Re: Replace? No. Add a 35mm? Yes.
Thanks JerryriggedTECH, Phil and Ran.
For me the advantages complementing my zooms with a 35f/2 IS is that it is one stop faster, have IS, much lighter and much smaller than my 24-70f/2.8L II. From most user testimonials and many reviews the IQ is more or less the same at f/2.8 and at f/4 to f/8 the prime is even sharper than my excellent 24-70f/2.8L II. Sadly the 35f/2 IS have vert visible coma at f/2 and f/2.8 in the FF borders and corners. The 24-70f/2.8L II is near perfectly free from coma, it is pin sharp even wide open. The 24-70f/2.8L II also have better contrast wide open.
6D(770g) + 24-70f/2.8L II(805g) = 1575g
6D(770g) + 35f/2 IS(335g) = 1105g Thats 470g nearly 1/3 less.
The 35f/1.4 is not so small and it weighs 760g. This is nearly as much as my 24-70f/2.8L II and the current price for this prime 35mm Canon lens is IMHO exorbitant, way overpriced!
At less than half the price the Sigma 35f/1.4 Art is 99% as god optically. If Sigma can make the AF just a little more reliable, Canon will have to lower its price considerably.
Another solution is to complement my 6D and three excellent but also somewhat big and heavy Canon L zooms with a Fujifilm X-Pro2 or X-T2 and one smaller 35mm FF equivalent 23mm f/2,0 or f/1,4 lens.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 (496g) + 23f/2 (180g) = total only 676g
Fujifilm X-Pro2 (496g) + 23f/1.4 (300g) = total only 796g
This is very tempting for me, yes this is FF vs APS-C but also a lot smaller and half the total weight of my current 6D and 24-70f/2.8L II. I also love the direct manual controls with a traditional aperture ring on the lens, shutter and ISO on the Fujifilm cameras. With this setup I will get one stop more depth of field, a little less bokeh and lose one stop of usable ISO using a APS-C camera.
The X-Pro2 is like my Leica M9P but with AF. The X-T2 Is more like my old Canon F1 and many more film SLRs but digital and with AF. Why did Canon and Nikon stop making cameras like this? Why did they skip the vastly better, faster and simpler traditional manual controls on the cameras and the aperture ring on the lenses?
Other than size and weight, I am really happy with what I have today. I am only missing 35mm and 85mm really fast primes and some times i regret selling my 400f/5.6L and 135f/2L.
I have to think this over but for now I will keep what I have and put off any new investment in new canon lenses until I know more on the pros and cons of Fujifilm cameras and lenses. Winter is coming soon, days are quickly getting a lot shorter. Any new purchase is now on hold until the light returns next spring 5 months from now.
If anyone here use or have used Fujifilms newer X-T1, X-Pro2 and X-T2 cameras and fast prime lenses please share your experiences, how do they compare to Canon FF?
Is a combination of my current 6D and 1-2 L zooms + one small Fuji X-T2 camera and 3 small and fast primes a good solution?
Example of one possible combination: Canon 6D + 24-70f/2.8L II, 100-400f/4.5-5.6L IS II and Fujifilm X-T2 + 14f/2.8, 23f/1.4, 56f/1.2 (FF 21/35/85mm.)
Thanks to you all, for valuable inputs!
/Pierre