32mm f/1.4 --- Blue Mountains - (PICS)

keeponkeepingon wrote:

Wow! Nice pictures Marco.
So is the 32mm f/1.4 a keeper?

Thanks, keeponkeepingon.  It's definitely an excellent lens... but not everyone wants/needs a shallow DOF and not everyone wants to shoot at near-50mm (equiv).
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For my own use, the 50mm might just be the lens I leave permanently on my EOS M camera. I shoot a lot of lowlight and no-flash shots and I happen to like a shallow DOF for closeups where possible. Strangely, I haven't thought of it as a lens I "own" but rather one that I'm still testing and putting it through its paces.
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Now that I've read your question asking me if it's a "keeper", I need to sit down and think about that for a moment. Here's how the EF-M 32mm f/1.4 STM lens looks when I list the positive attributes:
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* It's very sharp.
* It's a flattering focal length for portraits.
* It's capable of closeup shots.
* It's a fast lens at f/1.4
* It's lighter, cheaper & smaller than alternatives.
* It produces attractive and controlled bokeh,
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EF-M 32mm @ f/16

EF-M 32mm @ f/1.4 (not quite at minimum focusing distance)

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One thing is for sure: I'll be wearing this lens on my camera for a while and time will tell if it's going to be my carry-around lens for the EOS M camera.  If it had a wider FOV then this would be an easy conclusion.  But right now, as a replacement for the EF-M 22mm f/2 STM lens, I think this might be the ideal native lens.
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Small Water Skink sticking its head out of a crack in a stone wall.

Not quite at minimum focusing distance... but fantastic results.

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Some of the very best compact cameras (eg Canon PowerShot Pro1 and Canon PowerShot G1X) weren't capable of shallow depth of field shots and yet every image they produced was lovely.  They captured vivid, crisp images. Not unlike those from a modern subcompact camera like the G7X II.  But, as one member here noted:  The image quality was sharper from the EOS M camera with a 'standard' lens.
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There's no such thing as "the perfect lens" but there is always a lens that can do what you need it to do.  I'd like to see Canon make some L-series lenses for the EOS M platform.  They managed to stick an L-series f/2.4L lens on the PowerShot Pro1 compact camera and the results were superb.  I think it would attract more interest in the M-series platform although it's not entirely necessary. But this lens is so close to the performance of an L-series lens that it ought to be sporting a red ring.  I can't think of a Canon lens sharper than the now-legendary EF 35mm f/1.4 USM II lens.... but this 32mm lens performs so close that I'm VERY curious to see how the professional reviewers receive it.  I'd swear this one is possibly even sharper.
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I think it's a keeper.  I'll know in a few more days.  I need to do some low-light tests with it plus some creative shots and a few beach shots with it before I'll be comfortable defining it as the best lens for my own uses.  Whilst I'm sure that CA is well controlled by both optical coatings and in-camera lens data correction, I've been very surprised at how well the Purple Fringing is controlled.  I only had to tweak 3 images (out of 4,200+ images) for color fringing and CA.  Each consisted of Chrome and reflective metal in the shots PLUS each image with PF was taken with the lens wide open and the exposure set higher than preferred.  That chrome lizard (at the start of the thread) required no correction at all.  Again, this is impressive although I was using a CPL filter so perhaps that had some bearing on muting the PF.  Canon have made something quite special with this lens.
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Regards,
Marco Nero.