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shanelawson
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Registered: Apr 11, 2022
Location: N/A
Posts: 3
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Review Date: May 16, 2022
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Just got this lens and love it!
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Cons:
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 May 16, 2022
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tcphoto
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Registered: Mar 29, 2004
Location: United States
Posts: 1537
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Review Date: Apr 4, 2018
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $900.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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I love the color, contrast and bokeh
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Cons:
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The lens hood mount is a little suspect, I found mine to be a bit soft and now the lens hood is a little difficult to put on and off.
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Whether you shoot landscapes or people the 24LII is an amazing lens. I love the color, contrast and bokeh of the lens. I've even played with it on a food and beverage shoot and it produced some interesting images.
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Apr 4, 2018
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peterstrong
Offline
[ X ]
Registered: Dec 21, 2016
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Dec 21, 2016
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Overall sharpness, excellent center sharpness wide open, built and color rendition, bokeh.
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Cons:
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My version has somewhat unreliable AF when focusing more than about 10m away.
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The image quality at F1.4 is so impressive on my copy that despite having AF issues, I haven't returned my lens. This is because I'm concerned that I'll get a copy with great AF but with less image quality. The lens is tack sharp corner to corner at F1.4 at the minimum focusing distance. One caveat here is that you need to be aware of the extremely thin depth of field at F1.4 combined with the minimum focusing distance. I quite often using live view and manual focusing with 10x zoom on to nail it. The poorest performance is when shooting at infinity (i.e sky, landscape etc.) at F1.4. Generally the corner sharpness drops a fair bit but I never really find myself needing to do this so it doesn't bother me a great deal.
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Dec 21, 2016
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melquisedec
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Registered: Oct 5, 2014
Location: Portugal
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Oct 5, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharpness, IQ,
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Cons:
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none i can think of, maybe price but worth the cost
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I just love this lens, I think I'm addicted to it! It makes magic happen when you shot with it.
It has a slight vignetting wide open that I really love, and the bokeh, oh the bokeh!
Focuses fast and accurate.
Colors and contrast render just great, not to mention that if combined with a good body you can shot hand held on the moonlight, how great is that?
Built like a tank (even if the rubber ring on mine was damages after 2 years of use, and I'm really careful handling it), it's heavy, but I really like that.
Recommended!
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Oct 5, 2014
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Dpedraza
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Registered: Jan 8, 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 1853
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Review Date: Jul 31, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,000.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sharp, bokeh, color rendition, contrasty,
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Cons:
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hood
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I bought this lens for a lot less than other used versions because of a small scrape on the bottom of the filter ring. The lens is very nice the size balances well on the camera. It's sharp and resolves well on the full frame sensor. My only real complaint is the hood.
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Jul 31, 2014
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Trevor Sowers
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Registered: Aug 14, 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 111
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Review Date: May 25, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,750.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Resolves well across the frame. Weather sealing. Solid build. Fast Accurate AF. Very good flare resistance. f/1.4
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Cons:
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Poor hood design. Heavy. Large. Expensive.
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I'll start with my negatives. The hood doesn't snap on securely and it can rotate when you are carrying the camera on a strap so that when you go to take a shot you may need to adjust the hood. This is rare but it has happened to me. Also the round shape of the hood means that you can't set the lens down on the hood when changing lenses which I always do with my other lenses. As for the heavy, large and expensive points; well they just come with the territory and are not faults of the lens but they are something to consider as "down sides".
As for the good points
.well It's a long list so I'll just simply say that this is one of my most treasured lenses and I would not want to go without it! When I'm shooting a wedding it is on one of my bodies at all times. It is sharper at f/1.4 than my sigma 50mm and (unlike the sigma 50) it actually focuses accurately in low light when I really need it. It does vignette heavy at 1.4 but otherwise looks quite good for a lens that is wide open! I find I really like how it looks at f/2 and up. If I am in a situation where I need a wide angle lens that I can count on to get the shot this is the one I reach for. I've shot musicians on stage that were jumping around in horrible light as well as dancing at wedding receptions with bad light and lot's of fast dancing so I set up my remote speedlites and with this lens on my 5D MKIII and servo AF it just nails it!!
For Photojournalism and environmental portraits it's a great lens IMHO
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May 25, 2014
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rbussmann
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Registered: Apr 11, 2013
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Mar 27, 2014
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,450.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Overall sharpness, excellent center sharpness wide open, built and color rendition, bokeh.
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Cons:
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Price, sensitive AF
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One of my most frequently used lenses. Love color rendition and bokeh, not to speak about being built like a tank. gets lots of landscape and interior (interviews) work done under difficult environmental condition. Had one, sold it to try the smaller 24mm IS, but wasn't convinced. Tried also the Zeiss 25mm f2.0, which, although an excellent lens, lacks weather sealing. Just bought a 24 1.4 again.
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Mar 27, 2014
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mce_30
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Registered: Dec 19, 2010
Location: Australia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Sep 21, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $2,000.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Stunning image quality right to the edge, wide open in most situations. Minimal distortion.
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Cons:
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My version has somewhat unreliable AF when focusing more than about 10m away.
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Overall
Let me start by saying that, although I have some reservations about the AF system in this lens, I think the lens produces stunning images that really "pop out" and grab the viewer. The performance at F1.4 is extremely impressive on my copy. The only exception to this is when focusing at infinity the corners are a bit soft. Vignetting is quite strong at F1.4 but I quite like this effect and it can be compensated out with the DPP software if I don't want it for a paticular shot. Anway, don't take my word - judge for yourself. Here's a bunch of my photos taken with the 24mm F1.4L Mk II lens on a 5D Mk III camera:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/michael_elford/sets/72157635747950975/
Image Quality
The image quality at F1.4 is so impressive on my copy that despite having AF issues, I haven't returned my lens. This is because I'm concerned that I'll get a copy with great AF but with less image quality. The lens is tack sharp corner to corner at F1.4 at the minimum focusing distance. One caveat here is that you need to be aware of the extremely thin depth of field at F1.4 combined with the minimum focusing distance. I quite often using live view and manual focusing with 10x zoom on to nail it. The poorest performance is when shooting at infinity (i.e sky, landscape etc.) at F1.4. Generally the corner sharpness drops a fair bit but I never really find myself needing to do this so it doesn't bother me a great deal.
AF Issues
OK. So many people are going to be thinking that I don't know what I'm doing at F1.4 and that's why I think there are focusing issues. Let me dispell that myth by stating that I also own a 35mm F1.4L and an 85mm F1.2L Mk II, neither of which I consider to have any AF issues whatsoever. Sadly though, with the 24mm I do. The AF on this lens (my copy at least) is very inconsistent when shooting from about 10m to infinity. I tend not to trust the AF at all and find myself using live view a lot. The lens has even misfocused a shot at F8 (focusing in the distance). I live in hope that this problem can one day be solved with a firmware update to the lens. In the meantime I consider it an annoyance but one that I'm willing to live with given the stunning combination of wide and shallow focus that this lens gives me.
Do I recommend this lens? Yes, if you are wanting that combination of wide and shallow then there are not tool many tools that will give you than unique look. Go for it but be aware that you might be having AF issues like so many others that have reported it.
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Sep 21, 2013
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scott_scheetz
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Registered: Oct 31, 2012
Location: United States
Posts: 130
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Review Date: Sep 9, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,250.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Sharp, beautiful bokeh, fast and accurate AF, weather-sealing, excellent build, beautiful colors.
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Cons:
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None, (If I had to pick one, price for a new one)
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This lens is incredible. The build quality is amazing. The images from this lens are sharp at every aperture. The colors are great, and the bokeh is wonderful. Very fast, quiet and accurate AF.
Some samples on a 5D:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottscheetz/9711367737/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottscheetz/9681286267/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottscheetz/9558989406/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottscheetz/9512450070/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottscheetz/9484735270/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottscheetz/9489215687/
Exif data is available on each image.
This lens also works quite well on a crop camera (becomes about a 35mm) and works wonderfully for video use as well.
No complaints about this lens.
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Sep 9, 2013
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aestiva
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Feb 17, 2009
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Apr 27, 2013
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $1,500.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Very sharp, fast AF, bokehlicous, small, light
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Cons:
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Noting
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Amazing lens. When I compare this with the new 24-70 2.8L II, this lens is almost the same (color and sharpness), but the bokeh is more beautiful of the 24 1.4 II. Almost all the wide-ange pictures of http://www.totaalfotografie.nl are made with the 24 1.4L II
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Apr 27, 2013
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user222
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Registered: Sep 13, 2007
Location: United States
Posts: 819
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Nov 16, 2012
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Carles77
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Registered: Sep 19, 2012
Location: Spain
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Sep 19, 2012
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: $1,400.00
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Pros:
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sharp at more than f/2, not so heavy, well build
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Cons:
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soft corners at f/1.4, very ugly bokeh, expensive, vignetting
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Very ugly bokeh for me, I buy this lens because i want a wide angle lens with the benefits of low light and bokeh too. But it's unusable at f/1.4 - f/2. Corners are too soft, vignetting extremly.
I sold this lens, I will go for another prime lens like the 50L.
Thanks.
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Sep 19, 2012
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nswelton
Offline
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Registered: Jan 16, 2006
Location: N/A
Posts: 282
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Review Date: Apr 11, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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sharp corner to corner, beautiful image quality
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Cons:
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too expensive for what you get
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wish this lens was a little cheaper, but at least it's less costly than the nikon version. my 35L was my daily driver for weddings until i got this... kinda got sick of shooting in cramped reception venues and this opened the world up just a little bit more. but that extra 11mm was huge, and i fell in love with the focal length. very flare resistant, pretty quick to focus, super sharp. absolutely beautiful lens.
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Apr 11, 2012
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bateleur
Offline
Image Upload: Off
Registered: Nov 25, 2003
Location: Netherlands
Posts: 409
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Review Date: Jan 24, 2012
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Construction, weatherproof, fast, supersharp (stopped down to f4)
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Cons:
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Price, needs carefull use for accurate focussing, needs camera with MA
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The build of this lens is really impressive! Used stopped down to f4.0 or f 5.6 it is supersharp!
But the downside is that one really needs to know how to use this lens. First of all I discovered that it needs a +10 MA on my EOS 5DmkII.
Don't expect this lens to be sharp from corner to corner at f 1.4 (which wide angle lens is this anyway?)
With your main subject towards the borders of the image it is stil possible to get good results at f1.4 provided that proper focussing techniques are used. Don't expect the rest of the picture to be sharp because as with all fast lenses at f 1.4 the DOF is very thin.
Pay special attention to the background because there is a lot more to "see" in the frame compared to shooting with a tele lens so it can be a real challenge to get a pleasing background.
This lens is meant for creative solutions, people who expect they will get sharp pictures from corner to corner at f 1.4 , shooting common subjects, will be disappointed. In that case I would advice them to crank up the iso and stop down the lens.
I can imagine that some people who paid 1,400.- for this lens will be disappointed if they do not fully understand the "nature" of this lens.
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Jan 24, 2012
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KevinA
Offline
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Registered: Dec 5, 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Nov 3, 2011
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Fast aperture
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Cons:
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very very soft in the corners wide open
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I bought it some time ago for it's ability to shoot at f1.4, after all that's why you pay the money.
If you need anything near sharp in the corners at f1.4 it will be a disappointment. I don't expect centre sharpness in the corners but this is way off the mark and so was another one I tried.
If your idea of using f1.4 is to throw the background out of focus and your subject is central, no doubt you will think this lens a great performer. If like me you need the lens speed for low light work, I think Canon should of done much better, It needs about f3.5 to start getting acceptable in the corners.. The 35mm f1.4 is a better bet if 35mm can be made to cover your subject.
Kevin.
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Nov 3, 2011
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Fr3d
Offline
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Registered: Nov 28, 2008
Location: Germany
Posts: 306
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Review Date: Oct 14, 2011
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Everything (sharpness, bokeh, colors, build, flare control, f/1.4)
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Cons:
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Needs a filter go be fully weather sealed
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There is nothing I could add that hasn't been said before.
Its an amazing lens. Very sharp in the center wide open
almost unreal at smaller apertures throughout the frame.
Not as sharp as the 24mm TS-E II unshifted but very very
close. I don't hesitate to shoot this lens wide open, although
you can get a bit more punch (contrast) by stopping down to f2.
The lens also handles flares gracefully even when shooting
directly into the sun. It feels nice and compact and renders
colors and blurred backgrounds very lovely. Some LoCAs can
be seen in wide open shots but that had to be expected.
Did you ever try to zoom into one of your new lens test shots
not realizing they were already showing at 100% on your screen?
This is one of those lenses...
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Oct 14, 2011
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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49
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214988
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May 16, 2022
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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92% of reviewers
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$1,539.00
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.78
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8.33
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9.5
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