Canon RF 35mm f/1.2L USM coming in 2020 [CR1]

Nov 2, 2016
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Like the tiny M42 screw mount manual lenses. All my f/1.4s are tiny tiny. Even the 200mm (not f/1.4) is tiny compared to what there is now... but the IQ isn't as good, depending on personal taste.
And it’s all about IQ. Even Kodachrome 25 was, according to Kodak, no more than about 18MP in resolution. I agree. Even a 24MP camera NEEDS a better lens than film. Move to over 30Mp and the requirements are much stricter.
 
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H. Jones

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A 35mm f/1.2 has me very excited.. Makes my favorite lens even better.

Just another example of how Canon is slowly convincing me that I'll sell all of my personal EF gear for RF gear when the pro mirrorless comes around. Not surprised if most of the future work lens purchases will all be RF mounts too...
 
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Ozarker

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And it’s all about IQ. Even Kodachrome 25 was, according to Kodak, no more than about 18MP in resolution. I agree. Even a 24MP camera NEEDS a better lens than film. Move to over 30Mp and the requirements are much stricter.
Absolutely. My problem is my old eyes. The focus peaking on the R has really helped with that as opposed to my 5D Mark III. Both are good cameras.
 
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SecureGSM

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I know. This 1.8/35 macro is nothing special optically and it is no L lens. The Canon RL primes strategy is wrong, just wrong: 35mm is no studio FL, it is the most used FL when it comes to primes. Will we take a set of 1.2 primes with a trolley around the house? Hiking with f1.2? These extrafast primes feed pride of ownership and are fascinating techwise, but be honest, the majority of excellent pictures are shot at around f5.6-f8. Excellent small primes for 'small mirroless' is a lost chance by Canon. I really am disappointed. Sorry.
35mm is a studio lens for a number applications being: boudoir, large studio editorials, commercial being some amongst others. the utility of F1.2 for such applications and in a controlled light settings is questionable in my opinion.
However, again, weddings and events photogs may appreciate an opportunity to shoot at a 1/2 stop wider in dimly lit venues with no flash allowed.
That said, I trust that F2.0 will be sufficiently enough for majority of run and gun situations.
 
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SecureGSM

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As an events photographer, i'd expect this to focus at f1.2 in difficult low light conditions then step down to say f4 for the actual shot.

.... or, when in very low light situation, because DoF even At F1.2 will be quite deep, you can set distance to subject manually and switch to manual focusing. Takes care of the focusing delay, happy days.
I shoot prefocused in low light with a 35/1.4 prime all the time.
 
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Dec 25, 2012
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Let’s not forget that lenses have been getting bigger for years. How many people here remember whn 50mm f1.8-2.0 lenses had 6 elements, and f1.4 had 7? These days are long gone. now a 1.4 is as large as a 135 f2.8 used to be, and often, heavier. Mirrorless supposedly gets these lenses slightly smaller and lighter. So I imagine Canon is thinking that they can make f1.2 that’s not that much bigger than DSLR f1.4 lenses.
I think the conceit of smaller lenses for mirrorless has been dispensed with. I have seen almost no new lenses that are smaller than their predecessors. The RF 24-105 is slightly smaller and lighter but scarcely a revelation in packaging. In addition the IQ requirements of the newest sensors (not to mention the fanboy peepers) demand lens formulae that are much larger as first evidenced by the Zeiss Otus line.
 
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unfocused

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Did you run a study on Zeiss after they released the $4500 Otus lenses .. the manual focus ones?

Canon's new lenses are not uber expensive. And I doubt they need to make low price budget lenses right now. The starving penny pinchers can merely adapt the nifty fifty to an RF body, and that's likely what the bargain basement lens buyers will do.

Personally, I like great glass, so I enjoy what they are making. And it's nice being able to select from EF or RF glass.
My...aren't we delightful. Welcome to the forum. We are so lucky to have someone of your caliber here to enlighten all the starving penny pinchers and bargain basement lens buyers.
 
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unfocused

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You need to understand the market segment that is shrinking. The shrinking segment by far is the consumer market. The Pro market is actually growing (or at the very least, flat). So who is Canon targeting with the early RF lens line-up? Pro's and well-heeled advanced amateurs/hobbyists. People denigrate the 2 early bodies that Canon released for this reason or that but most that do so, have not actually used either body and played around with the files, etc.

By also implementing 2 different types of adapters for EF/EF-S to RF they've actually managed to improve performance and functionality of the older lenses when one chooses the adapter that has the control ring on it...
I've certainly been around enough to understand the shrinking market. And, no, the professional market is not growing.

The enthusiast market is the segment that is seeing growth. Much of that is being driven by higher per capita spending within that market, not necessarily greater numbers of buyers. Yes, Canon, Nikon, Fuji, Sony, etc., are all going after that market, which has more disposable income and is less sensitive to the economy.

I simply made the suggestion that I'd like to know more about Canon's strategy with these high-end lenses, which seem to be targeted to quite a small subset within the enthusiast market -- those that need, or at least think they need, very fast prime lenses. It has been my sense that the growth in the enthusiast market has been more heavily weighted toward wildlife and bird photographers. These are not lenses for that market.

There must be a market for these lenses, or Canon would not be making them. I simply stated I'd like to know more about what the market is.
 
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pj1974

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These incredible new fast RF lenses do excite me... I love the look that fast, sharp, amazingly engineered lenses/quality glass gives. Naturally that type of glass is usually expensive... but as with most things in life, "you get what you pay for".

At the same time, I think it's a positive that Canon (and other manufacturers) have shown - that they are pushing new boundaries with respect to lenses for mirrorless cameras and applying various new technologies. The advantages already do (and will continue to) shine through in both the 'elite' glass, as well as more standard lenses that fall more into the 'consumer and prosumer class' of lenses.

There are generally the pro-quality lenses that are specifically designed for specific tasks, and the smaller / lighter / less expensive counterparts that are more 'flexible'. Canon is already showing this with mirrorless, as are others. So the rumour of a RF 35mm f/1.2 means, while I probably won't buy a 35mm f/1.2, I might still 'benefit' from its existence - e.g. a RF 35mm f/2 might suit me well enough.

You need a M5 or M6 with the EF-M 22mm f2.8. That is your light-weight, hiking/all-day use kit that still provides excellent IQ in a very compact but still 35mm FOV equivalency (on these APS-C bodies).

Yes, agreed! I own the M5 and also have previously had the M10. The EF-M 22mm (actually an f/2, not a f/2.8 as written above) - is a great lens on both cameras. It's so small and light, a handy focal length, and yet has great image quality. It would also shine even more on a Canon mirrorless with in-body-image-stabilisation (IBIS) if Canon would come produce camera bodies with that technology. I love my EF-M 22mm f/2, great as a casual street lens, and lens to capture 'people within their environment'.

PJ
 
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Del Paso

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Why not both?
A much better idea: what about joining efforts (with the strongest Forum members) and attack the Canon lens plant?
Think of all the 400 f 2,8, 600 f 4, 85-50-35 f 1,2 etc...waiting for us.
We could disguise with masks and Sony- troll t-shirts.;)
 
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Del Paso

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Absolutely. My problem is my old eyes. The focus peaking on the R has really helped with that as opposed to my 5D Mark III. Both are good cameras.
I really disliked focus peaking with my Leica M 240, poorly implemented with the accessory EVF.
So, I was quite skeptical when I bought my second EOS R :love:, the first one having been replaced after a week with the 5 D IV, reason was the absence of dual SD slot (I stupidly panicked before an important trip!).
Conclusion: the R's focus peaking :love:is absolutely great with vintage lenses, the magnifying feature :love:perfect, and, last not least, the USABLE DOF preview :love:with manual lenses. Fantastic for macro shots !
 
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koenkooi

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I really disliked focus peaking with my Leica M 240, poorly implemented with the accessory EVF.
So, I was quite skeptical when I bought my second EOS R :love:, the first one having been replaced after a week with the 5 D IV, reason was the absence of dual SD slot (I stupidly panicked before an important trip!).
Conclusion: the R's focus peaking :love:is absolutely great with vintage lenses, the magnifying feature :love:perfect, and, last not least, the USABLE DOF preview :love:with manual lenses. Fantastic for macro shots !

I'd like Canon to tweak the DoF preview a bit, it needs a noticable bit of time to ramp up the exposure. I don't know if it's just sloppy coding, since the the scene has been metered already and the camera knows it's going from f/2.8 to f/11 or if it's the amplifier hardware being to slow.
 
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Ozarker

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I really disliked focus peaking with my Leica M 240, poorly implemented with the accessory EVF.
So, I was quite skeptical when I bought my second EOS R :love:, the first one having been replaced after a week with the 5 D IV, reason was the absence of dual SD slot (I stupidly panicked before an important trip!).
Conclusion: the R's focus peaking :love:is absolutely great with vintage lenses, the magnifying feature :love:perfect, and, last not least, the USABLE DOF preview :love:with manual lenses. Fantastic for macro shots !
My first experience with peaking was on my little Olympus. It works very well. The problem I ran into was the 2X crop really sucks. My widest vintage is 24mm X2 = 48mm equivalent FOV.So a 135mm= 270mm FOV. 150mm = 300mm FOV. etc. Terrible.

Very happy with the R and my tiny wife loves the Olympus. The eye AF on the R works great for me too. I have read some bad reports here, but they must not be from actual owners or prior to the firmware update, so I don't know where they get their information. YouTube? Blogs? Who knows. There are a lot of bashers here who have never touched the R, yet they try to speak as though they know more about it than actual users. I base that on the fact that they say this or that isn't a feature on the R, but it is, or they flat out say the R is a terrible camera so will not buy one... the competition is better, they say. It isn't. Coming from a 5D mark III, I feel like the R is a fantastic bargain and definite upgrade except for the missing card slot. The AF on the R line is the best I have ever used too. My keeper rate has gone sky high. Finally, I have the articulating screen back that I really missed after selling my 70D. The R is a darn nice camera for my use case. I almost got the 5D Mark IV instead. Then I chose the R. Absolutely no regrets. In fact, I am selling my 5D Mark III and EF lenses to help finance a backup R and my next RF lens.
 
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