PDA

View Full Version : New Toy - Canon 20 mm f/2.8

Tom W
1st of May 2005 (Sun), 20:14
I picked up a Canon 20 mm f/2.8 from GregM the other day, so I thought I'd share my experiences with the rest of the gallery. I got it used for a respectable price, but it is in mint condition, and he sent me the hood with it as well.

My impressions - if you've used the 85 mm f/1.8 lens, this lens looks and feels very similar. Its one of the mid-priced Canon lenses with ring-type USM, focus scale, metal mount, and a combination of fairly solid feel and light weight.

I've taken a few test shots in varying conditions and found that it is sharp wide open at f/2.8 and it maintains good sharpness across the field (on a 1D Mk II). Color is Canon standard which is fairly neutral.

In very high contrast situations, a little bit of CA shows up along contrast edges near the corners of the image, but it is not excessive - very mild. On par with the 16-35L at similar focal length IMHO, and only visible at 100% crop. Stopping down nearly eliminates the effect.

Distortion is very low barrel distortion, making it a good candidate for architectural photography.

I like this lens. It looks like a good copy, and it will sit well in the collection between the 24 and the 15 mm fisheye.

Test images at:

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/20mm_test_shots
tim
1st of May 2005 (Sun), 20:24
Looks pretty good to me :)
roanjohn
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 06:39
Nice lens!!! How about vigenetting?? Did you notice any??

Ro1
mr.photoguy
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 07:29
nice Lens, glad to see your happy with it..
Wish you took a photo of the lens.
cmM
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 07:52
I've been looking at this lens for a while (as well as a few other :)) Looks nice and sounds nice from your impressions as well. Thanks for the review ;)
Dante King
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 08:01
Looks like a winner. How is the weight?
Tom W
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 08:38
OK, I added an image of the lens for Mr. Photoguy (and anyone else that wants to see what it looks like):

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/image/42850144.jpg

Weight is slightly less than that of the 85/1.8 - this lens weighs 14.3 oz, while the 85/1.8 weighs 15.0 oz.

Roanjohn - I didn't notice any vignetting on the 1.3X sensor, though I think William Castleman noted a bit of light falloff on his test using the 1Ds. Here's a link to his review of the 17-40L which includes this lens:

http://wlcastleman.com/equip/reviews/17-40/index.htm
mr.photoguy
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 09:09
That's a very conviently sized lens.

It looks very surdy also..
velvetjones
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 13:00
You know, I just sold that lens a few months ago to fund the purchase of another lens. I sort of miss the 20mm now though. :cry:

It is a nice lens that is often underrated. Enjoy!
Tom W
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 13:25
It is giving my fast wide zoom some good competition, which is what I want.

BTW, I stuck a couple more images up on the original link:

http://www.pbase.com/photosbytom/20mm_test_shots
Steve Parr
2nd of May 2005 (Mon), 19:53
Oh, see, now you've done it.

Now I've gotta' put my shoes down and head off, um... okay, shopping...

Steve