please help me tame my 16-35 2.8 mk2

Hi,

I have recently purchased a 16-35..
Amazing lens but some pics are distorted and others are great. so I need some advice on how to use it to the best of its ability..
for example a picture of people around a table at 16mm.. the people on the sides of the table (the sides of the picture) The closest, are very distorted while the middle subjects the farthest away are of course perfect.. Any tips on how to avoid/tame the beast ?

Welcome to the world of UWA on full-frame. The only way I know to tame it is shoot longer lenses from further away. 16mm will always be 16mm.

Operator's fault.

Just because you can shoot @ 16mm, doesn't mean you should.

I would not shoot people with a lens shorter than 24mm, and that's putting the person in the center frame. 16mm is simply asking for trouble.

I Love Cats wrote in post #16489459
Welcome to the world of UWA on full-frame. The only way I know to tame it is shoot longer lenses from further away. 16mm will always be 16mm.

+1

it's no wonder this excellent canon UW gets such a bad rap.

I second kin2son's advice that 24mm is as wide as you can go with people, up close anyway. I use the 10-22 on APSC in similar situations to the OP's. But I don't go wider than 15mm (24mm FF equivalent) because of the distortion.

That distortion will work to your advantage in appropriate shots. It really exaggerates (as you can see) the perspective between near and far. The DOF at 16mm and f/11 is HUMONGOUS. That is a fantastic lens, when used properly.

Cheers for the tips/advice guys

And don't forget that pointing the camera up or down, even slightly, will create distortions in the form of converging or diverging verticals, which will be particularly noticable when shooting people close up with a wide angle lens.

ed rader wrote in post #16489544
+1

it's no wonder this excellent canon UW gets such a bad rap.

No, it get's bad rap because it is soft as tar on a hot day in the corners.

Clockwork Frog wrote in post #16489790
And don't forget that pointing the camera up or down, even slightly, will create distortions in the form of converging or diverging verticals, which will be particularly noticable when shooting people close up with a wide angle lens.

This!

To exaggerate the point...

8 mm straight

IMAGE LINK: http://s37.photobucket​.com …1024_zps55f7ea2​1.jpg.html

IMAGE LINK: http://s37.photobucket​.com …024g_zps809a0d0​1.jpg.html