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gwhitegeog
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Registered: Jun 16, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Apr 25, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,200.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Build quality, focussing, maximum aperture. Superb full and large aperture performance, almost unmatched usable aperture range (f1.4 to f22 is 8 stops), lovely background blur ('almost liquid') and colours. Excellent handling, optically without a peer,.....
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Cons:
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None aside from price (nearly 5 times as expensive (list price) as the EF 35mm f2.0, itself a very nice lens).
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An absolutely stunning lens. It's very expensive but worth every penny. Possibly one of the best 35mm primes in the world and in the top 3 of Canon's lenses. If I only have room for one lens, I take this. It is a big lens - this might be good or bad, depending on your needs.
Build quality and focussing are excellent, USM and full time manual too. Even at f1.4 it doesn't vignette on my FF EOS 5D - one of the few lenses to do so. Edge to edge sharpness is superb. It is probably true to say, as commented by other reveiwers, that the optical performance of the larger apertures is not matched by the smaller apertures, but the the difference is minimal. If you can afford it (and find one in stock), buy it!
I have no other lens for digital use that shows such low CA and flare. A really dream lens. When you use a lens like this, you realise what a joke zooms are, even good ones.
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 Apr 25, 2006
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jfulton
Offline
Buy and Sell: On
Registered: Oct 24, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 3188
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Review Date: Apr 21, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Beautiful color, contrast, sharpness, usable f/1.4, top L quality
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Cons:
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none
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Amazing what a standard 35mm can breathe into a capture! It is trully Canon's best wide angle. The light gathering ability of this lens makes shots possible that would not be with a f/2.8. Having a demanding camera like the 5D, this lens really shines and never lets down. It also makes for a great standard crop on my 1DmkII. The bokeh is creamy, much like the 135L/2 and 85L/1.2. The close focusing also adds an interesting FF view with wide angle, foreground dominant shots. Expensive? Yes, but worth it if you need a high quality 35mm that is usable at f/1.4 and gets better from f/1.6 on.
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Apr 21, 2006
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Darian
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Registered: Oct 22, 2005
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 3
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Review Date: Apr 9, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Built like a tank, excellent auto-focus
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Cons:
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Needs a lot post-processing; not too sharp wide open
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After reading the reviews on this site I expected to love this lens. I don't. I've had it for 6 months or so now and It's good...but images need a lot of post-processing and sharpening, at all apertures.
Perhaps it's because I'm comparing it directly with the 135L which I bought at the same time and is awesome...and I've just been out with my 50mm 1.8 mk1 and I realise that it all comes down to image quality! 0.3s autofocus speed (or whatever) isn't an issue for most of us.
Perhaps I've got a bad copy, but I get tired of hearing that as an excuse. If you buy a TV you don't expect to have to change it for one or two copies. If Canon have QC issues theni it's 'more-fool-us' for tolerating it!
I will keep the lens...and keep plugging way with it. Hopefully I can change this review for something more positive.
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Apr 9, 2006
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incdigital
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Registered: Aug 2, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 226
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Review Date: Apr 7, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $895.95
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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One of canons finest L primes. Excellent @ all stops. Perfect L Build.
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Cons:
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CA wide open.
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Apr 7, 2006
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carlsbadbum
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Registered: Jul 13, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1961
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Review Date: Mar 31, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $950.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Super sharp, from center to corners.
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Cons:
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None.
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One of Canon's best L, no wonder it's sold out most of the time.
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Mar 31, 2006
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simonella_viru
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Registered: Nov 19, 2005
Location: Canada
Posts: 644
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Review Date: Mar 19, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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focal length (on 1.6X crop), bokeh, low-light capabilities, contrast, sharpness (when stopped-down)
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Cons:
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none
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very amazing lens. won't repeat what's already been said. this lens allows me to paint with light. it's an artist's lens.
when wide-open, it does requires very good technique because of the shallow DOF!
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Mar 19, 2006
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odo benus
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Registered: Dec 30, 2005
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 67
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Review Date: Mar 18, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Close focus performance; distortion correction.
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Cons:
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Corner performance; residual chromatic aberration.
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A good performer. There is remarkably little (barrel) distortion for such a lens and the performance at close focus is excellent. Owing to the floating element, a large aperture such as f/2 can be used with full confidence to make a subject stand out against a pleasingly blurred background. At infinity focus (e.g. landscapes) the performance is just decent, with a routine contrast and resolution. The very image corners on a full-frame sensor require an aperture of f/8 or smaller to become acceptably sharp. There is also some residual later color, which is not unusual in a retrofocus wideangle lens design.
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Mar 18, 2006
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Sean-mcr
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Registered: Mar 3, 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 362
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Review Date: Mar 18, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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I bought my 35 last sep, and it soon became my most used lens. I only use primes, so i'm used to to what they deliver, which is why i use them. But i have to say that this lens is just a pleasure to use;
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Cons:
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It's not cheap, and those of us in the UK pay a good deal more it then our cousins over the pond pay (though mine did come via the states). So is the price justified? Yes if you use it often, but if it only sees the light of day at the odd weekend & birthday events etc, then i'd look the 35 F/2.0.
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I bought my 35 last sep, and it soon became my most used lens. I only use primes, so i'm used to to what they deliver, which is why i use them. But i have to say that this lens is just a pleasure to use;
It's not cheap, and those of us in the UK pay a good deal more for it then our cousins over the pond pay (though mine did come via the states). So is the price justified? Yes if you use it often, but if it only sees the light of day at the odd weekend & birthday events etc, then i'd look the 35 F/2.0.
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Mar 18, 2006
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Memphis
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Registered: Mar 15, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 769
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Review Date: Mar 11, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything, sharp corner to corner on a full frame sensor, great bokeh, and fast. All in all it's everything a L lens should be.
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Cons:
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none
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What needs to be said about this lens that hasn't aready been said?
It's hands down the best 35mm lens that I've ever owned.
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Mar 11, 2006
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lord_malone
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Registered: Oct 9, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 496
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Review Date: Mar 3, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,300.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast focusing, IQ, color rendition, bokeh, build quality, great 1.6x crop range, fast, light weight, nice hood.
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Cons:
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None.
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It's really hard to take a bad picture with this lens. What else is there to say? Yes, it is that good. Words really don't do this lens justice. You really just have to pick one up and use it. I can't say anything that hasn't already been said. You will not regret owning this lens, and only a fool would get rid of it.
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Mar 3, 2006
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erlingmm
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Registered: Feb 20, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 10
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Review Date: Feb 23, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Super sharp, beautiful color, low-light marvel
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Cons:
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None
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Just back from a trip to Grand Canyon, this was my most used lens, from sunset/sunrise, to full daylight.
Frankly, a little surprised to find the "boring" normal focal length ~50mm (35*1,6 on a 20D) to be the most appropriate lens for this landscape, and often chose this prime over 10-22 and 24-105 (good copy).
Came back with 500+ images, more than half shot with this lens, very happy with the results.
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Feb 23, 2006
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realtrance
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Registered: Dec 12, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Feb 19, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Super high-contrast for this focal length; excellent resolution stopped down; very bright viewfinder image due to the huge maximum aperture; super-fast focusing; built like a tank.
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Cons:
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It will provoke envy from those who know what it is, and cannot afford it but wish they could.
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I'll just confirm what most others have said here: this is a very distinguished, and distinctive, lens.
Extremely bright viewfinder at f1.4 max aperture, of course; gorgeous focus selectivity at same; very high contrast regardless of aperture, and wonderful resolution between f2.0 and f11.
The lens provides a luminous, liquid quality to the images you can take with it.
Its heft and balance on a 5D is perfect, to the point where I can take shots if I'm careful at a shutter speed of 1/15th of a second, at f1.4, and still get viable results, if I'm not looking for razor sharpness.
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Feb 19, 2006
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gordon l
Offline
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Registered: Aug 17, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 3640
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Review Date: Feb 14, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Beautiful color, extremely sharp, fast focusing
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Cons:
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None
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This is a spectacular lens. Having used zoom lenses most of my life, I enjoyed and was challenged by using a prime lens. This lens is wonderful to use. I keep it on my camera for day-to-day shooting, most situations. Although I am comfortable using a flash, this lens lets me shoot without a flash in many situations and I can get great results. Extremely bright image in the viewfinder makes focusing easy.
I know many people have said this before and it sounds like a cliché, but my zoom lens is now gathering dust. I like shooting with this lens so much. Highly recommended.
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Feb 14, 2006
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JHaring
Offline
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Registered: Feb 14, 2006
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 14, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,500.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Just a very, very good lens. Very usable wide open.
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Cons:
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Not really a con, but this lens is banal on a 1.6x crop.
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I shot a lot of low-light pictures with this lens of which people said: wow, how do you do this without a flash? So sharp, so clear, so real.
But with my 20D/1.6x crop camera, I'm not very passionate about this lens. It comes down to the "banal" 50mm focal length, and it's just a bit too banal for my taste. Of course it's not really a 50mm (distance between objects etc.) but still it's not a very exciting lens on a 1.6x crop camera. This is the one that I would like to use on a FF.
Nevertheless, it offers sometimes amazing sharpness and detail, wide open (almost the only way I use it).
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Feb 14, 2006
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dmcharg
Offline
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Registered: Dec 1, 2003
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 784
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Review Date: Feb 5, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Color, Contrast, Sharpness etc its got it all. Having a really fast prime opens up a whole new world and having 1.4 is just wonderful and its sharp!
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Cons:
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Its not cheap.
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This is a wonderful lens. The color, contrast, sharpness is excellent. Its not a small lens especially when you put on the hood but its definetly worth the $/£'s. Whilst it might not be a flexible as something like the 24-70 2.8 having F1.4 makes it flexible in other ways. If you can afford it and are looking for something in the 35mm range then its kind of hard to beat it. This lens along with my 135 F2 will be with me for a long long time to come.
Cheers
David.
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Feb 5, 2006
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chrisrstout
Offline
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Registered: Dec 27, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 322
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Review Date: Jan 13, 2006
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,007.10
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Unbelievably sharp, excellent build quality, has to be one of Canon's best lenses!
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Cons:
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I guess the price could be a negative aspect, but then again, you get what you pay for.
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I was at a toss-up between the 35f/1.4L and either a 24-105 f/4L IS, or the 24-70 f/2.8L. I ended up deciding on the prime for the fact of I wanted something that was going to make me take a good look at the scene "before" pressing the shutter button. I will say the convenience of a zoom lens is very nice though. I can say, regardless if I end up with a fast mid-range zoom later on, this is one lens that would not be leaving my bag. It's amazingly sharp even wide open at f/1.4. This, paired with my 85mm f/1.8 makes for a nice setup on the short to short-tele range. I had thought about adding the 135 f/2L to this, but it would be a tough decision between that and a 70-200 f/2.8L IS. Anyways, if you're looking for a superfast, super sharp lens in this focal length, this is the only way to go!
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Jan 13, 2006
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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214
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466995
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Mar 23, 2013
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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96% of reviewers
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$1,192.72
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.38
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8.24
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9.5
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