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Archive 2013 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs

  
 
kevindar
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


My initial post should say more than one stop. The Tamron 28-75 is not much bigger. 35 F2 is significantly smaller. Its not a bad lens. Heck, I bought the 40 2.8 based on size and price. 8 think for what it is, its over priced


Feb 08, 2013 at 01:12 AM
DemonAstroth
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


cputeq wrote:
I'd like to have a 35/2 this sharp, and hell I guess IS would be nice for some shots, but at $850? Forget it.

Seems to me this lens should be about $550, not $850. Unfortunately with Canon's pricing model, every lens almost magically doubles in price just because they included IS.



Not true about the pricing model, the 24-70mm f/2.8 II did not have IS, and they still just about doubled the price!!!!



Feb 08, 2013 at 08:00 AM
Lars Johnsson
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


DemonAstroth wrote:
Not true about the pricing model, the 24-70mm f/2.8 II did not have IS, and they still just about doubled the price!!!!


But the 35mm lens is nearly 3x the price of the older 35/2



Feb 08, 2013 at 08:06 AM
jcolwell
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


kevindar wrote:
My initial post should say more than one stop. The Tamron 28-75 is not much bigger. 35 F2 is significantly smaller. Its not a bad lens. Heck, I bought the 40 2.8 based on size and price. 8 think for what it is, its over priced


I agree. I want two or more stops, at least for focal lengths below 135mm. SInce I have f/2.8 L-zooms, that means f/1.4 and f/1.2 for my front-line primes. For some reason, I can't seem to dump the 135/2L. Maybe that's because it's my only decent backup lens at that focal length.

I bought the 40/2.8 too. For IQ, it beats both my Contax Tessar 45/2.8 and Voigtlander Ultron 40/2 SL II. Nice surprise!

Before getting my 1DX, I'd likely jump on this new 35/2 IS, for handheld photos in low light, at ISO 1600. Now I can pump ISO to 12800 and use my 24-70/2.8L II, instead.



Feb 08, 2013 at 08:26 AM
subjectochange
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


I think a less-heralded application of an IS lens at this range is the ability to stop down in low light, a major advantage over the 1.4 lenses. Say you want an architecture shot in near darkness? On a 1.4, say the exposure is 1/40s, f1.4, ISO 6400, but your DOF is rather limiting. On this 35 lens, no problem: 1/5s, f4, ISO 6400. The DOF works much nicer now.

Or if you want to take advantage of the 35 IS's best-in-class MFD, you can get decent closeup not-really-macro shots with more than a sliver in focus in low light.

Edited on Feb 08, 2013 at 09:18 AM · View previous versions



Feb 08, 2013 at 09:15 AM
zlatko
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


cputeq wrote:
I'd like to have a 35/2 this sharp, and hell I guess IS would be nice for some shots, but at $850? Forget it.

Seems to me this lens should be about $550, not $850. Unfortunately with Canon's pricing model, every lens almost magically doubles in price just because they included IS.


You are missing a lot in that equation. The old 35/2 is from 1990, just a few years after the EOS system was introduced. It has a buzzy AF motor and weak corner performance. If Canon used the price of this modest 1990 design as the reference standard for a 35/2, it is unlikely they would bother to improve it.

With the new lens, Canon didn't raise the price "just because they included IS". The higher price allows a complete re-design. So the new lens:
- is much sharper in the corners
- adds a rear focusing system with quiet AF with full time manual focus
- adds excellent hybrid IS
- adds an aspheric element
- has 8 circular aperture blades for better bokeh
- has a quieter aperture mechanism for video
- has better lens coatings
- has a faster CPU
- has better construction
All of that costs more to build, and you don't get all of that without a substantial price increase.

I certainly hope the lens goes for $550; it is possible, as we've seen on the new 28/2.8 in a recent special deal.



Feb 08, 2013 at 09:17 AM
Gunzorro
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


zlatko wrote:
You are missing a lot in that equation. The old 35/2 is from 1990, just a few years after the EOS system was introduced. It has a buzzy AF motor and weak corner performance. If Canon used the price of this modest 1990 design as the reference standard for a 35/2, it is unlikely they would bother to improve it.

With the new lens, Canon didn't raise the price "just because they included IS". The higher price allows a complete re-design. So the new lens:
- is much sharper in the corners
- adds a rear focusing system with quiet AF with full
...Show more

+1

Thanks for delineating those points.

I think we've discovered it doesn't have "Hybrid IS" which is specialized toward macro (and some P&S) 3-axis applications. But it does have an advanced IS, and is no doubt very good.

For it to be considered second to the highly acclaimed Sigma IQ, beating out the Zeiss models, and also have all the extras, that is a considerable bargain to me (when discounts finally take it down to around $600). I can understand Kevindar's position, and there are a lot of other people who don't feel they are getting sufficient value or use from this update. That's fine, no harm done, and I'm sure there will be plenty of happy Sigma and Zeiss owners at the end of the day.

I have the desire, now I just need the cash.

Lars -- I believe the original version used to sell/list in the US for $359 (now listed at $319), so extrapolated to today's dollars, it's not that hugely out of line price-wise. I agree it is a hefty amount, but as I say, I paid more for less (in my estimation) for the ZE 35/2.



Feb 08, 2013 at 09:51 AM
goosemang
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


zlatko wrote:
I certainly hope the lens goes for $550; it is possible, as we've seen on the new 28/2.8 in a recent special deal.


yeah, this thing will be $650 in a year, just like those other primes dropped.

if you need it NOW, then you gotta pay to play



Feb 08, 2013 at 10:17 AM
Jeff Nolten
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


I really like my circa '2000 35 f2. I find 35 mm is a very useful FOV and the f2's close focus ability gives it a unique ability to isolate flower sized objects in the foreground. So with the new IS version Canon has added all the improvements that Zlatko lists and retained the close focus ability. It is a far more significant improvement than the 100L macro was over the older 100 macro.

So the 24 IS is currently $700 on Amazon and the new 35 IS will drop equivalently when it has been out as long. With lenses like the 24-70 II, 70-200 II or 500 II selling for what they do, these new IS primes seem positively affordable. I'm glad Canon has put this set of improvements together and I'll put my old friend out to pasture when the price settles. I'm also very glad that I have already purchased the lenses I have 'cause I'm generally being priced out of the new lens market. I gulped and nearly went for the old 500 f4 at $6000, but at over $10K? No way.



Feb 08, 2013 at 12:58 PM
Gunzorro
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


Almost exactly a year after my last remarks on this thread, I finally go the 35 IS. And. . . I'm totally impressed!

I really love the color from wide open, and sharpness at working apertures from f/4 to f/11. Another breathtaking lens from Canon -- I actually find myself pausing as I review a ton of shots, just slightly stunned how nice they look.

This and the 24 IS are my latest lenses, and both making me very happy on the 1Ds3 and 5D2. I'm sure they would be even better on the newer bodies.

These lenses are ready and just begging for a 45MP sensor!

Here are a few shots from this afternoon. PP in LR5.3, but no lens profile used, so this is how the light falloff (or lack of) looks. The dog is about a 60% crop of the original frame. The rest are basically full frame, with minor straightening.

Do we have a 35 IS image thread?





Dog Sitting







Katie Perry-Mop almost looks like I used flash-fill -- great look with light.







Nice texture!







Hey, it's a street and sidewalk!




Feb 07, 2014 at 08:55 PM
timbop
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


snapsy wrote:
I've been waiting patiently for the price to drop and reviews like this don't help my cause


in december it went down to $529, which is IMHO a reasonable price - so I bought one :-)



Feb 07, 2014 at 09:33 PM
Larate
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


I had it since last October and it's always a pleasure to use it. Two days ago, I was in an ancient abbey with both the 24/1.4 L II and this 35/2 IS. Thanks to IS, I was able to shoot tack sharp photos at 1/15 s. With the 24 mm, even at 1/30 s, the photos were a bit blurred*. A big plus for my shaking hands :')

I have the 35/1.4 L too and from various tests I made, I would say I prefer the IS version when I need homogeneous IQ from center to border.

My problem now is that I wonder how the 24/2.8 IS would compare to my 24 L :')

* Ok I could open the aperture but then I would miss DoF!



Feb 08, 2014 at 07:04 AM
molson
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


sataraid1 wrote:
$850 for a 35 f/2 is just lunacy.


It's quite a bit cheaper than the new Sony/Zeiss 35mm f2.8 FE, which is a stop slower and has no IS... and as I recall, the Canon lens managed to outperform the Sony/Zeiss in Roger Cicala's bench test a few weeks ago.



Feb 09, 2014 at 03:05 PM
Pixel Perfect
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


molson wrote:
It's quite a bit cheaper than the new Sony/Zeiss 35mm f2.8 FE, which is a stop slower and has no IS... and as I recall, the Canon lens managed to outperform the Sony/Zeiss in Roger Cicala's bench test a few weeks ago.


Indeed, the Sony looks poor value for the money. People go on about Canon's pricing, but Sony's as bad and even worse in many cases.



Feb 09, 2014 at 04:18 PM
johnctharp
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · Canon EF 35mm f/2 IS reviewed by DxO Labs


molson wrote:
It's quite a bit cheaper than the new Sony/Zeiss 35mm f2.8 FE, which is a stop slower and has no IS... and as I recall, the Canon lens managed to outperform the Sony/Zeiss in Roger Cicala's bench test a few weeks ago.


DxO supports that conclusion- it's just a hair behind the FE lens comparing 5D III vs. A7R (no A7 tested), but visibly ahead when tested on a 70D vs. NEX-7.

As Gunzorro stated above, the 35/2 IS appears to be well out-resolving available Canon sensors.



Feb 09, 2014 at 04:31 PM
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