I've been shooting Canon for nearly ten years now so I'm not a total noob but man this R8 move is giving me a headache. I finally upgraded from my old 80D to full frame and picked up the R8 for the weight but now I'm stuck on glass. I have some old EF stuff but the adapter makes everything so front-heavy and weirdly balanced on such a small body. I'm looking for a solid prime to be my daily driver because carrying a zoom around London all day is just killing my shoulder.
Heres what I'm looking at:
- Budget: $600 max, maybe $700 if I skip lunch for a month
- Use case: Street photography and some indoor portraits of my kids
- Must be native RF, I’m done with the adapter for now
- Needs to be light because the R8 feels like a toy anyway
I was looking at the 35mm f1.8 but I keep hearing mixed things about the autofocus motor noise and I do a bit of video too. Then there's the 50mm 1.8 but that feels a bit tight for street stuff sometimes? I dont know. I'm honestly just annoyed that everything good is either $2k or feels like a plastic bottle cap. Does anyone actually have hands on time with the 24mm or 35mm on this specific body? The lack of IBIS is making me nervous about anything without stabilization too...
R8 balance is a pain, I totally get it. Since there is no IBIS in that body, playing it safe with optical stabilization is the way to go. I have been very satisfied with these native primes lately.
- Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM: This is my daily driver. The IS works well for handheld video and street shots. Its way more reliable than using the 50mm without stabilization on this body... the motor noise isnt a dealbreaker for me, honestly.
- Canon RF 24mm f/1.8 Macro IS STM: Good choice if you want something wider. It feels just as light and stays under your budget tho. The 35mm is definitely the safest bet. It balances nicely on the R8 and the image quality is great for the price. Let me know if you need anything else!
