ethermine said:
I'd be fine if canon never put out another f/1.2 or faster lens ever again. To me, the novelty of the f/1.2 wears off immediately after I observe the lens struggling to do what I need it to do. What's more, anything 1.2 or faster isn't absolutely necessary these days in the professional digital world, as those fast lenses are mostly throwbacks to an age that catered to cameras with the options of the average (100-3200, etc) and grainy ISO/ASA film speeds. A necessity then under some conditions, today not so much. If one of the major prevalent vague subjective arguments these days is the bokeh looks so much dreamier at f/1.2 than f/1.4, then I'll pass.
Give me a lens that'll do what I want it to do with little fail, and produce beautiful imagery, then my criteria have all been met. Canon wants to release a 50 f/1.4 IS with similar build, focus and sharpness qualities of the 35 f/1.4L II and the new 85 f/1.4L IS? Great! I'll take it, and I won't miss anything the f/1.2s had to offer. Sure, the f/1.2s and faster lenses are neat in some ways and all, but they just don't have a legitimate place for me any longer. I'm sure plenty of folks will argue their needs are served by them just fine.
Nicely put Ethermine, I've had both f/1.2 L offerings, the 50 and 85 and rarely used them wide open after the first few disappointing weeks of use. Neither lens is still in my kit. The loss rate was just too high with the
very shallow depth of field, not to mention excessive image softness at f/1.2. Photographers who shoot more considered, static subjects may have more luck wide open. I'd probably click a f/1.8 lens down to f/2 or greater to improve my hit rate. I'm perfectly happy to ramp up the iso to previously dangerous levels and confidently deliver high quality files to clients. Those clients are going to be assessing content and composition way ahead of esoteric bokeh evaluation.
Interestingly my need for bright glass glass has taken a new turn since I got a Panasonic G9. With a MFT sensor, the option to ramp up the iso isn't there in the same way it is with my FF bodies. Now bright glass has a value similar to how we valued bright primes in the film days and the early digital days. A useful lens for the G9 is the Panasonic Lumix 43.5 f/1.7. This enables me to keep the iso in the clean range in tough conditions.
So I'm with you, Canon is welcome to skip f/1.2 forever.
-pw