Bad news: The Canon RF 35mm f/1.2L USM has been pushed into 2023

[Del Paso]

I would assume it would have 100-500L class IS and much faster AF.

But I don’t know if I’d want to replace my EF180L with a €2500 RF180L, buying an R7 for that money would get me similar enough pixels per bug at a larger working distance with the RF100L.

I don't know if I would trust the RF 100 macro, focus shift is a defect I can't accept in a $1500 macro lens.
Yet, some forum members said they didn't experience such a thing..
Who is right?

 

[koenkooi]

I don't know if I would trust the RF 100 macro, focus shift is a defect I can't accept in a $1500 macro lens.
Yet, some forum members said they didn't experience such a thing..
Who is right?

I haven't noticed it so far, but I don't do a lot of tripod work. For natural light macro I snap a lot of pictures and then pick the best in post. That tends to hide the focus shift defects. When using a flash, I'm at f/11. The tripod work I did do recently was focus stacking, which also isn't affected by focal shift.

Regardless, I completely agree, focus shift isn't acceptable, especially considering that it's wholly fixable in firmware.

 

[LogicExtremist]

I don't know if I would trust the RF 100 macro, focus shift is a defect I can't accept in a $1500 macro lens.
Yet, some forum members said they didn't experience such a thing..
Who is right?

The logical answer is that if examples of the defect have been observed independently by many people, then the focus shift problem exists. If people haven't experienced it (yet), it may be just a matter of time or they have some unique set of use conditions, settings and other factors which is they're not seeing it, or the other possibility is that they're not looking carefully enough due to their compositions or subject matter! All of the thorough and technical review sites have observed it in testing and consistently reproduced it. None have stated that it's an intermittent problem. I'll stick with my EF 100mm L macro, it's got a whole extra stop of stabilisation more than the RF lens.

 

[koenkooi]

Or you can put the EF 180mm macro on an existing EF crop body you may have (90D) and get even more focal length without buying a new body.
[..]

That would be a 7D, with its strong AA filter and poor ISO performance will be worse than the R5 in crop mode. The other option is the M6II, but the ergonomics don't work for me, with or without a cage to improve the grip. It would be using the same sensor as the R7 It does work well on a tripod.

But my point was that for the expected €2500 price of an RF180L, you have a lot of options to get similar results, for less money spent.

 

[LogicExtremist]

That would be a 7D, with its strong AA filter and poor ISO performance will be worse than the R5 in crop mode. The other option is the M6II, but the ergonomics don't work for me, with or without a cage to improve the grip. It would be using the same sensor as the R7 It does work well on a tripod.

But my point was that for the expected €2500 price of an RF180L, you have a lot of options to get similar results, for less money spent.

Totally agree with what you said "for the expected €2500 price of an RF180L, you have a lot of options to get similar results, for less money spent".
I was trying to say the same thing, just came out much less clearly, that a used EF 180mm L macro would be a good buy if anyone has a decent crop body already. It even takes teleconverters!

 

[Del Paso]

I haven't noticed it so far, but I don't do a lot of tripod work. For natural light macro I snap a lot of pictures and then pick the best in post. That tends to hide the focus shift defects. When using a flash, I'm at f/11. The tripod work I did do recently was focus stacking, which also isn't affected by focal shift.

Regardless, I completely agree, focus shift isn't acceptable, especially considering that it's wholly fixable in firmware.

I never use a tripod, despite owning 5...and also take my macros "on the run". Yet, if the aim of a journey is a specific plant, usually orchids, I do use a macro flash for maximum dof, and F11.
And I too am hoping for a firmware...and an R3 with the R5's sensor.

 

[Aaron D]

"Not a surprise. These are vanity lenses."

Respectfully disagree. 35mm is really a workhorse lens: journalism, events, street photography. Second only to 50mm, I personally would guess...

 

[neuroanatomist]

I don't know if I would trust the RF 100 macro, focus shift is a defect I can't accept in a $1500 macro lens.
Yet, some forum members said they didn't experience such a thing..
Who is right?

Canon acknowledged that focus shift results from the design of the RF 100L Macro. So I'd say anyone who says they don't see it is not using the lens in conditions which result in the issue (i.e. magnifications >1x and intermediate f/stops).

 

[LogicExtremist]

Respectfully disagree. 35mm is really a workhorse lens: journalism, events, street photography. Second only to 50mm, I personally would guess...

I think a more accurate way to phrase it is that a 35mm f/1.2 is more of a niche application lens. Yes, 35mm is a popular workhorse focal length, and 35mm f/1.4 is a real workhorse lens, but the faster f/1.2 is a bit more specialised, much larger in size/weight and I would hazard to say that it's a bit less common.

Not sure why canon seems to have developed an allergy to f/1.4 lenses of any focal length these days...

 

[robotfist]

The Canon 35mm 1.4 L II is one of the best pieces of glass Canon has ever made. On DXO Mark it is the second highest rated Canon lens behind the 85. They have a tall order to fill with this new 35. For those of us who shoot video, the 35 is a crucial focal length. The 35 L II looks magical when you shoot wide open and get close to your subject. It's a stellar lens. While I'm looking forward to the RF version, it's hard to imagine it being astronomically better than the 35 L II considering that lens was released in 2015. Now the 24... that's a different story. The 24mm 1.4 L II has been out since 2008 and after the 35mm II came out, it became obvious how much the 24 1.4 needed to be updated when the two were compared side to side. I imagine the RF version of the 24 will blow the past versions of the 24 L out of the water. I'm very much looking forward to the 24.

 

[Ozarker]

It will be nice when the supply chain problems resolve. With all the instability in the world right now, it's a worry that things could get much worse. I really wish the war in Europe would end, and that we'll see no conflict for Taiwan. I wish this not because of materialism, but for humanitarian reasons. I fear a war with China would plunge most of us into very dire times. So, I'll not complain about delays.

My desire: To one day have all the f/1.2 Canon lenses. Desire must take a back seat to larger, much larger, issues right now. I'm sure Canon is doing best they can. Car dealerships in my town still have no new cars to sell thanks to chip shortages. I don't need a car, just pointing out that things are still very disrupted.

 

[john1970]

It will be nice when the supply chain problems resolve. With all the instability in the world right now, it's a worry that things could get much worse. I really wish the war in Europe would end, and that we'll see no conflict for Taiwan. I wish this not because of materialism, but for humanitarian reasons. I fear a war with China would plunge most of us into very dire times. So, I'll not complain about delays.

My desire: To one day have all the f/1.2 Canon lenses. Desire must take a back seat to larger, much larger, issues right now. I'm sure Canon is doing best they can. Car dealerships in my town still have no new cars to sell thanks to chip shortages. I don't need a car, just pointing out that things are still very disrupted.

Agree with your comments.

 

[LogicExtremist]

It will be nice when the supply chain problems resolve. With all the instability in the world right now, it's a worry that things could get much worse. I really wish the war in Europe would end, and that we'll see no conflict for Taiwan. I wish this not because of materialism, but for humanitarian reasons. I fear a war with China would plunge most of us into very dire times. So, I'll not complain about delays.

My desire: To one day have all the f/1.2 Canon lenses. Desire must take a back seat to larger, much larger, issues right now. I'm sure Canon is doing best they can. Car dealerships in my town still have no new cars to sell thanks to chip shortages. I don't need a car, just pointing out that things are still very disrupted.

So true, photography is a nice distraction, and a healthy hobby that gets people out into the world to notice what beauty exists, to appreciate it, and to try capture the experience in an image. We are in unstable and unpredictable times, there is so much going on globally it's like the world is in a state of flux, and the dust hasn't settled yet. With an almost 90% reduction in the digital camera market compared to its peak however many years ago that was, companies are feeling the squeeze, and trying to adapt to the changes. We're fortunate not to have been too badly impacted so far. Let's hope we all get through this well, as does the world with all the challenges before it!

 

[mxwphoto]

They can always add some silly gimmick that nobody asked for or wants, such as a spherical aberration control, and a add a thousand dollars to the price.

Canon RF TS 35mm f/1.0 L DO Macro IS USM with SA Control. (Say that all in one breath)

It would have AF, drop in filter, be parfocal, weigh about 20lb and cost 3 1/2 of your kidneys.

 

[LogicExtremist]

Canon RF TS 35mm f/1.0 L DO Macro IS USM with SA Control. (Say that all in one breath)

It would have AF, drop in filter, be parfocal, weigh about 20lb and cost 3 1/2 of your kidneys.

But it won't be able to take a teleconverter, and it wont have internal focussing either, so the front element will protrude back and forth when focus hunting, and the replacement lens hood will cost a few hundred dollars!

 

[Del Paso]

Canon RF TS 35mm f/1.0 L DO Macro IS USM with SA Control. (Say that all in one breath)

It would have AF, drop in filter, be parfocal, weigh about 20lb and cost 3 1/2 of your kidneys.

Sounds like one of Tamron's lens names.

 

[Del Paso]

But it won't be able to take a teleconverter, and it wont have internal focussing either, so the front element will protrude back and forth when focus hunting, and the replacement lens hood will cost a few hundred dollars!

A typical Canon cripplehammered lens!

 

[EOS 4 Life]

A midrange 85mm f/1.4 portrait lens is seriously missing.

I am happy with the EF version which is a pretty new lens.
IMHO Canon needs to address lenses without adequate EF alternatives first.

 

[entoman]

I already have Laowa 15 and 100 along with EF 100mm L so not getting RF 100mm Macro anytime soon, but would really like too get updated 180mm Macro for butterflying and venomous snakes for RF mount. For now I am borrowing Sigma 180mm f2.8 for odd times when I shoot butterflies but its seriously heavy to carry in field. Apparently Sony holds a stake in Tamron so they might not make lenses for either Z or RF and in case of Sigma they stated they wont make lenses for closed off systems so once again RF and Z users are out of luck.

I do a lot of butterfly photography (also other insects, reptiles, mammals, birds etc). Mostly I shoot butterflies with the 100mm macro. The EF version is better than the RF version, in terms of ability to instantly switch between MF and AF without having to fumble with buttons or switches when shooting in SERVO AF.

A 100mm macro can make it difficult to approach nervous butterflies, but is very manoeuvrable due to the light weight. I prefer longer focal lengths for cleaner backgrounds though. Previously, I used the Canon 180mm macro which has gorgeous bokeh, but I sold it recently because I just find an unstabilised lens too difficult to use handheld. In the tropics, I sometimes use the RF100-500mm, but it's too heavy to cart around all day long in tropical heat. AlanF reckons that the 100-400mm is excellent, much lighter and cheaper, and it focuses close enough for medium-sized butterflies, so that might be worth trying.

The Sigma 150mm and 180mm macros are beasts. Very heavy, clunky, very slow to focus and they have pretty ineffective stabilisation in my experience (compared to Canon 100mm and 180mm). I know some people who use the Tamron 180mm, which is lighter, so that could also be worth trying if you can find a secondhand one in good nick. Of course, you'd need to use the RF-EF adaptor with the Sigma and Tamron lenses.

I'd take what Sigma say about closed off systems with a pinch of salt. Sooner or later, both Sigma and Tamron will realise that they could shift a hell of a lot of lenses if they made them available in RF mount, it's just a matter of time IMO. Existing EF mount designs could easily be ported to RF, and the EF and RF protocols are near-identical, so compatibility issues would be minimal. Also, they have designs for Sony MILCs that could easily be put out in RF mount. I think it will take a lot longer for third parties to produce Z mount lenses though, simply because Nikon is sadly now a minor league brand.

 

[nwardrip]

It better be as good as Avatar 2...

In all seriousness, I am very disappointed as I'm tired of forgetting my EF/RF adapter and then not being able to use my 35mm f/1.4 II. Will continue to wait impatiently...