Canon Lens of the year 2012

[wickidwombat]

I think the 40mm f2.8 pancake is the lens of the year due to its amazing value for money and versitility
what is your opinion on the best lens released in 2012? (let me know if I forgot any)

[dr croubie]

Best 'announced' or best 'finally shipped'?
I suppose the 24-70 f/4L IS might go in the list (i'm not sure if anyone got them in their hands last year though), and the Big Whites were announced years ago...

But still, i'm voting Shorty McFortington (if not least because it's the only Brand New lens i've bought since my 70-300L)

[jhanken]

I think the 40mm f2.8 pancake is the lens of the year due to its amazing value for money and versitility
what is your opinion on the best lens released in 2012? (let me know if I forgot any)

I can get behind a pancake in general, but hard to get too revved up about it from a cost/performance perspective, especially when a nifty city is $100 or so.  I think the whole STM direction is more the reason to get pumped about the Flat Forty, but only if you shoot video.  The silent part is nice, but the ability to focus on the fly is, in my view, a more fundamental leap.

 This is a fun question, we should see a lively discussion.

[jhanken]

But still, i'm voting Shorty McFortington (if not least because it's the only Brand New lens i've bought since my 70-300L)

Redact my Flat Forty naming suggestion.  I now back Shorty McForty as the new 'it' name.  My vote, however, goes to the 24-70 f/2.8 II.  The pho-snob-rosphere was demanding this lens. Maybe not so much the 24-70 f/4 IS. 

I know that kudos for the new wide-angle IS lenses have been sparse in these parts, but I thought that the 35mm f/2 IS might get a mention, if not for the lens, perhaps for the newly emerging philosophical battle over aperture versus IS as a way to deal with low light.

[Wildfire]

I can get behind a pancake in general, but hard to get too revved up about it from a cost/performance perspective, especially when a nifty city is $100 or so.  I think the whole STM direction is more the reason to get pumped about the Flat Forty, but only if you shoot video.  The silent part is nice, but the ability to focus on the fly is, in my view, a more fundamental leap.

Have you even shot any of these lenses? The 50mm f/1.8 is plastic garbage. For just $50 more you can get fantastic build quality in the 40mm.

And are you serious about STM? That's easily the worst thing about the 40mm. I love mine, but I wish it was USM instead. STM just slows down the AF and makes FTM focus hard. Sure, it makes it smooth for video, but guess what? Only 1 camera body can do AF in video. And any professional video person is doing manual focus anyway, so STM is a worthless gimmick.

I love my pancake, but the 24-70 II takes the cake for best lens in 2012. 40mm gets second place due to STM being inferior to USM for still photographers.

[neuroanatomist]

The 600mm f/4L IS II....and not just because I own one.  The 24-70 II is certainly a great lens, but IMO it's what the original 24-70 should have been in the first place.  All of the new superteles saw optical improvements, but the greatest IQ delta was with the 600 II, and while the 300/2.8 and 500/4 saw modest weight reductions, the 400 II and 600 II are 28% lighter than their predecessors.  So...biggest IQ gain and tied for most weight loss is why I picked the 600 II.

[wickidwombat]

Best 'announced' or best 'finally shipped'?

I was going with could actually buy in 2012 that was released in 2012

and i knew neuro would pick the 600 II