Canon 14mm f/2.8L II or Zeiss 21/2.8 Distagon

I am considering the Canon 14mm f/2.8L II or Zeiss 21/2.8 Distagon for use with a 5DII. Primary use would be landscapes, cityscapes, perhaps some interior type shots. I have not had the chance to use either of these lenses but from my initial research they both seem to be exceptional lenses. If anyone with experience with these lenses can offer an opinion or insight it would be much appreciated. Thanks.

I would handle them both first. See if you can deal with the 14mm's popeye.

focal lengths are vastly different. you have to decide which one works better for you. do you have a zoom covering this range?

I have zooms that go down to 24mm but I'd really like to get a wide prime. I had a 10-22mm which I used on a 30D but recently sold. Would like something with better quality than that.

David, are you shooting full frame? how did you like 10mm on the crop? 14mm is even wider. you can also always do panoramas with the 21. honestly, both lenses are fantastic, with the the canon having autofocus. you need to decide more which focal length works for you. I dont think you will be looking at an image taken with either of these lenses and say: I wish I had a better lens.

Yes FF, 5DMkII now.

the 14mm sample shots that I have seen do not look super distorted considering the FL. Would love to hear from owners of these lenses.

I would think the 14mm is a very specific lens where a lot of landscapes would not show very nice with it. The 21mm is more versatile and can be used in more situations.

What about the Samyang 14mm f2.8. It seems to perform very well and is sharp on the corners. And it's many times cheaper than the Canon.

I have the 14L II and love it - it's sharp and controls distortion very well - but as said it is a very wide lens that only lends itself to certain photos. For interiors and landscapes, you may also want to look at the 17mm TS-E.

thanks Tim. I've looked at the 17mm TS-E but I don't think ti is the lens for me. Really leaning towards these two (Canon 14mm LII and Zeiss 21mm).

Hi, David! I think it's going to boil down to which focal length will work better for the types of shooting you have in mind. The 14L II is REALLY wide on a FF. A friend of mine has the 20mm Voigtlander on his 5D II and feels even that is too wide for the landscape shooting he likes to do. I recently picked up the Zeiss 21mm and haven't done a lot of shooting with it yet except for test shots. The Zeiss does appear to have a different look than the Canon lenses, bringing out more subtle details. The MF of the Zeiss lens hasn't really been a problem since you get the focus confirmation. When I tested the lens to see if it needed any microadjustment, it was spot on at the zero setting.

Hey thanks Steve. I'll be interested to hear your opinions of the Zeiss as you have more opportunity to use it.
Is there a good lens you don't own? I hope we get to shoot together again one of these days.

What other UWAs do you have?

If you don't have any, I'd get the Distagon 21.

If you already have something covering the 16-24 range, I'd get the 14L II.

If you're willing to splurge (and are willing to carry the weight around), 14L II + TSE 17 + Distagon 21 would be a perfect UWA combination.

DavidPhoto wrote in post #10589642
Hey thanks Steve. I'll be interested to hear your opinions of the Zeiss as you have more opportunity to use it.
Is there a good lens you don't own? I hope we get to shoot together again one of these days.

Hmmm, I think there are still a few good ones I don't own! Maybe we should collaborate on a photoshoot sometime. I'm taking the Zeiss 21 to Cape Cod in the relatively near future. I plan to do some landscape shooting while balancing that with family stuff.

sdipirro wrote in post #10590205
Hmmm, I think there are still a few good ones I don't own! Maybe we should collaborate on a photoshoot sometime. I'm taking the Zeiss 21 to Cape Cod in the relatively near future. I plan to do some landscape shooting while balancing that with family stuff.

Definitely interested, lets plan a shoot.
Let me know how your Cape Cod shots work out with that lens. I find it hard to shoot down there in the summer due to soo many people, much prefer the offseason.