Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L II USM
The Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens is currently my favorite ultra-wide angle EF lens. For many years, my preferred full-frame-capable ultra-wide angle lens was Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens and then its replacement, the even better (at the wide end at least) Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens . While this lens remains more versatile, the Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens delivers even better image quality. I was simply not impressed with the original Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L USM Lens optically – and wasn’t very excited to hear about a replacement for it as I really like the 16-35mm II. However, within a couple of days of using the 14mm L II, my mind was changed.
Like all Canon L Series Lenses, the Canon EF 14mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens has a high build quality that feels great in use. The non-extending 3.1″ x 3.7″ (80mm x 90mm)(dxl) size and 22.7 oz (645g) weight combine to make this a very a nice handling lens. A bulging convex front lens element and a built-in metal lens hood are identity features of this lens. Because of these features, a normal flat lens cap cannot be used (more later) and a front filter cannot be mounted on this lens. A rear gelatin filter holder is provided. These filters are required to be cut to size and installed with the lens dismounted. Circular polarizer filters cannot be used.
Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens
The Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens is currently Canon’s only intentionally distorted EF lens.
The heavy barrel distortion from the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens creates a special effect that is liked by most people (until it is over-used of course). With digital capture, we can now use fisheye-to-rectilinear conversion software to create a corrected picture equivalent to what a 12-13mm rectilinear lens would yield. This is great – but it takes some extra post-processing work and requires some knowledge of what the end-result will look like when capturing the shot.
PTLens is a really easy to use (Low $) rectilinear conversion software program (or Photoshop Plugin) based on Panorama Tools (included and free). Photoshop’s lens correction tools can also retilinear-convert the fisheye distortion. The downside to rectilinear conversion is that the image corners become soft. Reducing the image to 70% or less allows much of the corner sharpness to be recovered at the expense of the pixel size of the image.
Build quality of the Canon EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye Lens is reasonable. The metal mount shows it is not a bottom of the line lens. The focus ring feels relatively low quality, but this lens does not cost a fortune either.
Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L Tilt-Shift Lens
The Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L Tilt-Shift Lens is, at review time, the widest tilt-shift SLR lens made . It is also one of the highest quality (both optically and physically) 17mm lenses made.
The Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L Tilt-Shift Lens was introduced at the same time as the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L II Tilt-Shift Lens. Because of their similarities, I am borrowing some of the material/layout/text from the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5 L II Tilt-Shift Lens review for the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L Tilt-Shift Lens Review.
One of the first things you need to know about the Canon TS-E 17mm f/4 L Tilt-Shift Lens is that it, like all tilt-shift lenses, is a MF (Manual Focus)-only lens. If you need AF, this lens is not for you (or you may want two lenses covering 17mm).
With that fact in mind, I’ll next point out the “TS-E / Tilt-Shift” features of this lens indicated by the title. While these are extremely useful features, it is not a requirement that they be used. And since these features require more in-depth explanation, let’s review the non-tilt-shift aspects of this lens first. Please note: There are approximately 10 MB of images included in this review. Please be patient for them all to load.
Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Lens
The Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Lens fits in a nice wide angle focal length space below the ultra-common 24-something and 28-something zoom lenses. There is a noticeable FOV (field of view) difference between 20mm and 24/28mm.
People often look for a prime lens for their ultra wide angle needs. Many people don’t use these focal lengths with great frequency and look to save some money by buying a non-zoom lens. Primes are often smaller, lighter, cheaper, sharper and faster than their more versatile zoom counterparts.
Upon upgrading from a 1.6x body to a 1.3x FOVCF body, I was questioning whether I needed to keep the expensive Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8 L USM Lens in my kit. The Canon EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Lens would be as wide on my 1.3x body as the 16-35mm was on the 10D, just as fast and significantly less expensive. My L zooms cover my needs beyond 24mm.