A full length group shot at 35mm is going to be around 10 feet focus distance. At 10 feet the difference in dof between f1.2 and f1.4 is 4 inches.
Now I think we can be pretty sure the RF 35 L is going to be a stunningly good lens and people committed to the RF system are already there, but I’m really struggling with the increase in size weight and cost for this new system especially when the image quality and character from the two EF primes is so good, small and cheap!
Well 4 inches mean a lot to some people.
Seriously though, I think we are seeing a major move away from what is
required in photography, to what is
desired.
If you go back to the day, people really needed an f2.8 over a 4 to focus effectively, they needed the size, weight and had to put up with the resulting inflexibility of MF to get improved quality, needed 6 FPS to capture the right moment, needed leaf shutter for high speed sync etc etc. I could go on and on. Now it’s a very different situation, and some of these RF lenses shout this from the roof tops.
As you have said time and time again, it really is content that counts, and the only person who might think a crap picture at 1.2 is better than a compelling one at 1.8 is going to be the photographer who used the 1.2.
People could argue that they need any little thing to give them an edge in today’s shrinking and crowded market, and there’s some truth in that, but I can see that just as smooth, grainless, noiseless images that were what everyone desired in film days has become ubiquitous now, so ultra shallow DOF will become the norm, driven by both precise mirrorless AF and 1.2 lenses and smartphone software.