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iosion
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Registered: Dec 3, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Jul 6, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,270.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Color, sharpness, bokeh, accuracy... this is the best lens Canon makes.
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Cons:
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Hunts in low contrast.
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My... good... GOD. What else can I say. This lens is IT. Color, sharpness, bokeh - I dont think Canon makes and sells a lens currently that is better.
The sharpness and color are simply out of this world stunning. I never have to do ANY color adjustment or sharpening in photoshop when I use this lens. Even my 70-200 2.8L IS USM needs a little help now and again.
If its technical detailed work Im doing, I pull out this lens. Ive taken to doing wide angle panoramas with this lens and stitching them because its that much better than ANY wide angle lens for sale today.
Flowers? Its like this lens was made for them. The bokeh and color is just not to be believed. THE VERY BEST.
Dont delay. Get this one. Youll never let it go.
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 Jul 6, 2005
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khaos
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Registered: Feb 16, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 758
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Review Date: May 30, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,000.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Amazingly sharp. Well built. Great at close range as well as landscape.
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Cons:
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None.
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This lens was everything I hoped for from what I've seen from photos taken with it and what I've heard from other photographers.
It's one of my favorite lenses. It's fantastic indoors for low light and awesome outdoors for longer range landscape and floral closeups.
The clarity and bokeh stun me all the time with shots from this lens. It is one I'll never get tired of and sell to try something else. A keeper.
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May 30, 2005
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3ABX03
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Registered: Dec 26, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5
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Apr 4, 2005
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3ABX03
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Registered: Dec 26, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Apr 2, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,299.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything about this lens is positive
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Cons:
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none
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Apr 2, 2005
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Nimra
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Registered: Jan 4, 2004
Location: Germany
Posts: 37
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Review Date: Mar 20, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,250.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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35 mm at it's best
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Cons:
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none, cause You get what You pay for (..$)
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This thing is magic if You know what You are doing. For artwork forget the comparisons 35 1.4 vs. 24-70L or 16-35L.
Good sharp @ it's bright side between f1.4 and f1.8, perfect color, fast and exact focusing.
Great on 1DMKII, next to the 85 1.2 and 135 2.0 a must have for outstandig shots.
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Mar 20, 2005
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joe mama
Offline
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Registered: Oct 3, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 4618
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Review Date: Jan 23, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Color, contrast, sharpness, speed
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Cons:
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Price, size (not that it's too big, but too big for a 35mm, f /1.4 or not!)
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This is it, man, this is it. At 35mm, that is. It used to be my favorite lens, but the 135 / 2L has usurped it (for now). But they're two totally different FLs, so they don't compare. I think I like the 135 / 2L better 'cause I can get a more shallow DOF with all the other prime perks -- speed, color, contrast, and sharpness, but it's more of an outdoor lens or indoor headshot lens. Otherwise, it's the 35 / 1.4L.
It's sharp even at f / 1.4. I don't mean it's sharp *for* f / 1.4, I mean it is sharp *at* f / 1.4. That's when you nail the focus, though. Hard to hit it at such a wide aperture.
There is PF (purple fringing) wide open, of course, and it's what, 8 million times bigger and more expensive than the f /2 version? But it's the bomb (don't say that to someone in an airport, though!).
Some might say that when you pay $1100 for a lens, you have to like it. Can't answer to that, but I could sell it today for nearly that, so it ain't the case with me. I did trade it (gasp!) for an 85 / 1.2L since I couldn't afford the 85 / 1.2L at the time, but was going to re-buy it at my first chance (as it turned out, we swapped back lenses, anyway).
What does it have over the 35 / 2? An extra *useable* stop and USM. Hell, have you had to listen to that whiny bitch motor on the 35 / 2?! It's worth it just not to hear that again! : )
Honestly, I don't know how the IQ (image quality) compares between the two from f / 2 and up, so maybe the 35 / 2 is the way to go for a lot of people.
But I'm a perfectionist (pay no nevermind to the pics I take!), and the 35 / 1.4L *is* perfection. Should you get it? Yes. Definitely. Is it worth it? Pfft. Would you be reading this if you thought it wasn't? : ) But, is it the best bang-for-the-buck? Hell no. Get a Canon G3 for that. This is the best lens at 35mm -- period.
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Jan 23, 2005
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mauriceramirez
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Registered: Jul 16, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 2905
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Review Date: Jan 14, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, faster-than-most AF speed, as solidly built and as sharp as any Nikon lens.
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Cons:
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Price.
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I wasn't expecting much, considering it's rather common focal length. But it has given me a totally new way of seeing, and was even a catalyst for me to start selling off my L zooms in favor of only L primes. It is one of the few Canon lenses that I would say are better in every aspect over it's Nikon equivalents.
Bokeh, color, speed, flare, build, size, weight, all work in sync to give me photos that I don't have to PS at all. It's VERY expensive for what it is (basically a isolator/available light lens), but it has paid for itself many, many times over for me in terms of how much post processing time it has saved me. I give 9 out of 10 selects that were shot with this lens to clients completely unadjusted. No other lens gives me as many as-shot keepers as this one.
It's that well-rounded, and I don't praise lenses much. In fact I'd say that 95% of Canon's lenses are typically very overrated IMHO.
This lens is best appreciated by available light, subject isolation type of styles.
If you like flash indoors, or prefer the unnaturally-wide film photojournalistic look, or *love* correcting images in PS, don't waste your money. It is an overpriced lens considering both what it actually does ISO-wise (and that Canon's highest iso's are usually quite useable) and that a good quality f2 version is very inexpensive.
-m
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Jan 14, 2005
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maljo
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Registered: Mar 1, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 402
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Review Date: Jan 1, 2005
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp, well made, a joy to use
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Cons:
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None (you get what you pay for)
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One of Canon's really great lenses.
Very sharp, contrasty. Bright image in view finder. Nice size and weight.
Stunning images. Has a depth of field scale.
This and the 135 f2 are my favorite lenses.
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Jan 1, 2005
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Ken Tanaka
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Registered: Aug 3, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1319
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Review Date: Dec 17, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,080.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Relatively lightweight, yet solidly built (typical of the L's), very fast, very sharp, excellent contrast.
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Cons:
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None to speak of.
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Basically I'd reiterate many of the previous reviewers' remarks. Contrary to a previous comment, however, I find this lens to be very sharp, even when wide-open. If you're looking for an excellent general-purpose prime lens that can handle most existing light situations with ease look no further. This lens may immediately become your favorite.
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Dec 17, 2004
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bka20d
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Registered: Sep 17, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1757
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Review Date: Dec 1, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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build quality, optics, angle of view on 1.6x camera
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Cons:
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none
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this is one amazing lens. great available light performance....and a wonderful lens on a 20d. auto focus is fast and quiet and image quality is stellar.
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Dec 1, 2004
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Tiziano
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Registered: Oct 8, 2004
Location: Italy
Posts: 4
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Review Date: Nov 10, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,080.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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It's FAST.
Sharpness, color balance e contrast.
Bokeh.
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Cons:
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Vignetting at f1.4
It cannot zoom :)
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I sold my 24-70 2.8 after I got this. It's an other world from 1.4 to 5.6.
Color balance it's impressive, more neutral, the zoom has a yellow cast in comparision.
Super fast focusing.
Perfect lens for indoor available light family pictures.
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Nov 10, 2004
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traveler
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Registered: Jan 8, 2002
Location: United States
Posts: 3234
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Review Date: Nov 5, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,050.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Lightning fast autofocus
Bright Viewfinder
Superb build
Top low light performance
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Cons:
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Not crisp wide open
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You can tell you have a "L" on your DSLR body with this guy at work. Nice weight and balance. I find the image wide open, while not absolutely crisp is workable in post processing. Considering the nice high shutter speeds you end up with in low available light situations it's a real Godsend. It's actually a great lens for capturing walk around street photography and events with people milling around. I can see this as a great lens for a indoor party as well when a flash might be obnoxious. In the end it's worth it's rather high price tag. It more than competes with any mid tele zoom and once stopped down will exceed their overall performance.
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Nov 5, 2004
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leuphrates
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Registered: Oct 18, 2004
Location: Turkey
Posts: 9
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Review Date: Oct 21, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,100.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything (Faster, Sharper, Lighter)
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Cons:
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Nothing (24-70 is second grade compared to this lens!)
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How? 24-70L is not even close to this lens! I borrowed a 24-70 from a friend and used it for a week. Either his lens was faulty or people here don't understand what sharpness is!!! At 1.4 35 is sharper than 24-70 at f2.8 till f4. At f2 35 is sharper than anything 24-70 could give. Much lighter. It is a light lens considering it as a super prime. It is not as fast as my noisy nikkors still, but fastest of my canon ef lenses. (I have 70-200 2.8 IS, 15mmfish, 24TSE)
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Oct 21, 2004
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cannga
Offline
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Registered: Nov 27, 2003
Location: N/A
Posts: 41
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Review Date: Sep 4, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,000.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast. Wondrous color, saturation, sharpness. Subjects appear to have more depth and dimension (could just all be in my head--I own two tube pre amps and Quad speakers so that should be a warning. :-)). In my very humble opinion, the ONE lens to have if you could only afford one L, is NOT the 24-70 L zoom, but this one.
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Cons:
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None
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I have a number of Canon zooms and primes (14mm f/2.8L, 85mm f/1.2L, 135mm f/2 L, 70-200 IS, 17-40 L, etc.) and this is the lens that stays on my camera 90% of the time. The 35mm focal length, for my 1D with 1.3 crop factor is very versatile and useful, as both a travel lens and one "around the house", to take pictures of family members. The speed (1.4) is extremely useful in low light although I use it at >1.8 most of the times.
The day I acquired this lens was the day that I stopped using my 24-70L. YMMV (meaning please don't get upset if you love your 24-70L) but the image quality difference (contrast, sharpness, color) is enough, for *me*, to accept the inconvenience of a prime. Your findings may be different so if you have a chance, please test this lens against your current "daily use" one. You may just feel the power of the best Canon L prime. I did. :-)
Recommended without reservation. If you have time, please check out my pbase web site http://www.pbase.com/cannga . Most of these shots were taken with this lens.
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Sep 4, 2004
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jimhsu
Offline
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Registered: Dec 29, 2003
Location: United States
Posts: 474
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Review Date: Jun 1, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,079.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Beautiful colors, as sharp as one would ever want, wide open possibilities, solid construction, silent and deadly focus
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Cons:
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High price?? (you get what you pay for with this lens, though!!)
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I've had this lens for about 1.5 months now. For a 10D (1.6X crop) this lens is what I use most of the time as it is essentially the standard normal focal length after 1.6X. It puts no limitations on what I can do: indoors, outdoors, bright light, almost no light.
I love the colors that come through this lens. Naturally vibrant and realistic. Minimal sharpening and color adjustments are needed if anything at all.
http://gallery.photo.net/photo/2381591-lg.jpg
Four-digit price is steep, but if it is feasible, I can't see how one could go wrong with this lens. Its construction is solid as are all L lenses.
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Jun 1, 2004
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Unregistered
Offline
Location: United States
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Review Date: May 7, 2004
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,120.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Superb Image Quality & Low-light Ability
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Cons:
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Price
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I love primes, and this is the one I love best. Although both my 50/1.4 and 85/1.4 have great color, contrast, bokeh, sharpness, and speed, this one takes the cake. It excels in all those categories and shines in one other above the rest--resolution. The detail it can pick up is amazing. And its image rendition has a certain creaminess to it that is so pleasing.
This is the lens that stays on my 10D 90% of the time. It's a wonderful tool for shooting natural light candids indoors. I also find it to be the perfect focal length for the job. I've tried the 24/1.4L, but it's a bit too wide, and 50mm is a bit to tight for casual shots (though fine for head & shoulder portraits indoors).
I have no hesitation in recommending this lens for someone who appreciates and needs the characteristics and abilities noted above.
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May 7, 2004
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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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467090
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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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