Wide Angle Lenses

[Marley]

I'm currently looking at getting a new Wide angle lens.

does anyone have experience with
the

Canon EF 15mm f2.8 Fisheye Wide Angle

or

Canon EF 20mm f2.8 Wide angle?

any help would be appreciated.

thanks

[Dans_D60]

I recently purchased the Sigma 15-30 DG EX lens for my wide angle work. I must admit that most of my work does not involve wide angle requirements. But I wanted to round out my lens selection for those times when a wide angle is needed. So far I’m pleased with results from the Sigma. I tested the Canon 14mm Canon but the cost was too high for my minimal usage. The Sigma is not as sharp as my Canon L lenses but did not expect it to. Below is an example of the Sigma and 10D:
Dan
http://www.pettusphoto.com

Sigma 15-30 EX and EOS 10D
http://www.pettusphoto.com/CRW_6732.jpg

[kanwingshing]

This is a great picture with no visible distortion
Did you shoot it at 15mm?

[colorblind]

I own a Canon EF 20mm f2.8.

Great lens, very fast, little distorsion, very little vignette.
It´s said to be susceptible to lens flare, but I had no problems with this so far.

[Dans_D60]

kanwingshing wrote:
This is a great picture with no visible distortion
Did you shoot it at 15mm?

No. The beer can image was not at the wide end for the Sigma.

Below is an image at the wide end and it clearly shows distortions. Not to be unexpected. I'm curious how the new 17-40 f4 L lens will perform.
Dan
http://www.pettusphoto.com

Sigma 15-30 EX and 10D on the “wide side”
http://www.pettusphoto.com/CRW_6736.jpg

[Marley]

Great shots.
Thanks for the advice.


I think what I'm looking for is a fisheye though.

I thought 15mm would be wider.

I'd like to get that "distorted" look for portraits and panoramic shots.

sorry I'm new to interchangable lenses.

[Dans_D60]

marley wrote:
Great shots.
Thanks for the advice.


I think what I'm looking for is a fisheye though.

I thought 15mm would be wider.

I'd like to get that "distorted" look for portraits and panoramic shots.

sorry I'm new to interchangable lenses.






Link here to see comparisons of lenses and angle of view: http://www.usa.canon.com/eflenses/lens101/focallength/index.html But read the specifications for these lenses as some sacrifice angle of view in order to reduce distortions. For example, the 15mm is a true 180 degree angle of view that by its nature will distort the image or so called fisheye effect. The 14mm lens from Canon has only a 114 degree angle of view but with very slight distortions.
Dan
http://www.pettusphoto.com

[ddduane]

I bought a Canon 15mm fisheye, but I haven'y gotten much use out of it yet. I can't wait for summer... The built quality is nice, especially the metal lens cover.

Michael Reichmann has some sample photos of it here:

http://luminous-landscape.com/reviews/imagealign.shtml

I'm sure you know by now that you won't get a full 180 degrees out of it if you use it on a D30, D60, or 10D. But it still makes respectable distortion...

The beauty, I guess, with the 15mm and ImageAlign is that you can have the distortion when you want it and take it out when you don't. Michael does a great comparison of a "corrected" 15mm image versus a rectilinear image from the 16-35mm zoom.

All-in-all, I give it a thumbs up!

[Marley]

Thanks for the great links!
That helps allot.

[justme_dc]

Just Thought I'd let you know..... I have rented the 15mm canon lens on several occasions and it is great. I ended up buying the Sigma 15mm though as it is just as sharp just as bright and about 200 dollars cheaper. I haven't shot the 15mm on my 10D yet but I fitted it an gave a look thru the finder. The barrel distortion is still visable but as it cuts the edges off with the 1.6 crop you lose a bit of that cool fisheye look. Still neat though.

You can't use it everyday so you might want to save a few bucks and go with the sigma. I did and I am not sorry at all.

Good luck to you.

P.S. You didn't ask about it but I have the 20-35 canon zoom and the results on the 10D are AMAZING. If you aren't opposed to zooms it's a great piece of glass for the money.

[martcol]

I like the shots above. But, where's the distortion?

Martin

[kanwingshing]

Shots above are made with "Non-fisheye" 15-30mm zoom. Sigma 15-30mm zoom is a super wide angle zoom that trys to minimize the fisheye distortion.
The 15mm they talk about on previous 2 threads is a real fisheye lens.

[Dans_D60]

martcol wrote:
I like the shots above. But, where's the distortion?

Martin
Dear Martin:
I was attempting to shoot wide angle with NO distortion. The Sigma 15-30 EX is a lens that sacrifices the angle of view for less distortion. However, there are distortion artifacts in the flower field shot. The power plant tower is a good example. They typically don’t build these smoke stacks to lean to the right! Anyway, several wide angle lenses exist that are designed with super wide angle of views and by their nature will distort with a “fisheye” effect. The Canon 15mm is such a lens.
Dan
http://www.pettusphoto.com