an issue that Canon knows about and has a firmware upgrade for it. Unfortunately, I don't have the necessary camera (EOS 1D X, 5D III - ver 1.1.3 or higher, or Rebel T4i) to upgrade the firmware. Plus I read a forum where several users had tried to upgrade the firmware (following the directions) and the upgrade didn't work or the lens stopped working completely! So instead of the hassle, I just returned it to the store. I'll wait till I can afford a better lens.