You need a pancake lens! Canon 40mm review for travel photography

Thin pancake lens, the smallest for Canon’s DSLR and with a useful focal length. Size and versatility and the lens’s main advantages, as well as the main points of this review. Here I will break down the travel photography scenarios when I find the 40mm pancake lens useful.

This is Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake review. But most of the things are true for Canon 24mm f/2.8 Pancake APS-C lens* and for equivalents of other manufacturers. If you are not using Canon – you will still find this review useful. The list of equivalent lenses is at the end.

*24mm on APS-C is an equivalent of 35mm on a full-frame

We will see some of my favorite images taken with this lens. (On photo: White night in St. Petersburg)

And we will break down the cases, when the lens is most useful. (On photo: Stockholm)

Disclaimer. This post contains affiliate links at the very end. Buying from those doesn’t cost you extra, but gives me a small % from the sale.

About the review

It is not a “classic” review about specs and sharpness (etc.). Professional tech reviewers have time, resources, and the audience for that. Instead, I will share my thoughts about the gear and what it can add to your travel photography. This makes it useful for non-Canon users.

All images in my review are retouched.

A point about travel photography

As I always say, travel photography is a bit of everything, street, landscape, portraits, documentary. Basically, anything can bring an atmosphere of a remote location. Travel photographers have a lot of freedom in selecting the tools, compared to photographers specializing in one thing.

Why having a small lens matter?

In travel photography, you often take candid pictures of people, and you want to go unnoticed. In portraits, if your subject isn’t comfortable in front of the camera, a small camera can make a big difference.

Many say that big cameras attract attention. But I would argue that it has to do more with big lenses (typically mounted on big cameras). Most people go around with a standard zoom lens. Those zooms on full-frame are usually quite long. In this context, I would like you to take a look at Canon 40mm Pancake.

When your camera is hanging on a strap with a long, heavy lens, it will be pointed to the ground. I would say that the move when you lift your lens and point it onto the subject attracts most of the attention.

These were Canon 6D with Canon 40mm 2.8 white edition next to compact Olympus PEN PL9 with Pancake zoom. Pay attention to the thickness of the cameras. The difference isn’t that big.

When you have a camera with a pancake lens like Canon 40mm – it already points to your subject. When you need to make a shot – it is a smaller move. You may even take a photo while your camera is at your chest if you wanna go completely unnoticed.

Took it when camera was on my chest while camping at Espoo Archipelago

When you photograph local markets and shops, you have a very brief encounter. It is important to have a camera that doesn’t look intimidating. Smaller cameras have an advantage. On Picture: one of many design shops in old city of Porvoo, Finland

Why is the 40mm focal length one of the best?

I think it is good because 40mm fits between the most popular primes, 35mm and 50mm. It makes it a good all-arounder. When I only take one lens for my DSLR – it is usually 40mm.

My personal favorite “run and gun” focal length for travel is 35mm. It is wide enough for landscapes and allows adding some context to portraits. Wider lenses introduce distortion and require planing the shot better (than run and gun).

I usually use 50mm for urban portraits because I can comfortably talk to the subject on a noisy street. Higher focal lengths are more common in portraiture, but you need to be further away (the subject may not hear you).

My Canon 40mm Pancake is kind of a compromise between these two.

Not portrait, neither wide angle. I like using 40mm for street scenes. On photo: my friend and his unique for Finland Venezuelan food truck.

I like using 40mm to picture products on a market. You don’t need to stay far and distortion is easy to control.

When to use a 40mm pancake lens?

So let’s break down the common travel scenarios.

When I need to carry a camera all day

An obvious one… If I want to make my DSLR as light and as small as possible, Canon 40mm Pancake is the way to go.

Before I bought mirrorless Canon R6, 40mm was always on my camera, hanging from my shoulder. On photo Tikkurila and its street art.

When I explore the city with someone

As mentioned, 40mm is my favorite run and gun option. When I explore a city with someone – I don’t want to make them wait while I compose the shot.

We’ve spent several days exploring the districts of Rome.40mm was on my camera most of the time.

Portrait across the table

When you want to take a portrait of someone who sits across the table 50mm is too tight. You would need to stand up and go behind your chair. 40mm fits just right.

Window in a plane

40mm Pancake fits well for taking pictures out of an airplane window. It allows capturing the whole area. In some economy lines, there is very little space between you and the window. A small lens makes things easy.

Food photography

I mean food photography in the context of travel. When you get your food, take a picture without running around your table and start eating. A small 40mm lens is well suited for it.

Khinkali, Georgian food

On a party

It is super easy to hold the camera with a pancake lens in one hand and drink in another. Usually, I would prefer 50mm to take a group portrait, but parties are often packed, and you need to be closer. 40mm fits better.

Limitations of Canon 40mm Pancake

Slow (?) aperture

The lens has an aperture of f/2.8, which could be a bit slow for a modern prime lens. The small size comes at a cost.

I face this issue primarily at parties, which are often indoors with low light.

No distance measure

In street photography, I like to zone-focus*. The only way to make it on Canon’s 40mm is to focus on an object at a certain distance and then disable autofocus.

Big size on RF mount

Canon 40mm pancake works well on Canon RF cameras, but, with the RF adapter, it loses the size advantage.

Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 would be of the same size, but it is faster, stabilized, and native to RF mount. (But 35mm is 3-4 times more expensive).

Canon RF 50mm f/1.8 lens is smaller than 40mm with the adapter.

Affiliate links

Here are the links for purchasing the lens and accessories. Buying from those doesn’t cost you extra, but I get a small % from the sale. It helps me producing independent reviews. Thanks in advance!

In my opinion, it makes sense buying the Canon lens used. Many of those are sold after people moved to mirrorless. It sells for under 100 Euros, which is almost two times cheaper than the launch price.

Canon

Brief technical summary of Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake:
Lens size: 22mm x 69mm diameter (2.7 x 0.9 in)
Weight: 124 g. (4.4 oz)
Filter size: 52mm
Close focus: 30mm (1.2 in)

BUY Canon 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake on EBAY

Almost everything I say here can be applied to Canon 24mm f/2.8 STM Pancake, attached to any of Canon’s crop sensor DSLR. The 24mm crop sensor lens would be around 35mm in full-frame equivalent (a small difference from 40).

BUY Canon 24mm f/2.8 STM Pancake on EBAY

Sony

The closest option for Sony cameras is Sony 35mm f/2.8 Carl Zeiss Sonnar. The length of the lens is 37mm, which is larger than an offering from Canon. But on a camera, it is small, considering the short flange distance of Sony mirrorless.

Buy Sony 35mm f/28 Carl Zeiss Sonnar on EBAY

Fujifilm

Fujifilm offers a 27mm f/2.8 lens, which is similar to the 40mm focal length on a full-frame. Coupled with compact Fujifilm cameras, it makes one of the smallest possible setups. Bravo!

Buy Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 on EBAY

Micro 4/3

Panasonic offers the 20mm f/1.7 II, which is equivalent to 40mm on full-frame.
Olympus has 17mm f/2.8, which is equivalent to around 35mm on full-frame.

Buy Panasonic 20mm f/1.7 II on EBAY

Buy Olympus 17mm f/2.8 on EBAY