Canon 5178B002 EF 35mm f/2 is USM Wide-Angle Lens for Canon EF Cameras

Amazing lens! I have an EF 17-40mm f/4L which I used a lot for landscape shots. But if I want to shoot something closer, I pull out the 35mm f/2 IS (even though my 17-40 covers that focal length). It captures details and texture in a way that beats my pro, L-glass zooms at times. Also, my L-zooms are f/4 constant aperture, so this lens is faster and has a ridiculously shallow depth of field. Very nice background blur, which contrasts great with the tack sharp in-focus details.One qualification: I would only call this "wide-angle" on a full-frame dSLR. On a camera like the EOS T5i, 70D, or 7D, which have APS-C sized sensors and a crop factor, it's more of a normal focal length (56mm equivalent). Soon after I got this lens, I sold my 7D and got a 6D. The difference is significant, and I had to change the way I think about which lenses to use to get certain angles.The IS works well, and I can get handheld shots at stupidly slow shutter speeds. Just keep in mind, IS only works for camera shake or an unsteady hand. If you subject is moving and you're shutter speed is too slow, it will be blurred. But being that this is a very sharp lens, if I want more in focus, it's nice to be able to stop down to f/8 or more and shoot at the resulting 1/15th of a second shutter speed. That would be too slow with a non-IS lens. I have not tried, because I'm mainly into still photography, but shooting video with IS on is supposed to help a lot.The construction seems solid, more so than my EF50mm f/1.8 II (which I've used for 15 years with zero issues and some amazing shots). Exterior of the barrel is thin metal. There are some plastic parts, but that keeps the weight down, and the lens operates smoothly and feels high quality.I originally got this lens as a fast prime for indoor shots that were too tight with my 50mm on the 7D, but I've since moved to the 6D and discovered it's value in medium range and close-up photos outdoors. It can work as a portrait lens if your subject doesn't mind you getting fairly close, and for this use it works better on a crop-sensor body.Can't really think of a negative. I paid $599 for mine a year ago. Both my f/4 L-zooms were only $100 to $150 more, but they are slower and don't have IS, though they were much more complicated to manufacture. So I could feel this is a bit steep for a prime lens, but I don't feel ripped off when I see the photos I've taken with it.

This will not be a technical review. If you want that, I would suggest you go to http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ That is a wonderful site with very honest reviews.Photography has been a passion for over 50 years and I've been very happy for the last four with my equipment. I shoot a 5DIII and do mostly travel and landscape. I thought I had the perfect combo in a 24-105L IS and a 70-300 L IS. I also have a 100L Macro and a 17-40L that I usually don't take traveling. I had started to notice that the shots from my 24-105 weren't as good as from the other lenses. Big difference in sharpness and color when compared to the 70-300, which is awesome. I toyed with the 24-70 II f2.8L, but the lack of IS was the deal breaker since I normally don't take a tripod. That took care of zooms, so started to look at Primes. I realized that the majority of my shooting was 35-50mm and 200-300mm. On vacation in Hawaii, I ordered this lens and upon trying it out, I was amazed! It should be labeled an "L", it's that good. Here are the pros and cons:Pros.1. Tack sharp with a great IS.2. Slight vignetting goes away at f2.83. Two f stops faster than the 24-105. Nice indoors where flash can't be used.3. Great color saturation and contrast.4. Small, light and easy to carry. Doesn't stick out as far so your not bumping into things with it.5. Makes an expensive camera not look so much like it, which is a plus when traveling. That's also why I don't use the canon strap with 5DIII plastered all over it.6. Same filter size (67mm) as my 70-300L and 100L Macro. Less filters to carry around.7. Cost. Compared to most L's, it's a bargain.Cons.1. Since it's a Prime, I'm changing lenses more often.2. Some cropping needed to cover 35 to 70, which is where my telephoto starts. With the sharpness of the lens and the resolution of the 5DIII, not a big deal. If you have a 5DS, it REALLY doesn't matter.3. If you shoot video, the zooms is better because you can frame your shots better. However, most DSLRs don't auto focus while recording video so using a DSLR for video is problematic at best. Tough to keep the kids in focus as they're running around!I'm seriously considering selling my 24-105L after using this one!Hope this has helped.

Amazing lens for the money. This 35mm is the perfect compromise between being somewhat wide enough to get landscapes and shooting in tighter spaces indoors without having any of the distortion issues you get with a 24 or wider on a full frame camera. I honestly sometimes mistake my images that were shot with this lens from being shot with my 50mm. Get that fast shallow look with a wider angle without the distortion.The bokeh is right in line with the other lenses in this line. It's very nice but maybe not as natural and nice as the L series lenses. It's not bad at all, just looks a little different from the L line.It seems a little strange to have something as wide as a 35mm with IS but I've found it to be incredibly nice. You can handhold this thing shooting super slow! If you were to handhold at 1/2 sec shutter speed and shoot a burst you would probably have several sharp images. Thats crazy! IS works very well and for shooting pics of my kid around the dark house or shooting landscape or something similar in the darkness of early morning or late sunset, this thing shines!! You'll appreciate IS more than you think on this lens. If anything even if you aren't shooting in dark scenarios, your overall hit rate just going up with IS.Small, lightweight, fast, sharp, IS....what's not to love!Don't expect L series build but for the money, I would buy this lens over the 35L many times! Having the IS and not having the weight for the L may make this better than the L version for some people.I've included a few shots I've done with this lens for clients.