got my lens + focusing screen yesterday. Thoughts: Lens hood is flimsy and the mount isn't as tight as with canon lenses. The lens front cap is also a bit of a pain. Lens itself is well built and the manual focus ring a pleasure to use. The focus screen was very easy to install, even though i had never done it before, and focusing with it is easy at f/1.4. Lens makes absolutely beautiful images.

I have one question now: when stopping down to f/22, i can see a white dot a little up-left from the center AF point in my viewfinder. Is this normal, or do i have a defect somewhere? same thing with both this lens and my canon 50mm 1.4.

Thanks for the tip -- it's $20 cheaper than Adorama, so I cancelled my backorder and got this one.

Hillsilly said:

OK, I'll take the challenge. Tell me if I pass.

* 99.9 percent of equipment complaints are user errors including the 5d3 criticisms. False - Its 99.6%

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LOL!

Just FYI AF Live is much slower than AF quick (hence the name).

580EX II while they're still available (model is discontinued) or the 600EX-RT which offers optical or radio control of slaves. Those are the only two nominally current 'standard' master flashes (not counting the macro flashes, MT-24EX and MR-14EX that are also masters).

ScottyP said:

I was going to buy a few thousand bucks worth of Canon stock in my retirement portfolio... Unfortunately, Canon stock (CAJ) is continually triggering news alerts in my browser for having hit a "new 52-week low".

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What kind of person would buy stock when it's at an all time high? Doesn't this make an all time low an excellent time to buy?

As someone on this forum has as their signature line: 'only dead fish swim with the tide' (though my son points out that jellyfish do as well...)

always fancied having a go in a dark room...

smithy said:

I'm glad to see that they've figured out how to make the lens extend at 70mm rather than 24mm. That is my only real complaint about the Mk1 version.

In terms of good copies of things, how far 'out of focus' does a lens have to be to deem it poor? I'd be keen to see a sample so I could compare my own copy.

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Actually, the reverse zoom design was one of the nice features of the 24-70, IMO - it means the lens hood is effective throughout the focal range, instead of at the wide end only.

One of the optical issues with the original is field curvature, hopefully not present in the MkII design.

patrickyandoc said:

amazon has them in stock now! ps. i love my camera

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The body is still listed as out of stock, and kit shipping in a few months. That is, shipped and sold by amazon.
http://amzn.to/L0uEjK

The hood look almost identical to the 17-55 hood, which was fine however I never placed the camera on it and left it that way unless one hand was holding the body - unlike the hoods on my 85/1.8, 135L and 70-200/4/IS - I routinely will leave the camera lens down on those hoods.

Not yet, but I expect Yongnuo will come out with something pretty soon.

I had an idea attacking the problem from a different angle: a two parts device, one attaches to the owner's belt and the other attached to the equipment, the two communicate wirelessly to estimate the distance between them, and if it crosses a settable distance, both emit an alarming sound.

This can protect against equipment being stolen or forgotten, and can be used for other purposes, e.g. childs getting lost in a crowd. It would be easy to attach to a camera using a miniature version of bike locks on the loops holding the neck strap, but lenses are a different story.

I've consulted a knowledgeable businessman I trust, and he says this idea can't be protected by a patent, so developing it is a problem - if it succeeds, it will be immediately copied, making it unprofitable.

RLPhoto said:

Id get the 50mm 1.2L over the 35mm 1.4L. I just prefer the look, and ive never experienced the famed focus shift or AF issues. It's dated stamped 2010 though. It's hit rate is really good 90% or more. (on the 7D and alittle less on the 5DC.)

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tonccy said:

Thank you all for your answers.

Tomorrow I will buy 50mm 1'2. A big reason is neutral perpective for photos and video. 7D will be just a backup body.

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+1

People look to much at peeping image quality and ignore the more important part of the equation: which photos will the couple prefer? I can guarantee that they would prefer shots of themselves from a 50 (on fulll frame) more than a 35.

I have both and they perform amazingly. The difference in sharpness is negligible. However, I use the 50 a lot and the 35 sparingly and for specific jobs.

I honestly don't know why people look at per pixel sharpness more than overall look. Choose focal length first - that's more important

Think for yourself, this is around $1000 cheaper than anywhere else in the world. This is a very good price, even for a refurbished camera. I would be more worried it's a defective unit or a completely different camera, or even a complete scam.

If it is too good to be true...

Body only between: 3299eur and 3799eur

Kit between: 4299eur and 4599eur. 24-105mm f/4L IS USM and 24-70mm f/2.8L USM respectively.

Prices in Finland inc 23% VAT.

rcarbonell said:

I don't see the point of buying standard lens with only 2.8 wide open (24mm, 28mm, 40mm).. Combine the price of 2 of those lenses and you can get urself a 24-70 or 17-55. I still think that canon should come up with an Ef-S 30mm 1.4IS this one lens I'll be willing to pay $850 for.

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This.
I own a Sigma 50 1.4 which is excellent optically, very sharp and creamy bokeh and I paid 450 dollars for it. it is 1000x more solid looking and feeling(i'm betting, haven't touched the Canon, but it looks pretty slight.)
850 dollars for a plasticy looking, not fantastic optically, f2.8 lens just doesn't even make any sense to me. I would never consider buying a lens like this(F2.8 , and build quality) at that price.
Nikon just released a 28mm 1.8 for $699 which is at least as good optically from the test shots I have seen.
Why is it that all new Canon gear is more expensive and rather underwhelming than that of their competitors.
I was very eager to buy the 24-70 II but at the price it's a non starter for me.
I would consider the 24mm or 28mm if they were F1.8
I would definitely consider the 5DIII if it was 2800 dollars, or even the same or less than the D800.
I am eager to spend money(I have a 5DC and a 24-105 with my Sigma 50 1.4) to upgrade, but they way things are going I'm waiting to see about the D600 and Canon's DSLR/Mirrorless response.

Added to my reading list - thanks Wombat.

I looked for info on this lens years back and really didn't come up with anything. good luck.

sweet video. really awesome

FoCal can crash and not store settings properly, and leave your camera in a weird state. This sounds like the situation to me. It only happened to me once with my 5D MK II. Changing lenses while running focal seems to occasionally cause this.

Please Nikon, put out an entry level FF body. Competition is great, the better Nikon does, the better Canon will do ( and vice versa). I'm not going anywhere, I have invested in Canon and happily so.

I sell prints on a weekly basis. Do I call myself a pro? No. Do others? I'll check and get back to you.

35-350L

I'd take it to a repair shop and get a estimate. It could be a flashtube, or something in the internal electronics.

If you mean it doesn't even power up, I'd first check the battery terminals for corrosion and clean them good. Use a light to view them, corrosion can be hard to see. A old unit like that might not be worth repairing.

I have the 50 L on the 5d3 very much of the time. BUT only after adjusting it with Reikan FoCal software. It was impossible to do with SpyderLens Cal and other manual tools. I bought a second copy with more STABLE focus, but not adjusted properly. After the software adjustment it is fantastic! I have always loved the lens, the hardest of all Canon lenses to use by far, with all it's faults, sorry, "it's a feature, not a fault", lol. Learn to use it and adjust it properly, and it gives you bokeh, color, contrast and wide open IQ that can't be matched by another 50. And it is very close to my 85 wide open now, which hasn't even been close to before.

Superb lens when adjusted, what will shorten your life dramtically or even kill you with frustration when it's not. Many people buy this lens and trade it off again because it is so hard to control. If you want a wide aperture normal'ish lens, the 85 and 35 will be better alternatives and WAY easier to get great results with, but only the 50 L is the best 50.