Wide Angle - Zenitar 16mm

[boBquincy]

I received my eBay lens today and used it to take photos of a house we are looking at. One of my prime reasons for buying it is for indoor photos where we just can't back up far enough anyway, so this was a good test for the lens.

This one came with an EOS mount, no adapter needed (although the 42mm mount was included). It is pretty good, especially for the money. It is fairly sharp and I didn't notice any flare problems with the light sources in the photos. Since it is a manual lens my exif data reports an aperture of f 64! I was shooting mainly at f4 or f 5.6, where everything from about 3' to infinity is in focus.

The slight fisheye effect (on a 10D) can be somewhat neutralized with Photoshop's 'pinch' filter and for landscapes it probably would not be noticed.

A good solution to the high cost of very wide angle lenses!


boB

[Mikesht]

I received my eBay lens today and used it to take photos of a house we are looking at. One of my prime reasons for buying it is for indoor photos where we just can't back up far enough anyway, so this was a good test for the lens.

This one came with an EOS mount, no adapter needed (although the 42mm mount was included). It is pretty good, especially for the money. It is fairly sharp and I didn't notice any flare problems with the light sources in the photos. Since it is a manual lens my exif data reports an aperture of f 64! I was shooting mainly at f4 or f 5.6, where everything from about 3' to infinity is in focus.

The slight fisheye effect (on a 10D) can be somewhat neutralized with Photoshop's 'pinch' filter and for landscapes it probably would not be noticed.

A good solution to the high cost of very wide angle lenses!


boB

Since you are sharing this info, let me add some too.
I got mine thru E-bay seller, brand new with EOS mount, just as yours.
Well, it must be said here that I myself was born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine, and lived there untill 12 years ago :-)) So I knew exactly where lens comes from...
I got the lens pretty fast and just as described, and put it on my 10D right away. Imagine what I felt when I discovered that lens sits really "loose", even rattles a bit.
I wrote an e-mail to a seller, adding a couple words in Ukrainian. I must say, his responce was quick: don't worry, will send you another adapter. After 4 weeks of waiting I got a new adapter, replaced it on a lens and guess what? This time it it too tight. I mean I can put it on with an effort, but not as easily as my Canon lens...
At that point I got tired of all this crap and let it go. I do use this lens, it is reasonably sharp and certanly gives you a lot af angle for $140 But do you want this aggrivation? And because of the mount, I will only use it when I really need really wide. Actually, it's another thing about this lens- it is almost too wide for everyday landscapes and architecture...
I dont know. Logically I should be proud for my motherland and keep telling great things about this product, but honestly "I don't think so, Tim" :-))

[boBquincy]

Yep, the fit is not exactly top quality, my lens wiggled around a bit, just as yours did. Since the Zenitar costs about 8 times less than an equivalent focal length Sigma or Canon I was prepared to cut it some slack. ;) Also, after reading the reviews I was not expecting too much from the fit & finish (although everyone considers the optical quality to be pretty good).

I made a spacer ring of self-adhesive paper (looking suspiciously like a floppy disk label) to tighten up the fit, and it fits pretty well now.

I'm still pleased with the lens, for the cost, but if you want to share those 'special' Ukrainian phrases with me I will use them in a letter to the importer. Maybe after a few responses like that they will make an effort to improve their machining tolerances! ;)


boB

[Mikesht]

Yep, the fit is not exactly top quality, my lens wiggled around a bit, just as yours did. Since the Zenitar costs about 8 times less than an equivalent focal length Sigma or Canon I was prepared to cut it some slack. ;) Also, after reading the reviews I was not expecting too much from the fit & finish (although everyone considers the optical quality to be pretty good).

I made a spacer ring of self-adhesive paper (looking suspiciously like a floppy disk label) to tighten up the fit, and it fits pretty well now.

I'm still pleased with the lens, for the cost, but if you want to share those 'special' Ukrainian phrases with me I will use them in a letter to the importer. Maybe after a few responses like that they will make an effort to improve their machining tolerances! ;)


boB

If it was only what it takes for them to improve the tolerances, I have a whole dictionary, but I think it will not be enough...
The bottom line is, while giving me satisfactory results, this lens still not solved my "wide angle problem", I am still looking for lens to cover a wide angle. It's just like with my old cheap tripod. It worked, but because it's such a husle to set it up I ended up not using it. My new Manfrotto is a snap to set up- and I use it a lot.
Anyway, just my 2 cents.
If you are interested, here is my latest pic taken with Zenitar (some sharpening is applied as I resized)

http://images5.fotki.com/v55/photos/1/149429/546694/IMG_1082_8by10-vi.jpg?1074060602

[ilya]

[If it was only what it takes for them to improve the tolerances, I have a whole dictionary, but I think it will not be enough...
The bottom line is, while giving me satisfactory results, this lens still not solved my "wide angle problem", I am still looking for lens to cover a wide angle. It's just like with my old cheap tripod. It worked, but because it's such a husle to set it up I ended up not using it. My new Manfrotto is a snap to set up- and I use it a lot.
Anyway, just my 2 cents.
If you are interested, here is my latest pic taken with Zenitar (some sharpening is applied as I resized)

http://images5.fotki.com/v55/photos/1/149429/546694/IMG_1082_8by10-vi.jpg?1074060602

Vrode neploho. Ne sravnit' s $600 canon, no tzenu tozhe ne sravnish...

[Belmondo]

Vrode neploho. Ne sravnit' s $600 canon, no tzenu tozhe ne sravnish...

Ilya:
You're having a hard time getting rid of that New Jersy accent, aren't you? :wink:

[ilya]

Vrode neploho. Ne sravnit' s $600 canon, no tzenu tozhe ne sravnish...

Ilya:
You're having a hard time getting rid of that New Jersy accent, aren't you? :wink:

:P :P :P

Ain't that a bit**. I rather liked having the California accent, now I'm all messed up.

[boBquincy]

I would have to agree, cheap equipment that works 'ok' but is a pain to use, eventually becomes more trouble than it is worth.
I will use the Zenitar to play with wide angle shots for awhile, and when I get the funds I will probably buy a good Canon wide angle.

Mike, your architectural photo is really good!

That, and what Ilya said, yeah, that's what I meant! ;)


boB

[CyberDyneSystems]

Bobquincy has a good point,. it gives us an inexpensive alternative to use while we asses our need for a much more costly quality wide angle lens...

Sometimes these bargains can clue us in to the fact that we either don't need it after all,. or we use it so often it is worth it to spend more.

It was "sort of" similar to my experience with a super telephoto... I was really not sure I would ever spend a few thousand on a long prime,. my solution was the 50-500mm zoom to asses my requirement of the focal length. As it turned out,. I used the lens 99% of the time @ 500mm.. and thus I was able to deduce a real need for the 500mm prime.

I suppose to be trualy analagous to the zenitar I would have gotten one of the 500mm mirror lenses ofr $200.00...

But the lessons are are similar.

[Mikesht]

Vrode neploho. Ne sravnit' s $600 canon, no tzenu tozhe ne sravnish...[/quote]


На большом формате лучше выглядит... Ну и это с рук, со штатива-то возможно лучше- не было возможности попробовать еще.
Михаил

[Mikesht]

boBquincy:
Thanks, I am glad you liked it :-)

CDS:
You are right, and actually after using a fish-eye for a little while I am glad I did not go for an expensive one. I realize what I really need- for everyday use I will have a moderate wide angle and for occasional shot like this Zenitar will do.