is canon preparing to market an updated 35mm L lens

[tunahunta]

I have heard from a few B and H employees to hold off purchasing a 35mm (L) lens for the eos system because canon is reengineering their current line. Is this true?

[Bob Atkins]

I don't know. Canon don't tell me what they are planning, and even if they did I'd have to sign a non-disclosure agreement so I couldn't tell you!

Obviously anything is possible. There are really only three reasons why a camera store would try to pursuade you to hold off on a lens purchase. They may actually know something and they are being niice. They may actually know something and the something that they know is that a new lens is coming and it will be more exprensive so they will make more profit on it when they eventually sell it to you. The final reason is that they don't have a lens in stock and don't want you buying it from someone else.

The current Canon EF 35 f1.4L is generally regarded as an excellent lens. It may be slightly soft at f1.4 and show slight vignetting on full frame cameras, but that's pretty much "par for the course" with any fast wideangle. There are certainly lenses in Canon's lineup that could use a new version (The 400/5.6L needs IS and the 50/1.4 needs a real ring USM motor to name two), but I wouldn't have put the 35/1.4L at the top of the list myself.

[dwdong]

Interestingly, Amazon has  written, "Discontinued:  Yes",  in its product detail info section for this lens.  That has been there for months.

Two considerations on waiting for an updated lens, which follows from the experience with the 24 L II:  1) Even after announcement, the lens will have limited availability and it may be months before it actually is available for purchase, and 2)  The cost will be an additional $500 or more for the updated version.

[Bob Atkins]

Amazon aren't always the most accurate website about these things, but maybe they know something in this case.

I do note that it's out of stock at B&H, so it is to their advantage that customers don't go elsewhere for one. It is in stock at Adorama (Canon EF 35/1.4L), with no mention of it being discontinued. It's also listed as current on the Canon USA website.