First pic 17-85 IS

[Skip Souza]

My lens arrived today so I took it out to a local war memorial to try it out. I am thrilled with the results except for the distortion. Must be as a result of being at 17mm and very close to the memorial. I had to stick the camera inside the fence to get the pic. It sure seems sharp enough.
I now have my perfect two lens motorcycle travel kit.
Comments welcome.

[Skip Souza]

Good grief. This looks terrible after resizing it for the web.
I've tried it a different way here. Experimenting.

[Skip Souza]

Did it help? Which is better? My old eyes are starting to play tricks on me.

[Maureen Souza]

I think they look pretty good here at work. I have the same frustration downsizing my photos to post as well :( :(

[Lotto]

Either you have a magic lens, or most the underline words look smeared and blur in my monitor. Must be the compression:evil:

[Skip Souza]

Thanks for commenting Lotto. Yeah it looks awful. Must be the compression. :-( Looks great before resizing for the web. I haven't figured out how to avoid it.

[Lonewolf]

Skip-thanks for taking the time to share your photo and information. I've been looking into this same lens and appreciate the "no BS assessment" provided by actual users of the lens like yourself.

You mentioned that you now have the "perfect two lens motorcycle travel kit." What's the other lens?

Keep us posted on your adventures with this new lens.

Thanks - Wayne.

[michapma]

Try using less compression when resizing the JPG. What program are you using?

I'm pretty sure the barrel distortion you see is pretty common. It's not a specially-built wide-angle lens, and doesn't have built-in correction. It's possible to do some correction in post-processing. I have the same lens and I hate chromatic aberration, which you will quickly discover if you shoot at wide angles a lot. Not to worry, even top-quality L-series lenses suffer from this. I tend to avoid shooting under about 35mm with this lens, but am not afraid to if the shot calls for it, such as in your case in order to avoid the bars. One thing you can try to do is keep your subject away from the edges of the frame, so that you can later crop out distorted parts.

[booggerg]

how much battery does the IS on this lens drain?

So give me approx number of shots per battery with IS on vs with IS off.

[michapma]

Never bothered to quantify it, sorry. :neutral: I can hear the IS motors whirring if it is still when composing, and I assume it is appreciable. But I can use the camera for several hours on the 20D without worrying. I've never really pushed it, but I plan to get a spare battery soon anyway. Is it that important?

Edit: the review at dpreview.com might mention something about it.
Edit edit: No, it doesn't. :(

[Skip Souza]

Skip-thanks for taking the time to share your photo and information. I've been looking into this same lens and appreciate the "no BS assessment" provided by actual users of the lens like yourself.

You mentioned that you now have the "perfect two lens motorcycle travel kit." What's the other lens?

Keep us posted on your adventures with this new lens.

Thanks - Wayne.
Thanks for commenting Lonewolf,
My other m/c travel lens id the 70-300 DO IS which is also terrific. This gives me coverage from 17mm to 300mm in two lenses. Now all I need is the Kenko 1.4 TC to really "reach out and touch someone." :rolleyes:
For motorcycle travel I use a Tamrac system. A toploader (Zoom 5 I believe) holds the 20D and either lens attached with hood reversed. An MAS lens case and an MAS pouch for my 420EX. The toploader has three pouches for extra batteries, CF cards, circular polarizer, cleaning cloth. All this goes on a Tamrac belt and fits into my tank bag.
The whole kit is felatively easy to wear and use although it looks like a Batman unility belt. :p
Next major stop. US MotoGP at Laguna Seca :lol:

[Skip Souza]

Try using less compression when resizing the JPG. What program are you using?

I'm pretty sure the barrel distortion you see is pretty common. It's not a specially-built wide-angle lens, and doesn't have built-in correction. It's possible to do some correction in post-processing. I have the same lens and I hate chromatic aberration, which you will quickly discover if you shoot at wide angles a lot. Not to worry, even top-quality L-series lenses suffer from this. I tend to avoid shooting under about 35mm with this lens, but am not afraid to if the shot calls for it, such as in your case in order to avoid the bars. One thing you can try to do is keep your subject away from the edges of the frame, so that you can later crop out distorted parts.
Thanks for commenting michapma.
I am using Picasa2 at this time. I have Elements 2 and MS Digital Image Pro so I am going to have to try them. I am just terrible at post processing, unlike my wife. The second image is smaller with less compression but it still is terrible. I think it is the 100kb limit that does it.
You are right about the really wide angle distortion but sometimes you just have to step infront of the post, car, sign, whatever, and take what you get. I like this lens because it gives me that option.

Booggerg, I haven't had this lens long enough to answer your question on battery life yet. I am sure it will be significant so I intend to travel with my spare and my charger.

[michapma]

All this goes on a Tamrac belt and fits into my tank bag.

Hope you never lean the bike. :cry: ;) Seriously though, I'm sure the handlebars would catch it... but some poorly placed rocks in that case could make life more expensive.

As far as the post-processing compression of jpegs goes, it should be fairly simple. When you are saving the jpeg file, you should find options for the compression. The only software you've mentioned that I've used is Elements 2, and I know for sure it has a slider that controls the quality. Let's say you've resized and otherwise edited an image and would now like to save it as a new file. When you select "save as" a dialogue box will pop up that says jpeg options.In the box labeled "Image Options" you'll see a slider that goes from small file to large file. Small file means more compression and worse quality, and large file the opposite. The number beside "Quality" is relative, but it usually is about 10 for me, which is often a decent compromise between online file size and compression quality. If you check the Preview box, you can see the result of the compression in your picture (make sure it's at 100% zoom) as you scale the compression slider.

Try both extremes, then look at the details and see what you come up with. You might notice that under Size it even tells you what the file size will be at that compression (as well as the expected download time for the chosen Internet connection). Images such as the one you've shown here that have lots of edges or colors will make for larger files, images with lots of similar colors will make much smaller files.

[Skip Souza]

I think that it was al the "fine print" that ran up the file size and therefore the need for greater compression. (Lawerys must love it ;-) )
I did not have near the same problem with http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=82395. The wide angle distotion was obvious in the fence but the image quality did not suffer so much due to compression.
I'll have to post a photo of my gear belt and how it fits on my bike. If the camera gets hurt it will be the least of my worries.

[summerwind4]

Skip,

glad to see you got it....;-)

the 17mm end of this lens does indeed have distortion...........i run mine thru PTLens...........straightens them right out

this image had distortion like that, but PTLens fixed it..........

http://www.pbase.com/summerwind4/image/44700611

[Skip Souza]

Thanks, sumnerwind4, I'll give it a shot.

[summerwind4]

hey Skip,
just curious as i see your sig says central Kalifornia:)

wherabouts?

i'm in Fresno.

[Skip Souza]

I'm in Visalia, neighbor.

[summerwind4]

wow Skip......small world eh?

ever get up here much?
the only place i buy is from Boot's Camera.
i tried a couple 17-85's when i bought mine, both were good copies.
how do you like the lens so far?

[Belmondo]

I'll wave at you both tomorrow. We're driving up to Reno, and I prefer to go up 99 instead of 5,

[summerwind4]

have a safe trip.

also, be forewarned, they are doing roadwork up near us on 99.
the stall time isn't too bad though.
good luck in Reno....;-)

[Belmondo]

have a safe trip.

also, be forewarned, they are doing roadwork up near us on 99.
the stall time isn't too bad though.
good luck in Reno....;-)

Thanks.

Skip:

The lens looks good, and it's tempting, but I'm still grappling with the reality that if I buy it, I can't use it on my 1Dm2. Same with the 10-22 which I really, really, really, really would love to have. I guess I'm going to have to get used to the idea, but it galls me nonetheless.

[Skip Souza]

Have a good trip Tom, the road work is at Conejo Ave, Kingsburg. I love the lens because it fits my needs for a two lens travel kit. The wife has the 16-35L which would work with your 1Dm2 and is a real knock out. Of course the 10-22 is another matter as it is wider on a 1.6 crop camera. Devils choice:-).

[Skip Souza]

wow Skip......small world eh?

ever get up here much?
the only place i buy is from Boot's Camera.
i tried a couple 17-85's when i bought mine, both were good copies.
how do you like the lens so far?
I get up there occasionally. The wife works at the Fresno Surgery Center.
We've been to Boot's a few times. Agood place to get your hands on things. They didn't have anything I could do without. :lol: Probably go up a play with tripods.
I love the lens. Sharp with good contrast. Love the IS. Makes a perfect companion to my 70-300 DO.

[scr7b]

Skip,


glad to see you got it....;-)

the 17mm end of this lens does indeed have distortion...........i run mine thru PTLens...........straightens them right out

this image had distortion like that, but PTLens fixed it..........

http://www.pbase.com/summerwind4/image/44700611

I searched for PTlens, and downloaded the zip, but it's password protected... It says it's free, what's the deal there??

[summerwind4]

I searched for PTlens, and downloaded the zip, but it's password protected... It says it's free, what's the deal there??

i could always email the files i downloaded to you.
i didn't have a password message when i got it.