# Patent: Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 Soft Focus



## Canon Rumors Guy (Nov 29, 2019)

> Canon News has uncovered a complex and interesting optical formula patent from Canon, this one is for an RF 35mm f/1.4 Soft Focus lens design.
> *Canon RF 35mm f/1.4 Soft Focus*
> 
> Focal length: 35.91mm 35.82mm 36.00mm  (normal focus, under and over)
> ...



Continue reading...


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## Del Paso (Nov 29, 2019)

If most of these lens designs are implemented, it'll be hard for competition to follow!


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## Stuart (Nov 29, 2019)

35mm portrait lens? when might you use a wider angle soft focus lens?


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## Sharlin (Nov 29, 2019)

Stuart said:


> 35mm portrait lens? when might you use a wider angle soft focus lens?



Wideangle portraits have become more popular, not in small part due to the ubiquity of selfies.


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## Stuart (Nov 29, 2019)

Sharlin said:


> Wideangle portraits have become more popular, not in small part due to the ubiquity of selfies.


THanks - I think i'd need a wide angle for a selfie  and soft focus would help the viewers too


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## Kit. (Nov 29, 2019)

So, basically, "vloggers"?


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## Daan Stam (Nov 29, 2019)

Kit. said:


> So, basically, "vloggers"?


No thats not wide enough for vloggers. i think mostly wedding photographers and instagram influencer photography.


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## SteveC (Nov 29, 2019)

Any lens wide enough to make the nose bigger than the rest of the face. (Or make the portrait dinky against a landscape--which would at least make some doggone sense.)


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## Antono Refa (Nov 30, 2019)

The EF 135mm f/2.8 w/Softfocus was discontinued, so apparently the effect isn't in high demand.

Maybe this lens is for video, maybe its just to protect the IP.


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## Ozarker (Nov 30, 2019)

Stuart said:


> 35mm portrait lens? when might you use a wider angle soft focus lens?


Don't know about soft focus. I have never seen one. But I have done a lot of 35mm portraits. With the right approach, distortion is not a problem. It isn't my favorite, but has its place.


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## Occipitals (Nov 30, 2019)

35mm is a great focal length to shoot portraits with. All my street photos and portraits are shot with a 35mm. https://eddrobertson.com/street-portraits/


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## BeenThere (Nov 30, 2019)

I prefer sharp focus. Various ways to selectively soften in post. Not so easy to sharpen a soft image in post.


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## SecureGSM (Dec 1, 2019)

Occipitals said:


> 35mm is a great focal length to shoot portraits with. All my street photos and portraits are shot with a 35mm. https://eddrobertson.com/street-portraits/


1.5 stop loss of light (as with the RF 85 DS) would be a deal breaker for many. with 85mm not so much where DoF / bokeh quality is a primary purpose of going F1.2. With 35mm lens - not so much though. however, I am keen to see what opportunity this lens will provide.


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## cayenne (Dec 2, 2019)

Can someone explain to me what a "soft focus" lens is? I'm having a hard time believing this is a lens that is intentionally designed so as not to allow getting as close to tack sharp images as possible, and that it means something else?

If it means that, what is the use case for a lens that is designed not to focus well?

TIA,

cayenne


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## Ozarker (Dec 2, 2019)

cayenne said:


> Can someone explain to me what a "soft focus" lens is? I'm having a hard time believing this is a lens that is intentionally designed so as not to allow getting as close to tack sharp images as possible, and that it means something else?
> 
> If it means that, what is the use case for a lens that is designed not to focus well?
> 
> ...


Yes, intentionally soft. Usually for portraits? I am surprised at this focal length. “A *soft focus lens* deliberately introduces spherical aberration in order to give the appearance of blurring the image while retaining sharp edges; it is not the same as an out-of-focus image, and the effect cannot be achieved simply by defocusing a sharp lens. Soft focus is also the name of the style of photograph produced by such a lens.” Wiki

Years ago there was a franchise called “Glamor Shots”. They took a lot of soft focus style photos.


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## illadvisedhammer (Dec 3, 2019)

Occipitals said:


> 35mm is a great focal length to shoot portraits with. All my street photos and portraits are shot with a 35mm. https://eddrobertson.com/street-portraits/


Inspiring photos, thanks for the link


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