# 35 /1.4 mk2 , anyone ?



## aberz (Jan 27, 2011)

Wonder if I am the only one waiting for the mark 2 of 35 1.4 . The price tag of the current 35mm is huge, but I think I can rob a gas station for it. However, as far as I know, 35 1.4 L has not been updated for a long time. My guess is that Canon will give it an upgrade ... soon.

So if anyone have any info about a new 35 1.4 L mk2 please do share, I dont mind if it is 30mm 1.4 neither 

If its not coming out anytime soon, I may take a swing for the sigma 30 1.4.

P/S there are some reasons I want a 30 or 35 1.4
on a 60D ( 1.6x crop ) body, its close to the classic 50 field of view
L mean future proof for that 5d3 
For wedding and event low light VIDEOgraphy, where light kits or flash is not an option ( duh, everyone want that dim light dancing mood )
Short and guerrilla filmmaking project, where complex lighting is often a burden.


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## GMCPhotographics (Jan 27, 2011)

What will a mkII offer over the current mkI? Not a lot really. The current 35mm f1.4 is a stunningly good optic and there's little left wanting. Sure, Canon could add weather sealing, but that's just a rubber gromet really. I've got my 35L pretty wet before and it's been fine. I think if Canon made this lens an f1.2 then I might be more interested. 



aberz said:


> Wonder if I am the only one waiting for the mark 2 of 35 1.4 . The price tag of the current 35mm is huge, but I think I can rob a gas station for it. However, as far as I know, 35 1.4 L has not been updated for a long time. My guess is that Canon will give it an upgrade ... soon.
> 
> So if anyone have any info about a new 35 1.4 L mk2 please do share, I dont mind if it is 30mm 1.4 neither
> 
> ...


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## neuroanatomist (Jan 27, 2011)

I think it will come out soon. That's based solely on the fact that I gave up waiting for a MkII and bought the current version at the beginning of the year.


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## tzalmagor (Jan 27, 2011)

Unless I won the lottery, I wouldn't buy any L prime whatsoever. If the 35mm f/2 & 135mm f/2.8 were upgraded, I would probably buy both.


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## Admin US West (Jan 27, 2011)

neuroanatomist said:


> I think it will come out soon. That's based solely on the fact that I gave up waiting for a MkII and bought the current version at the beginning of the year.



I bought mine last July, but that did not trigger a new one at Photinika 

Resolution charts for the Nikon35mm f/1.4g are up on the digital picture, it is noticibly sharper at the borders and C/A is less. I'm not sure that it is enough better to matter though.

Note, it was tested on a D3X, so a little more resolution is to be expected.


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## ablearcher (Jan 27, 2011)

Yes, it might get updated, but... 

1. This lens is beautiful as it is;
2. If the current version has a somewhat high price tag for you then the new one will be even more expensive. Look at the price of new 70-200 2.8 II...

Weather sealing might be important for some, but overall this is not something that will make me sell my 35L and buy a new one at a higher price.

The usual bottom line for topics like this is - if you neede to take pictures today then go ahead and buy the existing 35L now. Canon has other lenses which do need an upgrade and i will not be surprised if 35L is not on the top of the list. Meaning you might be waiting for quite a while.

35L 1.2 might be interesting, but frankly that would cost significantly more than the existing 35L which is not cheap as it is. If I was to spend $$ on a 1.2 lens, I would probably look at a more "portrait" FL type of lens - 50 or 85mm.


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## aberz (Jan 27, 2011)

Well, I can bleed out some money for an L lens, considering it as a long term investment. 
Just like someone already said, I really like the current 35 1.4 , almost everything I need. But my concern is that this lens has been running for 10+ years, will it be updated ? Let just say I put down $1500+ for a L glass, I dont want it to be "outdated" in a few year. The "outdated" term is quite relative, since as I said the current 35 meet most of my need.

I dont really have any need for 1.2 and not willing to pay a huge price tag for it. Sure I can shoot at lower light, but that super shallow DOF is pain in the ass when you doing video handheld ( with rig ) and try to get focus.
But if the new 35L is 1.2 and only couple hundred more, I may go for it. If not, IS will be welcome cuz its an awesome feature for video. ( Ill take a less sharp with IS/VC over a sharper non IS/VC any day )

Waiting around, however, dont get the job done. If I have few more high end wedding booked, I may just settle for the sigma 30 1.4 . It can always be used on a backup or 2nd cam when that new 35 come out


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## foobar (Jan 28, 2011)

Personally, I find 35mm a bit long as a "normal" lens on a crop-sensor camera. I'd suggest looking at the 24-30mm range for that (Sigma 30mm f/1.4, Canon 28mm f/1.8 or even the 24L II).


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## kubelik (Jan 28, 2011)

aberz said:


> I dont really have any need for 1.2 and not willing to pay a huge price tag for it. Sure I can shoot at lower light, but that super shallow DOF is pain in the ass when you doing video handheld ( with rig ) and try to get focus.
> But if the new 35L is 1.2 and only couple hundred more, I may go for it. If not, IS will be welcome cuz its an awesome feature for video. ( Ill take a less sharp with IS/VC over a sharper non IS/VC any day )



Canon's pretty much been bumping the price up for all equivalent replacement lenses by about 50%. so you're not looking at "only couple hundred more", you're looking at $600 or $700 more.

if they up it to f/1.2, I think the price hike will be even more than that. still ready to buy it? you might have to rob 2 gas stations at this point


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## ablearcher (Jan 28, 2011)

I totally agree with kubelik. If the new 35L does come out (with all current production troubles we will likely not see it for another year), it will all come down to the fact whether one will be willing to pay extra $$ for the updated version and more importantly - whether the updated version will be able to provide extra features/improvements over the current one to justify spending extra $$. Personally, I'm all for the new stuff, but within certain financial reason. In a year I might be more interested in investing into a second FF body (hopefully 5D MIII or whatever they will come up with if it will be priced reasonably).


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## aberz (Jan 29, 2011)

kubelik said:


> aberz said:
> 
> 
> > I dont really have any need for 1.2 and not willing to pay a huge price tag for it. Sure I can shoot at lower light, but that super shallow DOF is pain in the ass when you doing video handheld ( with rig ) and try to get focus.
> ...



Im agree with you on this. Thats why I said "if" it is only couple hundred more for 1.2, then I may go for it  . However, I am also aware the fact that going from 1.4 to 1.2 will cost me another gas station. As stated above, Im not in need of 1.2, unless its a sweet deal ( like only couple hundred more ).

So do you guys think when the new 35L mk2 (lets say with 1.2 ) come out will lower the price of current 35L a bit ? If thats the case, Ill go for 35L mk1 .

For right now, when waiting for the next big thing, Im just picking up the sigma 30 to take care of the business.


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## kubelik (Jan 29, 2011)

If a 35 f/1.4 II comesout, I could see the price of the current 35 f/1.4 dipping a bit... but not by much. Best bet for a decent deal is the used market, but even then L prices stay pretty steady. The really nice thing would be if canon updated the non-L 35 f/2, maybe making it a 35 f/1.8 with better bokeh... sadly, I don't think that's on the road map right now; they seem intent on upgrading only L series glass for now


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## neuroanatomist (Jan 31, 2011)

kubelik said:


> sadly, I don't think that's on the road map right now; they seem intent on upgrading only L series glass for now



Well, updating L lenses...or taking non-L lenses and giving them the 'L-treatment' (100mm Macro, 70-300mm IS, and Fisheye recently, and I'd be surprised if we don't see L versions of the two longer TS-E lenses fairly soon).


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