Digital SLR Reviews Blog

Posts Tagged ‘Wide Angle’

Canon EF 24 70mm f 2 8L USM Standard Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras

The Canon EF 24-70mm standard zoom lens does what many pros thought couldn’t be done–it replaces the L-series 28-70mm f/2.8 lens with something even better. The lens offers extended coverage to an ultra-wide-angle 24mm, making it ideal for digital as well as film shooters. The new processing unit, meanwhile, makes the autofocus (AF) faster than ever. And thanks to the two aspherical elements and a totally new UD glass element, the optics are far superior to the earlier lens. Sealed and gasketed against dust and moisture, the EF 24-70mm lens carries a one-year warranty.

• Focal length: 24-70mm
• Maximum aperture: 1:2.8
• Lens construction: 16 elements in 13 groups
• Diagonal angle of view: 74 to 29 degrees
• Focus adjustment: Front-focusing method
• Closest focusing distance: 1.25 feet
• Zoom system: Rotating type
• Filter size: 77mm
• Dimensions: 3.3 inches in diameter, 4.9 inches long
• Weight: 2.1 pounds

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Wonderful Lens
Pros:

- Solid construction

- Outstanding optics (sharpness, contrast, saturation)

- Complementary zoom range if you carry a telephoto lens like the 70-200.

- 2.8 aperture

- Focus is as expected on a USM 2.8, quick

- Lens hood & soft carrying case included*

Cons:

- Heavy, nicknamed “The Brick” (2-3 pounds) for a short lens

- Lack of IS

- Awkward lens hood*

I would like to first say that I recommend this lens – it is outstanding. I fancy this as a good walk-around lens. It is an excellent complement to a telephoto lens (such as a 70-200) which covers the my field needs – except macro and longer zoom.

Just understand what you are purchasing when you buy it. Quality is not a question in this lens and I will not discuss it. The decision is between the 27-70 F/2.8 and the 24-105 f/4 IS as they are very comparable (but not precisely identical in use) quality lenses.

Compare the 24-70 F2.8 and 24-105 F4.0 IS:

- The aperture difference means the 24-70 is superior in motion freezing and to an extent in lower light.

- Camera movement during longer exposures is less of a concern between the 24-70 and 24-105 as the IS and 2.8 tend to offset (remember that IS does NOT resolve subject movement)

- The 24-105 is more versatile by having 50% more zoom.

- I understand the 24-105 is significantly lighter. The 24-70 was disturbingly heavy for such a short lens having never held a 24-105.

- No comment between the 24-70 and 24-105 optics due to not personally encountering a 105. Ratings on the 105 are good, however.

Pay close attention to the fact that the 24-70 2.8 lacks IS and the 24-105 does have IS but at a cost of F/4 – a precarious trade-off situation. That trade-off decision likely determines what lens you should purchase unless low-weight is a major factor.

I chose the 24-70 because I preferred F/2.8 over the 105’s IS – I’ll suffer through my camera jitters as I have done in the past. The weight of the 24-70 was more of a surprise to me than an annoyance.

*: The lens hood functions adequately but attaches to the fixed portion of the barrel. The hood extends 70% of the total lens length when the lens is retracted. You can reverse the hood but it prevents use of the lens controls. This is why I call it “awkward”.

Now to save up for that 70-200 2.8…

4 Stars Great lens, but is it worth the premium?
I wanted this lens for a long time and finally bought it. Its a great lens and the other reviewers point out all the great attributes.

But to be honest, I also have a Sigma DC 17-85 F2.8 for my crop sensor 20D. That lens is nearly as sharp at all apertures. Sigma also makes a DG version for full frame cameras and is about $300 to $400 cheaper.

In the end, I’m not sure the Canon L’s price premium justified it because its performance in my experience isn’t that much better than the Sigma DG. Read up on the Amazon reviews on the DG and you will see that the Sigma is also a great lens but 30%+ cheaper.

No regrets, but my next lens may be a Sigma instead. Canon seems to keep increasing their prices with little improvement in product quality to justify those repeated increases.

5 Stars A must have lens for those who…
This is a must-have lens for those who appreciate great quality photos and the fixed f2.8. It could also be useful for photographers working on their biceps considering how heavy it is.

5 Stars A superb lens
I bought this lens to replace an old Tokina 28-70mm f/2.8 that I had been using since about 2001. The Tokina was a very good lens, but on digital cameras it had serious problems with ghosting whenever something like a light bulb or a flourescent tube was in the frame. It also had a very annoying mechanism for switching between auto-focus and manual focus that had to be worked just right or it wouldn’t let you switch.

The Canon EF 24-70mm L USM is even more of an improvement on that lens that I had expected. Not only does it extend down to 24mm, focus faster, control flare and ghosting much better, and implement manual-focus sensibly (including, like all ring-USM Canon lenses, the ability to adjust focus manually even in auto-focus mode), but it’s much sharper. I had no idea how sharp a zoom lens could be until I bought this lens! It is just a bit soft wide open at the long end of its range, but from 24-50mm or so it’s quite sharp even at f/2.8, improving to stunningly sharp by f/5.6. Softness creeps in again at about f/11 due to diffraction limiting, but that’s a natural optical restriction, not a flaw in the lens.

Ergonomically, the lens is excellent. The zoom and focus rings are well-placed and move easily, with a comfortable level of resistance. It is a fairly large, heavy lens, but typically so for Canon L-series lenses, and not much more so than the Tokina that it replaced in my setup. I don’t find it uncomfortable to hold, but I do tend to keep my left hand under it for extra support when in use.

Aside from the minor softness at the long end that I mentioned above, the only significant negative of this lens is the lack of image stabilization (IS), which would come in handy in low light situations.

One interesting property of the EF 24-70mm is that it reverse-extends when zooming — that is, the inner barrel is extended more at the shorter focal lengths, and fully retracted at 70mm. This seems counter-intuitive until you notice how this interacts with the lens hood, which is mounted on the outer barrel and so does not move with the inner barrel. The EF 24-70mm has a much deeper hood than I have seen on other standard-range zooms, and the extension of the barrel at shorter focal lengths means that the hood optimally covers the lens at all focal lengths. At 70mm, the lens is fully retracted, so the hood provides an appropriately narrow field of view; at 24mm, the lens is maximally extended, and the hood provides correspondingly less coverage.

To sum up, the EF 24-70mm L USM is an excellent lens, fully worthy of the L-series designation. The only improvements I would hope for in a future update would be IS and a little more sharpness at wide apertures near 70mm. Until that lens comes into being, I’ll happily continue using this one.

5 Stars Love this lens!
I had been looking for a fast lens in which to

use for photojournalism. I wanted a lens that

could handle low light situations. I rented

different lenses to see which would produce the

clarity, the color, etc. I was torn between

the Canon EF 24mm f 1.4L USM and the 24-70mm f2.8L.

I decided I could get better use of the 24-70mm

since it was zoom and it worked well in low lights.

Buy/More Info

Canon EF S 10 22mm f 3 5 4 5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs

This exciting new zoom lens provides ultra wide-angle coverage to the EOS 20D and Digital Rebel SLR Digital-camera systems. Equivalent to a 16-35mm zoom, it offers excellent performance and optics designed from the ground-up for digital SLR use. Three Aspherical lens elements, plus a Super-UD element, assure image quality. Its ring-type USM means fast and silent AF along with full-time manual focus. It focuses as close as 9.5 inches. Circular aperture design — natural highlights, even stopped down two stops Electronic diaphragm — manually-set apertures stay constant from f/4.5 thru f/22 EF-S lens mount — exclusively for EOS 20D and Digital Rebel bodies Focal length 10 – 22 mm / 35 mm FOV 16 – 35 mm equivalent Construction – 13 elements in 10 groups Diaphragm – 6 blades Maximum aperture F3.5 – F4.5 / Minmum aperture F22 – F27 Closest focus 0.24 m Max magnification 0.17x (at 22 mm) AF actuator USM with full-time manual focus Filter diameter – 77 mm (accepts 77mm optional filters) Unit Dimensions – 83.5 x 89.8 mm (diameter x length) / Weight – 385 g

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Blown away…
I read a lot of reviews about this lens before making a purchase of my own. The 2 things I liked the most about what I read were the claims that Canon appeared to be using “L” glass, or near-”L” glass in this lens, and of course the main feature of having an ultra-wide angle capability with a 1.6 APS-C camera like my EOS 50D. I can say now after some field testing that this lens gets a 5-out-of-5 stars on both of these accounts.

Crisp focus and tack sharp images seem to be trivial to achieve with this quiet USM AF lens. I found the best 50D lens micro adjustment on my camera to be +3, but also found +0 to be quite acceptable, using the LCD monitor/moire pattern tuning technique at both ends of the zoom range. What REALLY tooted my horn however was the new found capability to take shots that were simply not achieveable before with my 28mm lens. Whole rooms in the house became one-shot deals, as opposed to the cumbersome image stitching technique. Groups of people near by – no problem getting them all into 1 shot. Landscape challenges – a snap without having to back up and up some more, and still wind up stitching multiple images together. Of course, everything written about straight-line distortion at the 10mm end of the zoom is true, but not to an excess, and in my opinion is MORE than offset by the capability to simply “get the shot all at once”. An indoor 6 story atrium that previously took 6 stitched photo’s to capture – now easily captured in 1 shot.

Focus was achieveable at a tiny bit over 4″ from the front of the lens. No IS on this lens, which I missed while trying some low-light shots (I kept waiting for IS to kick in out of habit, since all my other lenses are blessed with this feature), but this is only a concern on extreme close-up’s, which is not generally what you’d use this lens for anyway.

The lens has an AF/MF switch of course, and is only usable on certain camera’s that are compatible with EF-S type lenses (there is tons of online info about that to be read elsewhere). The filter size is 77mm. There is a light hood available from Canon, which I don’t own yet, and I’ve read that it’s marginally beneficial for blocking light since it’s so small in order to accomodate wide angle zooming without getting in the way. I’ll still buy one and put it on for extra front-end lens protection at around $14. It’s easy to bump in to things and a lens hood makes a lot of sense for that reason alone. Anyone who’s ever bent the metal of a filter after lightly bumping in to something, and then struggled with filter removal, lens cap fitting, etc., will know just what I mean.

I took some test shots with the built-in flash, and the 10-22mm lens does block the lower 5-10% portion of the picture at wider angle zooms. I was able to compensate for this in most shots by pointing the camera downward a bit more. Still, I’d recommend an external flash when using this lens, to take care of this interference and of course to get far superior bounce flash shots. There was no issue with the lens blocking any output from a camera mounted EX flash.

No lens creep on this lens. The overall lens length does not change with zooming. The zoom ring is snug, but turns smoothly, as does the focus ring, which can be turned after AF’ing for any fine tuning of the focus. The subject end of the lens does NOT TURN when zooming, which is great for circular polarizers and other filters that need to stay oriented. The lens length is 4″ (with a UV filter attached) from the front of the lens to the camera body face.

At first I thought this lens might be a specialty lens that I would only use when I needed whole room shots or was met with other wide angle challenges, but with an effective 35mm range on an APS-C camera, the quality of this glass makes it a candidate for a lot more uses as well, enabling quick access with a twist of the zoom ring to any action that comes in “close”, or to capture 2 subjects that are not conveniently side-by-side, as is sometimes the case with candid photo’s.

I have to admit that I’m writing this review after taking less than 300 photo’s with this lens, but the image quality and jaw dropping access to amazingly wide “views” that I’ve never had the ability to capture in one shot with a dSLR compelled me to brag “now” about this lens. If I encounter anything noteworthy after taking some more test shots under various conditions, I’ll amend this post.

In all honesty, it’s hard to imagine anyone who has ever been challenged by a wide angle shot not immediately falling in love with this gem once they get in to the field with it. Five star thumbs up on this one. Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs

5 Stars Can’t beat the pictures this lens takes
bottom line, this lens takes amazing pictures you just can’t get with any other lens for this camera. Worth every penny.

5 Stars Love this lens! Surprised!
I bought this as a birthday gift for my husband, because he had requested it. I have never been much interested in wide-angle lenses–to me, long telephotos were the ones I lusted for. This lens has changed my mind. It opens up new worlds of photos that I had never thought about!

The quality seems great, as usual with Canon lenses. It’s small and relatively lightweight. The pictures look good to me–I don’t have the chops to evaluate them in a technical way, but the color rendition and sharpness look good.

5 Stars Excellent “L Lens” Optics – Very fun, enjoyable, high quality lens
First of all, this lens is an absolute blast to use. If you’ve never shot a full frame camera with a wide-angle lens, you’re in for a treat. Sitting on a chair I can easily see my knees as I look straight ahead with the lens – its just silly.

The optics are spectacular. I was skeptical too, but taking some test photos, they are very, very sharp – comparable or better than my 24-105L and 100-400L (still can’t beat the 70-200, sorry).

The build quality is good… but not great. Take this comment with a grain of salt. Besides my 60mm macro, i’ve only owned and used “L” lenses over the last year – so my expectations as far as build quality go, are high.

There is definitely distortion (i forget if its pincushion or barrel), most noticably at the widest focal lengths when the focus is near (less than 30 feet away). Its definitely not severe distortion, or even distracting. If you look for it, you will find it though. That being said, this isn’t really a problem when you are taking pictures of landscapes, buildings etc. In fact, this lens does a better job of keeping buildings/rooms looking natural in terms of perspective (think about how your pictures have leaning buildings in them usually – this lens is good at fixing that).

For the price (its not terrible but not cheap), I would have liked to see a metal body (of course it won’t be without “L” designation) and a lens hood (something they don’t include outside of “L” lenses). But for the price, its definitely still of good value as it is just that sharp and that much fun to use.

Bottom line…. if you only use a crop camera (not full frame) you will absolutely love this lens if you ever wish you could get more in the frame than your current lens. The image quality is worth it alone… but seriously, its a REALLY fun lens!

4 Stars Amazing lens for 1.6 crop sensor
It’s been reviewed to death here and elsewhere so not much to add from me. Amazingly wide, very good contrast and color, nice details also. The only thing to pick on is the plastic look and feel but it is also the plastic that makes this lens so light and portable.

I know this has nothing to do with the product, but I want to add my comments about Amazon. The packaging seems to be getting worse these days, may be they are going green and using less plastic air/bubble to pack but it does not make you feel good when a 700 dollars lens come bouncing in a box with no impact cushion. Having said that, I would have to say Amazon provides the best customer service/support among other merchants that I buy from, I can always buy from Amazon with confidence because I know they would do anything within reason to make my purchase satisfactory. I buy my gear from a few other online merchants too due to availability but their exchange/return policy is nowhere near what Amazon would do for you.

Buy/More Info

Nikon D3000 10MP Digital SLR Camera with 18 55mm f 3 5 5 6G AF S DX VR Nikkor Zoom Lens

Breathtaking digital SLR image quality and easy operation highlight the 10.2-megapixel D3000, Nikon’s friendliest D-SLR ever. Compact and capable, the D3000 is compatible with a broad range of world-famous NIKKOR lenses and includes the versatile 3x, 18-55mm Zoom-NIKKOR with Silent-Wave Motor autofocusing and Nikon VR image stabilization to combat picture blur caused by camera shake for sharper handheld pictures. Special moments are captured faithfully at up to 3 frames-per-second and displayed on a bright, 3-inch LCD monitor. The D3000’s split-second shutter response eliminates the annoyance of shutter lag. To further simplify picture-taking in special situations such as portraits, sports, landscapes, and more, the D3000 features icon-identified Scene Modes that deliver beautiful results automatically in otherwise complex situations. Additional Nikon technologies elevate picture quality and guard against picture-taking mistakes. Fast, accurate 11-point autofocus delivers razor sharpness. 3D Color Matrix Metering II and Nikon EXPEED image processing work with an exclusive Scene Recognition System for precise automatic exposures and rich, vivid color. Making the D3000 an even smarter choice are its exclusive Retouch functions for creative fun and the onboard Guide Mode that’s ready to lend a reassuring hand to take the pictures you’ve always wanted. Continuous Shooting at up to 3 fps Captures fast action, precious moments and fleeting expressions easily 6 Automatic-Exposure Scene Modes Including Portrait, Landscape, Child, Sports Close-up or Night Portrait for stunning results in otherwise challenging conditions 3-inch Color LCD Monitor – Bright, high-resolution, 170-degree wide-angle viewing for easy picture review and sharing. The Retouch Menu provides creative freedom, without the need for a computer, offering 13 easy editing functions, including Trim, Red-eye Correction and Soft Filter.

User Ratings and Reviews

3 Stars Mixed emotions
I bought this camera when it first came out over a month ago and I have been using it quite a bit. It replaces my old D50 which I gave to my son.

I really like how small and light the camera is. It is easy to use and I am happy to have a VR lens. I was also excited to get ADR – but, that’s where a huge problem arises: I was stunned and disappointed to discover that enabling the ADR inexplicably slows the speed from 3 frames per second to an excruciating 3 seconds per frame (after the five-frame buffer is full). Of course ADR can be turned off, however that was one the main reasons I bought the camera.

I am also a little disappointed that it so much more expensive than the D40 that it replaces. And the picture quality seems about the same as my D50, which is not bad but I was hoping for a noticeable improvement.

4 Stars Nikon D3000 getting started with DSLRs
I had the Camera for a month or so now and i must say that i was used to Point and shoot cameras with above average performance when it comes to specific areas (point and shoot are fine in their own right)… So i wanted to “migrate” into the next level and really focus on my plating photography…I Blog regularly at [...] and i soon realized that despite my old Sony zoom and daylight pics were good there were lacking that essence ….And then when shooting plated food there is all kind of things to have in mind , specifically lighting conditions…. So i browsed and compared and decided that i like both canon and Nikon Platforms ,only to make a final decision to go with Nikon D3000…And why D3000?

well the features on this camera are more than enough for someone to handle especially someone coming into more serious attempts of photography … At the price range right now there is little competition or none…And the picture quallity is great and you will start shooting as soon a you get it… I got a crash course into using it on a trip to NYC where i had the opportunity to take a lot of indoor shots and some outdoor shots with great results (and then some with not so great) but bare in mind that i am as picky as i can be..I will take several pictures , as many as possible and then choose the best angles and results to go on and use or print…

Overall i am really happy…This camera has enough features for the serious amateur that wants to learn how to use DSLRs and the basics of good photography…. Of course if you are looking into more serious cameras i am sure there are plenty of Nikon and CANON cameras to fit anybody’s needs , but for the little guy that is just starting on DSLRs the d3000 is perfect… And its pretty light too…I was carrying around without much trouble all day….

5 Stars Great new Nikon
New to DSLR, this works great right out of the box. After a class, am amazed at how well it does. This will be enough camera (more than enough, really) for a long time.

5 Stars wow this camera is so nice !
After having the Nikon D50 i was thinking i was not going to like any cameras.,

but this one is much better. lovely pictures ! sharp colorful.

i love it !

i got this camera just today i cant stop looking at the pictures !

go for this camera.

its cheap its nice. 3 INCH LCD ! WHAT ELSE YOU WANT?

3 Stars BUYER BEWARE: Defective product
I just got this camera last week. It lived up to all of the positive comments that I read in many reviews. HOWEVER, my camera has a defect that I suspect other cameras might also have. When I compose a shot with horizontal or vertical lines, they appear straight in the viewfinder, but in the picture that is taken, they are skewed by about 10-15 degrees. I take a lot of architectural photos, and my lines need to be straight. Otherwise, I would have to spend a lot of time editing in Photoshop. I called Nikon, but the juvenile at the other end of the line said this was the first time he heard of this problem, and offered no help at all. Just thought you guys should be aware. I’ll update this if Nikon can solve the problem.

Buy/More Info

Opteka 35x HD Super Wide Angle Panoramic Macro Fisheye Lens for Canon EOS EF

The new Opteka High Definition

Opteka 35x HD Super Wide Angle Panoramic Macro Fisheye Lens for Nikon D700 D300 D200 D100 D90 D80 D70 D60 D50 D40 D40x D2HS D2XS series

The new Opteka High Definition