Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM: the first fast lens for any RF body
The small, fast fifty the RF mount went two years without. A standard lens on full frame and a small portrait lens on the R50 and R100. Launched at $199.99 in 2020.
Canon RF 50mm F1.8 STM. Image: Canon Australia / Canon Inc.Side view: one ring, switched between control and manual focus. Image: Canon Australia / Canon Inc.
HIGHLIGHTS
Every camera system needs a small, fast fifty, and for the first two years of Canon's RF mount there wasn't one. The only native option was the RF 50mm f/1.2L at over $2,000. The RF 50mm F1.8 STM filled that gap in late 2020. It weighs 160 grams, is about four centimeters long and fits in a jacket pocket, and it's usually the first lens people add after the kit zoom.
What it gives you is light and control. At f/1.8 it takes in far more light than an f/4.5–6.3 kit zoom, so you can keep shutter speeds up indoors and after dark, and soften a busy background behind a face. Stop it down a little and the center is properly sharp. It focuses down to 30 centimeters, close enough for a plate of food or a small detail, and a switch on the barrel sets the single ring to either focus manually or adjust exposure.
On a full-frame body it's a classic standard lens. On an APS-C camera such as the R50 or R100, the 1.6x crop makes it frame like an 80mm, which turns it into a small portrait lens rather than an everyday standard. There's no stabilization in the lens or in those bodies, the corners are soft wide open, and the hood costs extra. At about $200, those compromises are easy to live with.
With the lens hood fitted. Hood sold separately; it is not in the box. Image: Canon Australia / Canon Inc.
The story
Canon's 50mm f/1.8 has been a first-lens staple for decades; Canon USA's launch release calls those lenses "a popular tool for both photographers and creators due to their budget-friendly price point." When the RF mount arrived in 2018, it launched with the opposite kind of fifty, the RF 50mm f/1.2L. As Digital Camera World noted, RF shooters who wanted a small standard prime had to adapt the EF version or pay for the L.
Canon announced the RF 50mm F1.8 STM on November 3, 2020, alongside the RF 70-200mm F4 L, at a suggested $199.99 for mid-December delivery. It kept the size, weight and price of the EF 50mm f/1.8 STM but got a new optical design with a PMo aspherical element, the RF control ring and a sturdier build that DCW called "not as plasticky." When DPReview posted its sample gallery in April 2021, it called the lens "a true reincarnation of the so-called 'nifty fifties' of DSLR yore."
Nearly six years on, it's still the default first prime for RF shooters, and on APS-C bodies like the R50 and R100 it doubles as a small portrait lens.
Specifications
Key verified specs from Canon USA's Nov 3, 2020 release, DPReview's specifications page and Digital Camera World's review. Source for each row in brackets.
6 elements in 5 groups; 1 PMo aspherical element; Super Spectra Coating [Canon USA; DPReview]
Aperture
f/1.8 to f/22; 7 blades [DCW; DPReview]
Focus
STM stepping motor, internal focus [DPReview]
Min focus / magnification
0.30 m (0.98 ft) / 0.25x [Canon USA; DPReview]
Control ring
Customizable (exposure comp, shutter, aperture, ISO); a side switch changes it to manual focus [Canon USA]
Stabilization
No lens IS; "up to 7 stops" applies only with IBIS-equipped EOS R bodies (CIPA, tested on EOS R5). The R50, R100 and R50 V have no IBIS [DPReview; Canon USA]
Filter
43 mm [DPReview]
Size / weight
69 × 41 mm (DCW: 69.2 × 40.5 mm); 160 g [DPReview; DCW]
Hood
Not supplied [DPReview]
Sealing
Not weather-sealed [DCW]
On APS-C bodies
1.6x crop, about 80mm-equivalent field of view [DPReview]
Full-resolution samples live on DPReview. Note: every image in this gallery was shot on full-frame bodies (EOS R6, EOS R5 and EOS R), so it does not show the tighter 80mm-equivalent framing you get on an APS-C R50 or R100.
Price. Launched at $199.99 (Canon USA, Nov 2020). About $199 at last check (Sep 29, 2026).
Verdict
This should be the first fast lens on any RF body. For about $200 you get f/1.8, a pocketable size and center sharpness that DCW's lab testing found "comparable" to the RF 50mm f/1.2 once both are stopped down to f/2.8. The weaknesses are real but minor at this price: no stabilization, no weather sealing, no hood in the box, soft corners at f/1.8 and some focus breathing.
APS-C buyers should know they're getting an 80mm-equivalent portrait lens, not a walk-around standard; full-frame owners get the classic nifty fifty. It's an easy call.
Pros
f/1.8 for low light and background blur
160 g and about 4 cm long
Sharp in the center stopped down
0.30 m close focus; focus/control ring switch
Cons
No optical IS, and none in the R50 / R100 / R50 V bodies
