# Real World Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II Image Samples



## Canon Rumors Guy (Sep 3, 2015)

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Turkish photographer Mert Gündoğdu has written a first impressions review of the recently announced <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1180801-REG/canon_9523b002_35mm_f_1_4l_ii_usm.html/BI/2466/KBID/3296" target="_blank">Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L II</a>, along with a lot of excellent sample images from the lens, as well as various performance comparisons against the original Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L. The CA comparison is especially intriguing and shows Canon has done a superb job with the optics of the new lens.</p>
<p>The site is in Turkish, so you may need to use a translator, though the images speak for themselves.</p>
<p>Below are a few comparisons and samples from the article, to see the rest <a href="http://www.mertgundogdu.com/canon-35mm-f1-4l-ii-usm-incelemesi/" target="_blank">head over to Mert’s blog</a>.</p>

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<p> </p>
<p><strong>Preorder EF 35 f/1.4L II $1799: <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1180801-REG/canon_9523b002_35mm_f_1_4l_ii_usm.html/BI/2466/KBID/3296" target="_blank">B&H Photo</a> | <a href="http://www.adorama.com/CA35142.html?utm_term=UbK24x0al34oSlvW4eT8QxjoUkX3mDVXeWC-Ug0&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=rflaid64393&cvosrc=affiliate.64393" target="_blank">Adorama</a> | <a href="http://amzn.to/1Uehm5w" target="_blank">Amazon</a></strong></p>
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## infared (Sep 3, 2015)

IMPRESSIVE!


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## jcarapet (Sep 3, 2015)

I need to see more examples out of this. In their comparison I am not seeing a significant improvement in sharpness on the side by side comparison. Beautiful regardless.


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## [email protected] (Sep 3, 2015)

While the new 35mm looks great, I'm quite impressed with the old 35mm. I believe it is still a competitor and the best thing, you will be able to pick one up at a great price.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Sep 3, 2015)

jcarapet said:


> I need to see more examples out of this. In their comparison I am not seeing a significant improvement in sharpness on the side by side comparison. Beautiful regardless.



The only shot that stands out to me is the crop of the two coins. Look at the smaller, bronze looking coin in the lower right. Sharpness is night and day there.

My biggest personal question is going to be whether the new 35L retains the excellent drawing of the former. The Sigma ART is much sharper, but it is debatable whether it produces better pictures (as a whole). I want the new 35L II to retain the former while adding the sharpness of the Sigma.


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## Viggo (Sep 3, 2015)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> jcarapet said:
> 
> 
> > I need to see more examples out of this. In their comparison I am not seeing a significant improvement in sharpness on the side by side comparison. Beautiful regardless.
> ...



I noticed that to, but when I compared the shots of the batteries, is clearly a different focus point. I thought maybe that was the case with the coins also, because it's not that far off the focusing point and the difference couldn't be bigger, maybe a shift in the dof? Because in the other shots I too did not see that huge difference.


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## Luds34 (Sep 3, 2015)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> jcarapet said:
> 
> 
> > I need to see more examples out of this. In their comparison I am not seeing a significant improvement in sharpness on the side by side comparison. Beautiful regardless.
> ...



Yes, I noticed that as well (The battery test showed it a bit too, but to a much lesser degree). Of course that coin was in the far corner. For most real world shooting, wide open corner sharpness isn't usually very important. If you are shooting a scene where you want everything in focus and sharp, you are not typically shooting at f/1.4. And, especially for a 35mm prime, shooting wide open is usually isolating your subject anyway, so anything in the corners is already going to be out of focus and the corner softness could even be a benefit.

So in short, and especially if you are an event photography, people should be able to pick up the old 35mm for some good prices and get one heck of a lens.


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## Viggo (Sep 3, 2015)

Luds34 said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
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I strongly disagree, corner sharpness is everything. It matters A LOT when doing off center composition.


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## tron (Sep 3, 2015)

Viggo said:


> Luds34 said:
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> > TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
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In the coins picture only the one in the extreme corner is soft. Off center composition cannot be that off (I am talking about event photography only).


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## TeT (Sep 3, 2015)

on sharpness alone, definite improvement. What will be fun is when the 35 Art v 35 L II comparisons come out.

Total IQ is improved over the original 35 L as well. IQ should compare favorably against the best of class 35mm lenses currently available..


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## chromophore (Sep 3, 2015)

My observations:

The biggest thing that stood out for me was the reduction in chromatic aberration. I didn't even compare the sharpness of the images--what I noticed was a significant reduction in green and magenta fringing in the out-of-focus areas. However, it is not entirely absent. In the close-up of the laptop image, you can still see some magenta fringing on the highlight; in the battery image, you can notice a slight amount of green.

It is impossible to evaluate or compare the peripheral sharpness of the lens from these images because you cannot determine if the focus point is exactly the same across the shots. I have no doubt the new lens is sharper, but I am saying you can't really tell from these sample shots. Ideally, we would want a 100% image of a test chart.

Field curvature is not possible to evaluate with these images, either.

Until we can see more sample images and get a better sense of the characteristics of this lens, I would not jump at buying one. $1800 is rather high and it is definitely going to go down after six months.


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## adventureous (Sep 3, 2015)

It will be interesting to see a comparison of this lens and the 24-70 2.8 II at 35mm and f4.5 - f5.6 - f8.0 etc.


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## cpsico (Sep 3, 2015)

I have mine ordered from B&H, After finally getting the latest 24-70 2.8 II i am very excited about canons latest and greatest L lenses!!


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## afitch (Sep 3, 2015)

adventureous said:


> It will be interesting to see a comparison of this lens and the 24-70 2.8 II at 35mm and f4.5 - f5.6 - f8.0 etc.



You buy a 35mm 1.4 to use it at 1.4.


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## cpsico (Sep 3, 2015)

afitch said:


> adventureous said:
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> 
> > It will be interesting to see a comparison of this lens and the 24-70 2.8 II at 35mm and f4.5 - f5.6 - f8.0 etc.
> ...


Did you see the complete lack of color fringing in the test shots!!! Very excited for great unique shots !!


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## adventureous (Sep 3, 2015)

afitch said:


> adventureous said:
> 
> 
> > It will be interesting to see a comparison of this lens and the 24-70 2.8 II at 35mm and f4.5 - f5.6 - f8.0 etc.
> ...




I am glad you are here. Now I can stop thinking for myself.


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## docsmith (Sep 3, 2015)

afitch said:


> adventureous said:
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> > It will be interesting to see a comparison of this lens and the 24-70 2.8 II at 35mm and f4.5 - f5.6 - f8.0 etc.
> ...



....and f/1.6 through f/22


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## sanj (Sep 3, 2015)

adventureous said:


> afitch said:
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Hahahahahaha. Well said.


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## sanj (Sep 3, 2015)

Viggo said:


> Luds34 said:
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> > TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
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If not everything, at least very very important.


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## Luds34 (Sep 3, 2015)

tron said:


> Viggo said:
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+1

You beat me to it.


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## vscd (Sep 3, 2015)

<blink>In your face sigma!</blink>

Just a small sidekick for fun ;D


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## infared (Sep 3, 2015)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> jcarapet said:
> 
> 
> > I need to see more examples out of this. In their comparison I am not seeing a significant improvement in sharpness on the side by side comparison. Beautiful regardless.
> ...



Yes....I think that the new Canon will have less sharpness compared to the Sigma...but the Canon will have much better bokeh.... I am just guessing from what I have seen so far. I have the Sigma..and have no intention of owning this new lens (because of the cost..GULP!).....but I cannot wait to see the comparison of those two. It will be quite fascinating to see them head to head!!!! Both great pieces of glass.


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## GMCPhotographics (Sep 3, 2015)

infared said:


> TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
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Yep and the Sigma can't focus for tosh...even the canon 35L is better a focussing...hey even the 50L is better than that Sigma.


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## infared (Sep 3, 2015)

GMCPhotographics said:


> infared said:
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Not better than mine...On my Canon 5DIII with Single Point AF, my Sigma 35mm Art focuses as well or better than any of my Canon L glass. CONSISTENTLY.
I have a good copy and I calibrated it in 4 zones on the Sigma Dock. (I know..that's a pain..)...
...but the lens ROCKS!!! 
(Just like my Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art!!!! ) 
Like I said..I think this new Canon looks like a GREAT lens, too. It might have the best mix of everything, sharpness, bokeh, water seal, etc... Looks fantastic.


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## Light_Pilgrim (Sep 3, 2015)

From these samples it looks like the new one is much sharper and the old one has a nicer and more creamy bokeh.


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## e_honda (Sep 3, 2015)

The difference in sharpness of the comparison pics of the coins is pretty damn dramatic. The MK 1 looks pretty terrible in that one.

The picture of the batteries is tougher to tell because it looks like it was taken from different distances.

The 3rd comparison pics looks like a bokeh comparison, and it's somewhat more subjective as to which one is better. They look pretty similar IMO.


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Sep 3, 2015)

chromophore said:


> My observations:
> 
> The biggest thing that stood out for me was the reduction in chromatic aberration. I didn't even compare the sharpness of the images--what I noticed was a significant reduction in green and magenta fringing in the out-of-focus areas. However, it is not entirely absent. In the close-up of the laptop image, you can still see some magenta fringing on the highlight; in the battery image, you can notice a slight amount of green.
> 
> ...



Yeah longitudinal CA is much less, but still not maybe quite APO to the level of Otus (not that Otus for this even exists and it wouldn't have AF and it would cost like 2x a s much). It would be interesting to see how it compares to Art.


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## LetTheRightLensIn (Sep 3, 2015)

e_honda said:


> The 3rd comparison pics looks like a bokeh comparison, and it's somewhat more subjective as to which one is better. They look pretty similar IMO.



#3 is a longitudinal CA comparison

notice how the one has a lot more nasty purple fringes around the edges

also the battery one notice how the distant batteries have this weird hints of green all over the top area in the one shot and not the other?


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## ksgal (Sep 3, 2015)

^^ exactly, center or even off center sharpness isn't a whole lot different, but corner sharpness and CA for both purple and green is really amazing for wide open. the CA could be a huge thing depending on the subject and environment you are in. 

But I have to say, as I'm not into worrying about the CA much for people photography, the mark one looks attractive if the price comes down. 

Now... I'm waiting for LensRentals and their copy to copy variation report. While we have one glowing review of the sigma art (and it is a great lens) the copy variation was larger than the newer Canon lenses... if this lens is as tight as the newest glass... then WOW worth the money and you don't have to worry about what copy.


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## chromophore (Sep 4, 2015)

For what it's worth, if Canon could redesign the 85L II with this BR technology, it would make for an absolutely stunning lens. 85mm + /1.2 + almost no chromatic aberration = bokeh monster.

Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard now.


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## infared (Sep 4, 2015)

chromophore said:


> For what it's worth, if Canon could redesign the 85L II with this BR technology, it would make for an absolutely stunning lens. 85mm + /1.2 + almost no chromatic aberration = bokeh monster.
> 
> Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard now.



It would be wonderous and only cost $3000!!!


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## Viggo (Sep 4, 2015)

It's quite amusing to see what different people look for in a lens.

For me even if the bokeh is slightly more harsh, not saying it is, the difference in sharpness makes the subject pop so
Much more that it's worth it.

I look also for the AF and I know Canon will demolish most other lenses of any kind.

I'm also really anxious to see if it has a lot let distortion as that is one of the biggest drawbacks of a lens I can think of.

I share the excitement for less CA though, awesomesauce!


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## Eldar (Sep 4, 2015)

infared said:


> chromophore said:
> 
> 
> > For what it's worth, if Canon could redesign the 85L II with this BR technology, it would make for an absolutely stunning lens. 85mm + /1.2 + almost no chromatic aberration = bokeh monster.
> ...


Which is significantly less than an 85/1.4 Otus


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## romanr74 (Sep 4, 2015)

jcarapet said:


> I need to see more examples out of this. In their comparison I am not seeing a significant improvement in sharpness on the side by side comparison. Beautiful regardless.


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## romanr74 (Sep 4, 2015)

this is a funny forum. people complain when images from canon sensors cannot be pushed a gazillion stops withouth increasing noise. but then people find it completely useless to have improved corner sharpenss in the new 35mm. but the nikon 14-24 is much better anyway because of its fantastic corner sharpenss accross the zoom range...


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## romanr74 (Sep 4, 2015)

chromophore said:


> For what it's worth, if Canon could redesign the 85L II with this BR technology, it would make for an absolutely stunning lens. 85mm + /1.2 + almost no chromatic aberration = bokeh monster.
> 
> Excuse me while I wipe the drool off my keyboard now.



BOKEHLICIOUS...


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## GMCPhotographics (Sep 4, 2015)

romanr74 said:


> this is a funny forum. people complain when images from canon sensors cannot be pushed a gazillion stops withouth increasing noise. but then people find it completely useless to have improved corner sharpenss in the new 35mm. but the nikon 14-24 is much better anyway because of its fantastic corner sharpenss accross the zoom range...



Except that the Nikon is a f2.8 and not f1.4, that's a huge difference in brightness and doesn't rack out to 35mm. So actually, it's a completely different lens for a completely different set of circumstances. 

The new Canon lens will offer superior AF, better flare control, better CA/fringing control. It'll be weather sealed and better built. It'll be easier to clean and the optics will be a bit better too. So if a 35mm f1.4 is your bread and butter income lens...it's a worth while upgrade. If you are a casual photographer...your needs are probably better served with a good f4 or f2.8 zoom like a 24-70. But I suspect that there are a number of forum members who will buy one to show an unboxing video...use it to pronounce forum superiority, take a few pictures of their kids and ducks...and then put it on the shelf to gather dust with the rest of their lens collection. 

What I find amusing is that Nikon users went crazy over their 35mm f1.4 launch and how it was going to be a Canon killer...shortly after launch it seems to go all quiet...no one ever compares the Nikon to the Canon, which sort of makes me curious. Was it a pup? Was it a clunker? But every one seems to get hot and bothered over a sharp but poorly AF capable Sigma 35mm f1.4 art lens.


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## cid (Sep 4, 2015)

I think this is going to be my fast prime in my set. I already had my eye on 35 Art, but focussing inconsistency and problems made me change my mind.

Let's be honest, I'm just hobbist, I don't need the lens, I want it, so I also want to enjoy it while using. Yes 35L mk II is expensive, but there pictures that are appearing on net are just so great.  8)


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## Viggo (Sep 4, 2015)

is the link at Mert's blog dead all of a sudden?


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## Meatcurry (Sep 4, 2015)

Viggo said:


> is the link at Mert's blog dead all of a sudden?



Looks like it is, I wonder if he jumped the gun on publishing the review, no one else appears to have the lens yet.


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## Viggo (Sep 4, 2015)

Meatcurry said:


> Viggo said:
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> 
> > is the link at Mert's blog dead all of a sudden?
> ...



My thoughts exactly.


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## GMCPhotographics (Sep 4, 2015)

Meatcurry said:


> Viggo said:
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> 
> > is the link at Mert's blog dead all of a sudden?
> ...



Or his blog site has been hammered by the entire "lens geek world" (me included) dwelling on his site? It happened to me with the early copy of the TS-e 24L when it came out.


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## TWI by Dustin Abbott (Sep 4, 2015)

GMCPhotographics said:


> Meatcurry said:
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I had the same issue when CR posted my Tamron 150-600 VC review (one of the first ones on the internet). Completely broke my site!


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## Meatcurry (Sep 4, 2015)

TWI by Dustin Abbott said:


> GMCPhotographics said:
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I'm guessing that there are review lens out there with NDAs in place, it just hasn't expired yet. For example I'm sitting on my review of the 1DX mark 2 until next week!


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## icywindow (Sep 4, 2015)

Interesting, from the picture comparisons the new EF 35/1.4 II also looks like it has lower distortion than the original lens. I owned the Sigma 35/1.4 for a while and really enjoyed the viewpoint of it. I'll be waiting to see more samples from this lens.


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## romanr74 (Sep 5, 2015)

GMCPhotographics said:


> romanr74 said:
> 
> 
> > this is a funny forum. people complain when images from canon sensors cannot be pushed a gazillion stops withouth increasing noise. but then people find it completely useless to have improved corner sharpenss in the new 35mm. but the nikon 14-24 is much better anyway because of its fantastic corner sharpenss accross the zoom range...
> ...



Aha... but if you push the Nikon by one extra stop, which the Sonikon sensors easily allow, aren't you at 34mm!?


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## Eldar (Sep 5, 2015)

romanr74 said:


> GMCPhotographics said:
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I´m sure the Sonikon sensor can work wonders, but changing a focal range from 24mm to 35mm by pushing one stop ... Eehh : that would probably be a bit too much, even for them ...


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## romanr74 (Sep 5, 2015)

Eldar said:


> romanr74 said:
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Cannot be...
Salt-N-Pepa knew it already back in 1986, it's all about pushing... 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCadcBR95oU


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## midluk (Sep 5, 2015)

Meatcurry said:


> I'm guessing that there are review lens out there with NDAs in place, it just hasn't expired yet. For example I'm sitting on my review of the 1DX mark 2 until next week!


I'm pretty sure the NDA expiry date for the 1DXmk2 would also be covered by the NDA. Are you sure you are not making things up or breaking the NDA?


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## Viggo (Sep 5, 2015)

I bought myself an 8th(?) copy of the 35 L yesterday, see if I still enjoy the fast 35 before I shell out for the mk2.
And I'll keep it to compare them if I buy the mk2, should be interesting.


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## Meatcurry (Sep 5, 2015)

midluk said:


> Meatcurry said:
> 
> 
> > I'm guessing that there are review lens out there with NDAs in place, it just hasn't expired yet. For example I'm sitting on my review of the 1DX mark 2 until next week!
> ...


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## privatebydesign (Sep 5, 2015)

Meatcurry said:


> midluk said:
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Bullshit dude, utter bullshit.


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