Searching for a low-distortion 18mm to 24mm fixed focus lens

Does anyone have any suggestions (and possibly sample shots) for a Prime (fixed focus) lens in the 18mm to 24mm range. I already have a zoom (17-40 L) that covers the entire focal range, but I am especially looking for something with a LOT less barrel distortion. I shot horizontal subjects (windows and doors: see my gallery in my signature for what I mean), and the barreling really shows in most of my shots. I know how to reduce the effects through distance, height, zooming out as wide as possible and then cropping, or zoom in as tight as possible, etc. But what I am looking for is a nice CANON lens, of which there are only a few in mind, but does anyone have any experience with fine horizontal lines and focal lenghts in this range?

Thanks in advance.

The 24L II is said to be pretty decent in terms of barrel distortion, especially on APS-C, but I've no personal experience with it.

The 24 handles distortion really well. Like, I don't even bother correcting it. If you look at my flikr, anything wide and recent is with that and I have not corrected distortion once since I got it.

When I finally use it inside for interiors I am sure I will need correction, but outside heavy architecture what is present is very subdued.

24mm TSE if you do not want to go the software route, i.e. Adobe and DxO.

^^+1 It sounds like you are looking for a tilt shift lens, which is designed for exactly what you've described. Canon makes a 24mm and 17mm, and Samyang makes a pretty well regarded 24mm, as well.

The 17-40 will do OK in therms of distortion at 24 mm on crop. Have you checked this out? It will give some distortion at 17, but levels will be lower at 24 mm.

Yep, I've set my 17-40 to 24mm, but there still is some barreling, not much, but it's still noticable with the type of photos I tend to shoot.

As for a tilt-shift, thought it would definitely be something that would cure all of my barreling problems (and be awesome to have),that's probably not something I would get due to the cost. I'm not sure I want to spend 2,500 dollars (US) on a lens, a thousand, yeah, but 2.5 times that amount, ehh... nope.

I have seen that lightroom5 has a distortion correction function, sooo... I might check that out too, but I still wouldn't mind picking up a nice prime in that focal length specifically for architecture.

Thanks for the replies!

Try the Tokina 16-28mm. It has almost no distortion at 24mm and is a lot cheaper than the 24L.

See http://www.photozone.d​e …tokina162828eos​ff?start=1

I have a 16-35 which I don't use much. I don't like to carry it around in my bag which I may not use it at all during the outings. Wish Canon would make a good 16mm or 17mm prime with IS. Please don't tell me IS is useless on a UW. I want to be able to shoot at low ISO and at slow speed with decent DOF when tripod is not an option.

Either a TS-E , 17 or 24mm or try DxO optics if you want to try the software route

Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM? http://lenstests.com …f-24mm-f2.8-is-usm-page-2 http://www.lenstip.com ….8_IS_USM_Disto​rtion.html

Am I missing something here? Isn't this distortion pretty easy to correct in post? I really like UWA shots and use my Sig 10-20 often and find it only takes a moment to fix the barrel effect in Lightroom.

plumgoo wrote in post #16561157
...

As for a tilt-shift, thought it would definitely be something that would cure all of my barreling problems (and be awesome to have),that's probably not something I would get due to the cost. I'm not sure I want to spend 2,500 dollars (US) on a lens, a thousand, yeah, but 2.5 times that amount, ehh... nope.

...

That was why I mentioned the Samyang; it can be had for around 8-900 USD, and it's reviewed quite highly compared with the Canon version

The Canon EF-S 10-22 seems to do pretty well in distortion tests in that range. Doesn't quite get you to 24mm, but close enough.

Click around here:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com …&CameraComp=453​&FLIComp=0

BTW, I enjoyed clicking around your smugmug, especially the "people of vienna" section.

Shane W wrote in post #16561423
Am I missing something here? Isn't this distortion pretty easy to correct in post? I really like UWA shots and use my Sig 10-20 often and find it only takes a moment to fix the barrel effect in Lightroom.

It is, and is what I do, but it does have an impact on sharpness.