I don’t care that this Canon super-wide prime is so expensive – I think it’s an unbeatable lens for big landscape photography

Canon RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM lens on wall with greenery behind — (Image credit: Peter Travers)

This lens is my new choice for panoramas. The Canon RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM is a pro-grade, L-series, ultra-wide prime that delivers impressively sharp images without problematic distortion and flare.

Although modern-day zooms are offering better sharpness from corner to corner than ever before, a prime lens like the RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM will always offer unbeatable image quality with sharper results and less distortion (partly thanks to in-camera corrections) compared to a wide zoom that has more moving elements inside.

But as my colleague Matthew said in his Canon RF 14mm f/1.4L VCM review, the expansive view of this lens comes with an expensive price tag – $2,599 / £2,399 / AU$3,799. However, I’m willing to look beyond the cost as this is a very special lens.

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It’s one of Canon’s series of VCM hybrid lenses for both stills and video. It's compact and lightweight, yet still offers a fast f/1.4 aperture and is superb for a wide selection of imagery – everything from landscapes to astrophotography to architecture to exteriors and interiors.

It’s the former that’s really made me take notice when using the RF 14mm out in the field, photographing big vistas. I have really enjoyed shooting at such a wide focal length for landscapes and including big skies.

Blue sky and grassy views, wide landscapes shot with 14mm prime lens — The beautiful Royal Crescent in Bath, England, was easy to capture in one shot with the Canon RF 14mm lens, but it could be improved… (Image credit: Peter Travers)

Shooting at apertures of f/8 to f/11 with a 14mm focal length gives you incredible amounts of depth of field, so images are very sharp from foregrounds to backgrounds. But there’s one other big benefit that this super wide-angle prime lens offers: instant landscape panoramas!

I could compose to include a large expansive landscape view, or a large architectural scene like the very broad Royal Crescent in Bath, England, and then just crop the RAW image to 16:9 – or, even better, 21:9 for a proper widescreen panoramic view.

No need to take multiple images and stitch them together in software, just shoot and crop later at 21:9 ratios. Instant panos!

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The former editor of PhotoPlus: The Canon Magazine, Peter has 18 years of experience as both a journalist and professional photographer. He is a hands-on photographer with a passion and expertise for sharing his practical shooting skills. Equally adept at turning his hand to portraits, landscapes, sports and wildlife, he has a fantastic knowledge of camera technique and principles.

He is the author of several published photography books including Portrait Photographer's Style Guide, and The Complete Guide to Organising and Styling Professional Photo Shoots with fellow portrait pro Brett Harkness.

Peter remains a devout Canon user and can often be found reeling off shots with his Canon EOS DSLR and EOS R mirrorless gear. He runs Peter Travers Photography, and contributes to Digital Camera magazine.