What would cause Canon to release the 35L II?

[VelocideX]

So the 35L II has been rumoured for a long time. The widely held belief seems to be that Canon delayed it after seeing how good the Sigma 35 f/1.4 is.

What do you think will happen here? Do you think that Canon will go through the trouble of redesigning the 35L II and release it sooner? Or do you think that this lens is set to languish?

Is there anything that would force Canon's hand in this matter? The release of a high MP camera would seem to be such a trigger, as the 35L would perform poorly on such a camera.

 

[infared]

What would cause Canon to release a 35mm f/1.4?
Sigma just released the cause.
I got one on Fri. Tried it out over the weekend. It's fantastic!
...but even if Canon remakes the lens....it will cost at least $2000. .??? Sooo I don't care if they do.
We Canon-Owners DEFINITELY need more of this!!!!!!!

 

[RLPhoto]

$$$$

 

[Random Orbits]

The Sigma 35 f/1.4 is a factor, but so is the 24-70 II. Any prime in that focal length range that does not beat the 24-70 II is DOA. Most of Canon's fast primes in that range are good enough wide open where corner sharpness is not as much of a concern for shallow DOF portraits/applications. Having primes that beat the 24-70II would give prime users a reason for using primes for all types of photography, not just for shallow DOF, because right now the 24-70II is comparable/better than the 24L II, 35L and 50L at the same apertures.

Primes typically cost less than the zoom that covers the same range (except the original 24-70L), so I'm guessing that the primes would be less than 2300 at launch and less than 2000 in about a year.

 

[dswatson83]

How about the fact that the new Sigma is awesome compared to the aged 35L. Canon never really had good competition in the L lens market until now. Hopefully they see Sigma challenging them and release some awesome products soon without going crazy on the pricing. Canon pricing just scares me now. For $900, the Sigma is just plane awesome:
Sigma 35mm f/1.4 vs Canon 35mm f/1.4 - Fight!

 

[Menace]

Sigma have given Canon a great reason to update the 35L - let's see how Canon price the lens whenever it's released.

 

[Pi]

I am afraid that Canon might redesign the 35LII after the Sigma release. The weakest point of the 35L is the bokeh. The Sigma bokeh is worse but the sharpnes wide open is better. I guess, it was a design choice for Sigma to appeal to the chart shooters. This seems to work, and Canon is in the business of selling lenses, so ...

I would prefer a Zeiss-like approach. Make bokeh matter, increase contrast with new coating (they will do this for sure) and exotic glass (the 35L has none), improve the comma in the corners wide open. Do not be afraid if the 35LII scores worse than the Sigma on PZ. If they do that, I will pay $1k upgrade price and will replace my 35L with the II. If they do not improve the bokeh, they will save me $1K. Win-win.