Yowza -- 28mm f/1.4L patent surfaces

[Zanken]

More and more I hear comments about how the 28mm perspective is favored by a lot of shooters. And why not? To each their own. All FL's are awesome in particular situations and framing scenarios. I think this would make a fantastic addition to the L lineup if it's anything like the 35 1.4 mk2. Personally, I am liking having my 24, 28 and 35 all in one fat pickle jar.

I currently have 8 lenses for sale, the one that has had least interest shown in it is the EF 28mm f2.8 IS. Which I am a little surprised about............

The problem I think, is that it feels too close to the 35mm f2 IS which is brighter, and the other way people will opt for the 24mm for a compact wide. I wanted to replace my 24 Art for event shooting with something a lot lighter and ended up buying this 28mm because it came up half price of retail second hand - the demand is so low.
Honestly, between 24mm and 28mm I think i came out with the more practical length. I love it.

Maybe it was, until Sigma 30/1.4 showed up and now it's in the Art league . But the real game changer was the 18-35/1.8 (and now 50-100/1.8), so the whole 'fast prime on crop' concept has changed. Perhaps EF-S 28/1.2 USM (sub-$1k) could bring back some fans. Otherwise, the 35/2 IS USM serves the same purpose, pretty much.

All that 18-35mm does is highlight how absurdly poor fast prime choices are for crop. Fuji make have capitilised on this with their crop lens range. The 23mm f1.4 and 56mm f1.2 show that they 'get it.' While the market might not be there for premium crop primes with Canon/Nikon, some small competitively priced primes (like the 24 pancake) would really 'complete' the lineup for crop cameras.

 

[ahsanford]

The problem I think, is that [28mm] feels too close to the 35mm f2 IS which is brighter, and the other way people will opt for the 24mm for a compact wide. I wanted to replace my 24 Art for event shooting with something a lot lighter and ended up buying this 28mm because it came up half price of retail second hand - the demand is so low.
Honestly, between 24mm and 28mm I think i came out with the more practical length. I love it.

+1

I have 4 recent L lenses (last 10 years) and I probably enjoy shooting with my 28mm f/2.8 IS the most. Love that lens. I have lenses that run circles around it optically, but that 28mm is the lens I slap on my 5D3 for a day of walkaround shooting. I liken it to the small/light/simple/free world the EF 40mm pancake gets me, but with the additional bonuses of:

* A FF Focal length I enjoy more -- terrific for street, candids, social events, environmental portraiture, the odd handheld landscape, etc.
* IS
* Proper USM focusing speed
* (Relatively) standard filter size -- besides UV and CPL, my Lee 4x4 / 4x6 setup works fine with it.
* Solid bayonet hood attachment
* Internal focusing
* Solid build quality

Not shockingly, I use that 28mm (and 24 IS and 35 IS) as my roadmap for an ideal 50mm prime. Obviously, I'd like something f/2 or quicker for a 50, but just about everything else above I'd like to see in a future EF 50mm f/1.4 USM replacement.

- A

 

[Zanken]

The problem I think, is that [28mm] feels too close to the 35mm f2 IS which is brighter, and the other way people will opt for the 24mm for a compact wide. I wanted to replace my 24 Art for event shooting with something a lot lighter and ended up buying this 28mm because it came up half price of retail second hand - the demand is so low.
Honestly, between 24mm and 28mm I think i came out with the more practical length. I love it.

+1

I have 4 recent L lenses (last 10 years) and I probably enjoy shooting with my 28mm f/2.8 IS the most. Love that lens. I have lenses that run circles around it optically, but that 28mm is the lens I slap on my 5D3 for a day of walkaround shooting. I liken it to the small/light/simple/free world the EF 40mm pancake gets me, but with the additional bonuses of:

* A FF Focal length I enjoy more -- terrific for street, candids, social events, environmental portraiture, the odd handheld landscape, etc.
* IS
* Proper USM focusing speed
* (Relatively) standard filter size -- besides UV and CPL, my Lee 4x4 / 4x6 setup works fine with it.
* Solid bayonet hood attachment
* Internal focusing
* Solid build quality

Not shockingly, I use that 28mm (and 24 IS and 35 IS) as my roadmap for an ideal 50mm prime. Obviously, I'd like something f/2 or quicker for a 50, but just about everything else above I'd like to see in a future EF 50mm f/1.4 USM replacement.

- A

I hear you. I also use the 40mm pancake a lot, I WAS using it over the 24 Art which is when I realised I needed to ditch it for something smaller. Now it's relegated to unimportant situations where my state of mind is questionable (amazing during the recent brewery tour).

I agree that a 50mm f2 IS would be neat - especially if light transmission was good. I love the crap out of my 50 Art but the heft and light transmission (t1.7-t1.8 according to dxo), it might be a more practical bet.

edit: On topic! I think the 28mm f1.4L is a good idea, but should follow in the 35LII/Otus idea of non-compromising image quality. This would make it a nice choice between it and the weaker 24L.

 

[Mac Duderson]

Nikon just announced their new Nikkor 28mm f/1.4E ED to replace the older Nikon 28mm f/1.4 AF-D and still no word from Canon. Nikon has quite a few 28mm F mount options but seems Canon has no interest.

 

[Ozarker]

Coming out with a 28mm L lens just makes things more expensive for lens collectors like myself. 14L, 24L, 35L, 50L, 85L, 100L, 135L, 200L, is enough for me. I only have two of those so far, so please Canon, stop it! Shoulda just stuck to zooms.