Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 “Pancake” Lens: first contact and hands on review

Yesterday I bought the Canon 24 mm EF-S STM lens, an all-round wide-angle lens, 38 mm in full-frame equivalent. I left it assembled and used immediately as soon as I left the shop. These are the results and the first thoughts.

An introduction

Before to start the review let me explain a little bit why I decided to use a DSLR for Street Photography in 2021. I enjoy using the mirrorless cameras and I think they are still the best options when it comes to street photography, but I love my Canon Rebel T3. It is a camera that i decided to purchase after I owned a a Pentax DSLR and it represents a real good choice for my commercial work, including portraits and fashion, but also photojournalism. I always said that i I never liked the DSLR for their design and also because many times they are heavy and they attract excessively attention, especially on the street.

One thing I don't like is the fact that often in autofocus if they decide not to shoot, simplythey don't shoot. The mirror then represents a not insignificant problem. At night the mirrorless cameras are definitely more performing and the noise generated by the shutter release is annoying.

Besides these considerations, I recently took the Canon Rebel with me to Oaxaca and it turned out to be a precious companion, a worthy second camera for documentary work. The DSLR remains better in terms of battery life respect to the mirrorless.

The first hands on review

Let me explain how was my approach yesterday. Not knowing this lens I made tests by switching from manual focus to autofocus. Not having a distance scale, I think it is difficult to work with zone focusing technique with this lens. In rehearsing I did several out of focus, then it went much better.

Yesterday weather conditions were bad: there is cold in Mexico city and bad light conditions affected the experience. I tested the camera lens by using Aperture Priority, but for Street Photography guys for me is not a way to go. If you let the camera choose the shutter speed, at least for my way of photographing which counts with a quick lifting of the camera and an immediate snap, the chances of finding blurred photos increase. A big NO for me.

So I started to use the camera in manual exposure. I set the ISO Auto (6400 max for my Rebel) and for the weather condition yesterday worked an aperture between 5.6 and 7.1 and 1/500 sec. Guys, when you use some auto function on your camera I recommend to use the triangle system. If you use ISO AUTO, take in account to go manual for shutter speed and aperture. This way works for a DSLR in my opinion when it comes to street photography.

By using the DSLR I have to remind myself to raise up a little bit more the camera. It is maybe a psychological factor that makes myself shooting from the hip as when I was using the DSLR 15 years ago. I still feel myself more visibile because I am using a reflex camera now. I have to work on it.

Now let me share the photos made yesterday:

The lens

This pancake makes the camera really light, even lighter than many mirrorless cameras. Except the metal mount it is all plastic, like the camera after all, despite my idiosyncrasy to plastic in general and to cameras in particular, I think I can accept the compromise to count on a massacre camera, to carry around without thinking too much.

The camera with this lens becomes immediately smaller and lighter than the usual and this is the fundamental factor for my choice. I always loved the pancake concept for the cameras. I converted myself in a professional photographer with the pancake lens on my Olympus Pen. The pancake is the perfect inconspicuous lens that also on a psychological level acts both for you as a photographer and for the subjects who suddenly see themselves pointed by a camera.The lens in fact weighs just 125 g. and from the mount is just 22mm.

Moreover, due to its optical construction, more light passes than usual and this compared to the declared maximum aperture of f2.8 makes it almost an f2.

Why I already love the lens

Light, quick and not conspicuous is just perfect to me!

I chose this lens for the focal lenght: an equivalent 38mm is very similar to the human eye vision. I am doing my old school street photography that is, I presume, more humanistic than the one made with a 28mm lens and the 25mm f1.8 lens by 7 Artisans mounted on my fake Leica is a 38.5mm equivalent so I will keep the same aesthetics and approach. consistency is part of the game, what i want to achieve with my photography that is part essential both as a commercial and a street photographer.

By looking the photos made yesterday I can see already all the potential of this lens. The focal length is just perfect for my photography,very similar to what is my goal in photography: portraits and humanity in general. It is like the approach of Pecker, the photographer protagonist in the in the eponymous movie directed by John Waters and the photography I learned to love with the 35 mm automatic film cameras used by my father in vacations. It’s a versatile allowing to do anything and even more intuitive than my fake Leica: if friends came home I would suddenly take this camera and lens to portray them. The lens can focus very close to a subject as I can see. Just look this one:

And useful also for my Japanese shots, like this:

The 38mm equivalent means also little optical distortion, so this makes me think only positive things as a lens for portraits.

This lens has a great quality price ratio. 134 US$ for this lens when we know that mirrorless camera lenses are often significantly more expensive. The brand imitating Leica that I don't want to mention anymore has its 23mm XF35mmF1.4 proposed to the price of 300 US$ and the pancake 27mm f2.8 is 399.95 US$. They do lens made in China but not with the cheap prices of 7Artisans or TTArtisan. The 18mm of the Fake Leica brand is all plastic, it seems like a toy. You can still achieve good work with that lens but the price is crazy. I am selling it if you want it.

The Canon 24mm pancake lens is made in Malaysia, it is all plastic but the price is cheap and the results are great. I love also how is the color rendering, the dynamic range is great. The way I used it with my Rebel allowed me to achieve filmy results. It is sufficient to me.

Conclusions

This is the first hands on review and will be not the only one. I will make also videos for my youtube channel.

A seriously sharp pancake. That is a must buy for all the Canon users. Highly recommended.

I am happy. I can count with a great lens for my street photos. More to come!