h00ligan wrote:
I guess when I read it's not class leading... I dunno, there aren't a ton of lenses in the class. I agree the ca is the biggest problem and it's annoying to have to fix, though not impossible.
I definitely agree. In all reality, the 35g and the 35L are both great lenses.
I'm surprised that so many people even question the 35L's sharpness... Everyone knows the lens is sharp close up, but it's great for most applications.
One thing I'll say about the Nikon & Canon is that the 5DII is definitely less forgiving than the D700 as far as exposing a lenses flaws. The 5DII's files are huuuge! I'm sure the D3X(w/ 35/1.4g) vs 5DII(w/ 35/1.4L) would be a better comparison.
This one's at f1.8, focus on the manhole.
misternikko wrote:
They are all this sharp at that range. Back up another 12-15 feet and try again
Don Clary wrote:
After looking at the examples in the digital picture, 35L, switching between f1.4 and f2: that softness and low contrast wide open, that improves so much by f2, is exactly what I see in the Canon 50mm f1.4. Both lenses show softness and low contrast wide open, and both quite significantly improve by f2.
Why is it that this is perfectly O.K in the 35L, but a fatal flaw in the 50 f1.4?
Late reply, but I can offer up a couple reasons why this is the case for me personally.
1. Style of shooting. With the inherent extra DoF and field of view of the 35mm over the 50mm I'm usually not looking for maximum separation in my compositions @35mm
2. Bokeh. I find the characteristic of the 50 1.4 to be highly nervous wide open and that it improves significantly when stopped down to f/1.8 - f/2. While the 35L's bokeh is not really anything to write home about, it doesn't change much when stopped down nor do I find it as objectionable as the 50 1.4 wide open. Also, generally not going for maximum bokeh with the 35L--see point 1.
3. Shutter speed. When I'm shooting around f/2 and my shutter speed drops below the safe zone I'm more likely to open the lens to max aperture than raise the ISO. I find 1/30th, f/1.8 @ ISO 1600 covers most of the nighttime shooting I do. With the 50mm I prefer to drop to f/1.2 or f/1.4 to get a safe shutter speed rather than raise the ISO over 1600.
Then, as others pointed out, the 35L is still better than the 50 1.4 wide open. For whatever reason I completely dismissed the 35L--I only rented one because I was hoping I could consolidate to having two primes and 35/85 was the most useful spread. I did my initial testing wide open and wasn't particularly impressed.
Once in the field, though, I found myself shooting mostly at f/1.8. The files immediately stood out as being significantly sharper and contrastier than any other canon lens I've used to date. While the 35mm focal length couldn't replace the 50mm for me, it instantly made it on list for the next lens purchase.
Here's a couple examples from the field. They're just snapshots but I feel they show the characteristic of the lens well. Both are essentially SOOC (LR default export) with no PP done at all.
h00ligan wrote:
What autofocus 35 or greater is better, out of curiosity, in your opinion. 35g?
My one complaint is the corners never get critically sharp.. But I don't really use it for landscapes. I would guess the next version will do Bette in the corners.
Yes, I think the 35g edged it out by a fair margin in corner to corner IQ (35L holds it's own nicely in center sharpness) and also with less CA (purple is fairly pronounced with my 35L wide open). Also, the 35L suffers from a case of which ones arrives in the box due to variability. That's is not a knock against the lens itself.
I find its sweetspot at f/2.8 and with improved corner to corner at f/2. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the 35L a lot, but I for one will be the first in line when the 35L II is released.
In canon's top lenses. No doubt. Love the look, feel, colour, contrast, bokeh this lens provides. If your looking for perfectly sharp corners at f1.4... i'm not sure what lens could provide this.... but it's pretty darn good. this lens LIVES on my camera at least 70% of the time. That and the 85 f1.2, it's really almost everything you need. (I've since added the 24 t/s and 45 t/s - perfect lens line up in my opinion).
I am on my second 35L... Both equally as awesome wide open at f/1.4... Sure, if you compare it to the same image stopped down its less sharp for sure, but by itself without comparison it looks really, really good. I have no problem using it wide open.
But by stopping down to f/2 or f/2.8 it is insane.
As I mentioned on page 1 "I love my 35L but I did have to send it in for calibration to get really good results at f1.4. A lot of them do not focus that great at f1.4 straight from the box. When I originally bought mine in 2008 I tried 4 copies at the dealer before I selected mine and they all performed the same. Since they were all identical I though my soft shots must be a problem with my technique, but after 2 years I finally sent it to Canon and they made it perfect. One thing to check when you get the lens is to shoot something that is more than 20ft away using centerpoint and at f1.4. If it's not in focus after trying various microfocus adjustments then the lens probably has the same problem mine did."
Now my 35L is great near and far on my 5DMKII. Here is a quick, impromptu shot of a relative from this past weekend during our Easter holiday. I told her to step over by the window and I just clicked off 3 or 4 shots in ai-servo wide-open. The lens accentuates the lighting contrast so nicely in situations like this. I really love this lens, but it is not the most user-friendly lens when shooting at large apertures.
My 35L was so so on my 5D C. Really nice on the 5D 2's after micro adjusted, and plain spectacular with the amazingly accurate AF ( no micro-adjustement needed) on the new 5D 3's.
I enjoy my 35L and it does a fine job for what it is and used that way. My Summicron aspherical destroys it, but then it is an f2 lens but the 35L at f2 can't touch it. But for taking real images, they both do fine and that is what counts. Oh, and at 1.4, the 35L destroys the Summicron. :^)
