Wide angle lens for 5D

cedric_r · 08-01-2007

As I'm mostly taking landscapes, I'm used to using wide angle lenses (Sigma 10-20mm on 350D usually at the short end). On the 5D I currently use (hypothetically since the weather is really rubbish so far this summer) the EF 24-105mm. But it's not wide enough for me, so I'm in search of a proper wide angle lens. The Canon EF16-35mm f2.8L USM II looks great, but it's way too expensive (over £1K) and I certainly don't need the f/2.8 for landscapes (where I use mostly the f/11-f/22 range). So I've been looking around and found a few candidates, all having their up and down sides. What would be your choice and why? Any other suggestions?
- Sigma 12-24mm F4-5.6 EX DG: insanely wide on full-frame sensor that makes it really attractive. But the protruding lens makes is impossible to use any filter other than gelatin filters. Distortions are pronounced, but that's to be expected.
- Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG: fairly wide and cheap. But again protruding lens makes it impossible to use filters. Distortions are pronounced and image quality isn't great.
- Sigma 17-35mm f2.8 EX DG HSM: I don't have any information or test data about this lens.
- Canon EF 17-40mm f4 LUSM: pretty good lens all round, with normal distortions at the wide end but good picture quality. The downside is that it's not that wide (although nearly equivalent to the Sigma 10-20mm on a cropped body I'm used to, so acceptable).
I'm disappointed I couldn't find non fish-eye prime lenses at around 12 to 16mm for FF bodies.

trentchau · 08-01-2007

17mm on a full frame is plenty wide. You can deal with some pretty scary linear distortion at 15+.

The Sigma 15-30 is noisy, it needs HSM.

Here is a picture taken with a 17-40, but I think it might not be full 17

aam1234 · 08-01-2007

The 17-40 is a really good wide lens imo.

Rense · 08-01-2007

Cedric,
I have the 12-24 from Sigma. It is a great lens.

cedric_r · 08-01-2007

Ok, so the comments narrow it down to the Canon 17-40 or the Sigma 12-24. The really big issue I have against the Sigma is the fact that I can't add a filter. I can possibly live (with difficulty) without ND grads, but I can't see how I could live without polarisers

cedric_r · 08-01-2007

Rense, did you use the Sigma on the 5D? How are the vignetting and the sharpness?

cyclohexane · 08-01-2007

Get the 17-40L. It's a fantastic piece of glass.

Max@Home · 08-01-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by cedric_r

I'm disappointed I couldn't find non fish-eye prime lenses at around 12 to 16mm for FF bodies.

...Canon EF14mmF2.8L USM, €1800 pricerange

...or Canon EF15mmF2.8fisheye USM, de-fished... €625 pricerange...

...from what I know, *I* would go for the 17-40F4L, several serious testers have reported this lens to be sharper corner-to-corner than the 16-35L II...

...& perhaps this might help a little ?

...€0.02...

Kindest regards!

Max@Home

cyclohexane · 08-01-2007

Quote:

several serious testers have reported this lens to be sharper corner-to-corner than the 16-35L II...

Even the II? Yikes, I guess unless you really need the f/2.8....

JohnC · 08-02-2007

The 12-24 is too wide for a polarizer, anyway. At that extreme just a small portion of the sky will be affected by the polarizer and the sky will show banding.

You might be able to get away with a large square graduated ND filter hand-held against the built-in lens hood. I actually have not tried my 12-24 with my 5D. I should go do that some day soon. Right now I'm hooked on the Canon 15mm fisheye.

Blacklynx · 08-02-2007

Cedric i have a 17-35 L lens F2.8 for sale if you are interested or if you have a macro lens we could do a swap i believe you are in aberdeen i am based just south of you in between aberdeen and forfar let me know if you are interested

btw it takes 77mm screw on filters of which i tend to use either hoya and b & w.

Rense · 08-02-2007

cedric,
vignetting is not that much of a problem (when you donot forget to remove the petal lenshood).

Sharpness is good from f/8 onward.

aam1234 · 08-02-2007

An example from the 17-40.

Athena · 08-02-2007

The 17-40L is next on my lens list.

Leehman · 08-02-2007

The 15 fish can be fun on a 5D

aam1234 · 08-02-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by Athena

The 17-40L is next on my lens list.

When ladies say that they will eventually get it, they will get it. Girl power I guess

JohnC · 08-02-2007

I've got a bunch of 15mm/5D images on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=fish...16343927%40N00

John

aam1234 · 08-02-2007

The link is not working, John.

Athena · 08-03-2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by aam1234

When ladies say that they will eventually get it, they will get it. Girl power I guess

It may not be until next year though. You know what my last purchase was.

aam1234 · 08-03-2007

I know Athena, and what a hefty purchase that was. You are after a monitor too, am I right (I just got mine, Dell 24).

08-01-2007	#1
cedric_r Bactrian Location: Aberdeen, UK Posts: 2,235 CamelKarma: 1688 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Wide angle lens for 5D As I'm mostly taking landscapes, I'm used to using wide angle lenses (Sigma 10-20mm on 350D usually at the short end). On the 5D I currently use (hypothetically since the weather is really rubbish so far this summer) the EF 24-105mm. But it's not wide enough for me, so I'm in search of a proper wide angle lens. The Canon EF16-35mm f2.8L USM II looks great, but it's way too expensive (over £1K) and I certainly don't need the f/2.8 for landscapes (where I use mostly the f/11-f/22 range). So I've been looking around and found a few candidates, all having their up and down sides. What would be your choice and why? Any other suggestions? - Sigma 12-24mm F4-5.6 EX DG: insanely wide on full-frame sensor that makes it really attractive. But the protruding lens makes is impossible to use any filter other than gelatin filters. Distortions are pronounced, but that's to be expected. - Sigma 15-30mm F3.5-4.5 EX DG: fairly wide and cheap. But again protruding lens makes it impossible to use filters. Distortions are pronounced and image quality isn't great. - Sigma 17-35mm f2.8 EX DG HSM: I don't have any information or test data about this lens. - Canon EF 17-40mm f4 LUSM: pretty good lens all round, with normal distortions at the wide end but good picture quality. The downside is that it's not that wide (although nearly equivalent to the Sigma 10-20mm on a cropped body I'm used to, so acceptable). I'm disappointed I couldn't find non fish-eye prime lenses at around 12 to 16mm for FF bodies. __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on PhotoCamel - Your Friendly Photography Forum, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more.
	__________________ My very amateurish gallery: http://www.raguenaud-online.org/cedric/gallery

08-01-2007	#2
trentchau Bactrian Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 2,174 CamelKarma: 4352 Editing OK?: Yes Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D 17mm on a full frame is plenty wide. You can deal with some pretty scary linear distortion at 15+. The Sigma 15-30 is noisy, it needs HSM. Here is a picture taken with a 17-40, but I think it might not be full 17
	__________________ Canon User since 1995 \| Read up on my photo blog at http://trentchau.wordpress.com/ \| www.trentchau.com

08-01-2007	#3
aam1234 Photocamel Master Posts: 8,282 CamelKarma: 5257 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D The 17-40 is a really good wide lens imo.

08-01-2007	#4
Rense PhotoCamel Supporter Camel Breath Location: Arnhem Posts: 17,960 CamelKarma: 23797 Editing OK?: Yes Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D Cedric, I have the 12-24 from Sigma. It is a great lens.
	__________________ Rense [5D][50D][20D][G10][EFS 10-22][Sigma 12-24][Sigma 15][EF 17-40][TSE 24][Sigma 30][EF 50;f/1.4][EF 50;f/1.8][EF 24-105][Tamron 28-75][MP-E65][EF 70-200 f/4][EF 70-300DO][EF 85 f/1.8][EF 100 Macro][Sigma 105][EF 135 f/2.8SF][Tamron 180mm macro][Bigma][Tamron TC1.4x][580EX][420EX (2x)][M24EX][STE-2][for a complete list, click here http://www.raphoto.nl/Gear/index.html][CPS Europe member]

08-01-2007	#5
cedric_r Bactrian Location: Aberdeen, UK Posts: 2,235 CamelKarma: 1688 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D Ok, so the comments narrow it down to the Canon 17-40 or the Sigma 12-24. The really big issue I have against the Sigma is the fact that I can't add a filter. I can possibly live (with difficulty) without ND grads, but I can't see how I could live without polarisers
	__________________ My very amateurish gallery: http://www.raguenaud-online.org/cedric/gallery

08-01-2007	#6
cedric_r Bactrian Location: Aberdeen, UK Posts: 2,235 CamelKarma: 1688 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D Rense, did you use the Sigma on the 5D? How are the vignetting and the sharpness?
	__________________ My very amateurish gallery: http://www.raguenaud-online.org/cedric/gallery

08-01-2007	#7
cyclohexane PhotoCamel Supporter Photocamel Master Location: San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA Posts: 5,722 CamelKarma: 2233 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D Get the 17-40L. It's a fantastic piece of glass.
	__________________ -Michael "Remember, the 'P' mode on your camera is for 'Professional'!"

08-02-2007	#10
JohnC Dromedary Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,051 CamelKarma: 574 Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D The 12-24 is too wide for a polarizer, anyway. At that extreme just a small portion of the sky will be affected by the polarizer and the sky will show banding. You might be able to get away with a large square graduated ND filter hand-held against the built-in lens hood. I actually have not tried my 12-24 with my 5D. I should go do that some day soon. Right now I'm hooked on the Canon 15mm fisheye.
	__________________ John Cornicello Seattle, WA http://www.johncornicello.com

08-02-2007	#11
Blacklynx Vicuna Location: scotland Posts: 60 CamelKarma: 11 Editing OK?: Yes Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D Cedric i have a 17-35 L lens F2.8 for sale if you are interested or if you have a macro lens we could do a swap i believe you are in aberdeen i am based just south of you in between aberdeen and forfar let me know if you are interested btw it takes 77mm screw on filters of which i tend to use either hoya and b & w.

08-02-2007	#13
aam1234 Photocamel Master Posts: 8,282 CamelKarma: 5257 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D An example from the 17-40.

08-02-2007	#14
Athena Photocamel Muse Location: Switzerland Posts: 15,271 CamelKarma: 33070 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D The 17-40L is next on my lens list.
	__________________ *I am going to award karma to anyone who makes a genuine* attempt at still life photography.** Read and follow the guidelines to make a still life photo. Then post your photo along with an explanation of why it qualifies in our forum and you will be rewarded. xx~A

08-02-2007	#17
JohnC Dromedary Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 1,051 CamelKarma: 574 Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D I've got a bunch of 15mm/5D images on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=fish...16343927%40N00 John
	__________________ John Cornicello Seattle, WA http://www.johncornicello.com

08-02-2007	#18
aam1234 Photocamel Master Posts: 8,282 CamelKarma: 5257 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D The link is not working, John.

08-03-2007	#20
aam1234 Photocamel Master Posts: 8,282 CamelKarma: 5257 Editing OK?: Ask first Gallery \| Blog	Re: Wide angle lens for 5D I know Athena, and what a hefty purchase that was. You are after a monitor too, am I right (I just got mine, Dell 24). __________________ Members don't see ads in threads. Register your free account today and become a member on PhotoCamel - Your Friendly Photography Forum, gaining access to posting privileges, contests, free plug-ins and other downloads, unlimited online storage for your photographs, reviews, free marketplace listings, and much more.

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