Get rid of 35mm f1.4L or not after 24-70mm II

I recently purchased a refurbished cannon 24-70mm f2.8 II new and happy with it. I am thinking that I may not use my canon 35mm f1.4 as often as used to be. Therefore, think of getting rid of it to save some money and keep my lens as few as possible. But, I hate to let it go and may regret what I do in the future.

Please give your thought. Thanks.

Well in the end, only you can decide. I had both lenses at one point and sold both for various reasons. I don't regret selling the 24-70 which to me wasn't very special. Yes, optically very good and very practical, but I didn't get any really special photos out of it. But selling the 35L, I still regret today and may get another one. It gives a unique look that you can't get with the zoom or many other lenses. So if anything, I'd say go slow. Put the 35L away for a while, it won't lose any further value so there isn't much point to hurry with a sale. You may then find out if you miss it.

I can't afford the 35mm f/1.4L. I do own the 35mm f/2 IS. To my mind, the 24-70 (any of them: I, II, VC, f/4) is: large, heavy, expensive, of limited range, and slow(er). I wouldn't trade my 35 IS for any of them.

The 35L will give you one thing that the zoom simply cannot: f/1.4. That's 2 stops of light that can be useful for keeping shutter speed up. IMO they both have a place in my lens bag, even if the 35 was only the original L

the 35L is really usable beginning at f2 so it doesn't buy you much. the only primes I find useful these days are focal lengths not covered by my excellent L zooms.

if you need f1.4 that isn't sharp that is.

Thank you all for giving your thoughts. I will keep it for a while and use it along with the zoom and see how it goes.

You need to get rid of the 35L so you can start saving up for the 35L II of course.

beginner_canon wrote in post #18075799
I recently purchased a refurbished cannon 24-70mm f2.8 II new and happy with it. I am thinking that I may not use my canon 35mm f1.4 as often as used to be. Therefore, think of getting rid of it to save some money and keep my lens as few as possible. But, I hate to let it go and may regret what I do in the future.

Please give your thought. Thanks.

Very personal thing to consider.

The only thing the 35L offers is basically F1.4 as an option, if you shoot it at F1.4. That's your call. I find 35mm at F2.8 to still give pleasant isolation. But how you feel about that is up to you of course. It doesn't offer IS or anything either, so again, it really comes down to F1.4 and if you feel that is important to what and how you shoot.

As an alternative, you could replace the 35L with a Tamron 35mm F1.8 VC or Canon 35mm F2 IS, gaining faster aperture and modern 4 stop stabilization on either one. Both would give you something you completely lack in several ways, while putting money in your pocket for a new toy later on. Just a thought if you really like 35mm and want to keep faster aperture & add image stabilization to the mix.

Very best,

beginner_canon wrote in post #18075799
I hate to let it go and may regret what I do in the future.

The solution is quite simple: lock your 35L in the closet, and don't use it for a few months.
Then:
- If you don't miss it, sell it.
- If you miss it, just unlock the closet and take your lens.

I did the same but the other way around: I bought the 35L and locked the 24-70 in the closet. After a few months I sold the 24-70.

ed rader wrote in post #18076290
the 35L is really usable beginning at f2 so it doesn't buy you much. the only primes I find useful these days are focal lengths not covered by my excellent L zooms.

My 35L v1 is quite sharp in the center wide open on a 20MP full-frame sensor (haven tried with denser sensors).
Also, there's more to photography than resolution, and the 2 extra stops are great for low natural light and subject separation (reasons why I sold my excellent L zoom).

There are plenty of great shots made with the 35L wide open, but I if you shoot resolution charts, it may not be the best option

35L is not sharp wide open. I've owned it and the reviews agree with me. you can click on my Instagram link to see what I shoot or you can continue to defend a lens that was bested even by sigma.

ed rader wrote in post #18077384
35L is not sharp wide open. I've owned it and the reviews agree with me. you can click on my Instagram link to see what I shoot or you can continue to defend a lens that was bested even by sigma.

Peace. I like the lens, and that's all I need.

P.S. You have great photos in Instagram, and I like them regardless of the resolution.
P.P.S. Where do you live in the valley ?

I suspect the reason for the 35L being soft wide open may has something to do with the large amount of CA it produces.
It's otherwise super sharp at f2.8.
which is one of the reasons why i sold it and kept the original 24-70L

Not the same situation here, but I sold the 35 1.4Art for returning to the 24-70 (MKI) to have 24mm again.
Last time I had to do an event and a groupshoot of models together with another photographer.
I was the only one that could get the whole group on the picture, backing up was no option as it was in a doorway and the door would be on the picture.
The other photographer had an 28mm, so he hasn't got a shot of the group

I sold it ONLY because I have the better 50L for halfbody fashionshoots (with the 35mm I had too much background, and I wanted to force myself to take closer shots).
35 1.4's are great, but since I have the bokehlicious 50 1.4A I don't miss it for the moment.

When I wouldn't have 50 1.4A I would sell my 24-70 and re-buy the 35 1.4 for the bokeh/fastness.
So yess I would sell the 35L.