I'm lucky enough to have a loaner copy of the Canon EF 35mm f1.4L lens this week and next from Canon Professional Services. I've been interested in a moderately wide and fast prime lens for some time now, but I've never decided which one I really want. So, I've decided to loan both the 35L and the EF 24 f1.4L II from CPS over the next month to get a better idea of which one I like best. I have not decided to buy either one of them yet, and unless one totally wows me, I won't buy either of them. They're both fine lenses, so it's up to me to decide which focal length I like better and which one feels better in my hands. Oh yeah, keep in mind I'm writing this blog over several days as I have the lens and try new things with it, so bare with me here. I received the lens on May 17, 2010 (Monday) and I'll ship it back May 26, 2010 (Wednesday).
(I didn't take the below photo.....it's from Photozone.de)
First Impressions
The lens is built beautifully. I can't say enough nice things about how the lens is designed, how it feels in my hand, how quickly it focuses, and it's build/image quality. It's just incredible. No wonder this is one of the "Canon Holy Trinity" lenses....(35L, 85 f1.2L, 135 f2L). What I can say though is, as of yet, the focal length isn't clicking with me much. Keep in mind it's equivalent to a 45.5mm lens on the
1D's 1.3x crop sensor. That may have something to do with it.
I find that when I want to get close to something to make it the main subject and blur out the background, I have to get very, very close. Then I run into problems with the lens' 1 foot minimum focus distance, so I can't get as close as I want. I know it's just me and not the lens though.....I'm the one who is used to telephoto lenses and the way they work. Maybe after a few days of shooting with this thing I'll get used to it.
First Night Out
After shooting with it most of the day today (Tuesday) I've decided I like it a bit better than I originally did when I wrote my first impressions down for the blog. I'm not changing it though...you're going to read my exact thought process throughout the post. When I write something, I'm not going to change it.
I did a bit of shooting at about 8:30 tonight. It was awesome. The lens focused quickly, was sharp, and was pretty versatile actually. Then I shot a bit of video. Wow. It's an excellent video lens because of it's somewhat standard FoV and it's large aperture. I walked the camera straight down my driveway during the video and got some interesting footage. It's something I've never seen before with any of my other lenses, even at the same focal length.
The 50D
When I go to buy a lens, I believe it must preform very well on all of my camera bodies, not just my primary body. Being that my primary body (1D Mark IV) and my main backup/2nd lens body (50D) have two different sensor sizes, I think it's especially important to fully understand and like the different FoV's. There will be times (provided I end up purchasing this lens) that it will be used on my 50D. So today, I took it out for a quick walk around my house and yard on the 50D to try it out.
It appears 30% longer on my 50D than it is on my 1D. In 35mm terms, it's about 56mm on the 50D.
Initially, I liked it quite a bit better than I did on the 1D but I soon found myself wishing it was a bit wider to get more in the frame. The exact opposite problem I had on the 1D.
So maybe this range isn't for me at all. Maybe I should look at other lenses like the 85 f1.2L instead.
Then I thought about the times where I've been in low-lit/dark places where I've wanted to get a few shots of people or whatever and not been able to because of my 17-40L's maximum aperture of f4. The 35L would be great for that. But do I really need to spend $1400 on a lens that I'll only use for low-light people photos? Nope. But if I can see myself using it for other stuff that I shoot all the time, it becomes pretty justifiable.
I still really, really like the lens. It's incredible. It's 35mm focal length just doesn't work with what I like to shoot most often though. I'm going to keep playing with it over the next week and see what I think. Opinions change.
Here's a shot of some books taken with the 35L on my 50D.
Atlanta Botanical Gardens
My good buddy Sean Morgan and I decided to take a trip to the Atlanta Botanical Gardens on Saturday to see the new Canopy Walkway and to take some cool photos. It was awesome. Don't think I left the 35L at home. It was fun to have there, actually; even though I ended up using my 100 f2.8L IS Macro lens most of the time. I did use the 35L quite a bit. I wished it was a bit wider in some instances, and longer in others. Here are a few shots from the Gardens taken with the 35L.
The 35L began it's two day journey in a FedEx box back to Canon Professional Services in Newport News, VA today. I'm glad I had the opportunity to use such a wonderful lens for the last ten days. Overall, I loved the lens. It was very well built, produced very sharp pictures and felt great in my hands. BUT, I don't think the 35mm focal length is for me. I've got the Canon 24 f2.4L II coming when I return from Europe in mid-June. We'll see what I think of that one! Have a safe journey, 35L!
-A
