Review - Canon TS-E 24 f/3.5L II
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I will have a feature showing the price in real time at various retailers, hope to have that up by the end of today.
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Measurebating and test charts alone does not provide the same amount value in a review, as writing about the lens based on extensive experience with the lens itself and how it compares in relation to a selection of competing lenses. Also, the rental service perspective is a very nice touch, giving us a hint as to what is most likely to be the first component that brakes.
All I miss is even more samples. With regards to the 24 TS-E II, it's not a logical investment for my use, but I may try out the Samyang alternative one day.
All I miss is even more samples. With regards to the 24 TS-E II, it's not a logical investment for my use, but I may try out the Samyang alternative one day.
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I like the format and the subjective take. For something specialized like T&S more samples of what can be achieved would be helpful who is new to the concept.
I would also like to see this updated if you review the Samyang when it becomes available.
I would also like to see this updated if you review the Samyang when it becomes available.
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A note on shift panoramas: simply shifting the lens doesn't make for a perfect perspective stitch, though it's generally "good enough" in the real world. Ideally, you want to keep the front element of the lens fixed while you shift the body. If you're using an Arca-Swiss clamp, you can easily fudge this -- even easier if the plate and clamp is laser-engraved (as most quality gear is).
You can create a shift panorama with this lens with the same field of view as a 16mm lens. Not only will this panorama be higher resolution than a similar shot made with a 16mm lens, the image quality on all fronts will be significantly better than what you get with a 16-35 L II. Yes, the fully-shifted corners on this prime are sharper and brighter than the normal corners on the zoom.
Also, this lens has an amazingly short minimum focus distance. You can almost focus on the lens cap -- and you probably can with an extension tube. That means that this lens lets you do wide-angle high-magnifcation near-macro shots like none other. Imagine a picture of a little wildflower filling one side of the frame with a field and stream in the midground and the distant mountains in the background...and all of it in sharp focus except for the grass right underneath the flower with dreamy bokeh.
Cheers,
b&
You can create a shift panorama with this lens with the same field of view as a 16mm lens. Not only will this panorama be higher resolution than a similar shot made with a 16mm lens, the image quality on all fronts will be significantly better than what you get with a 16-35 L II. Yes, the fully-shifted corners on this prime are sharper and brighter than the normal corners on the zoom.
Also, this lens has an amazingly short minimum focus distance. You can almost focus on the lens cap -- and you probably can with an extension tube. That means that this lens lets you do wide-angle high-magnifcation near-macro shots like none other. Imagine a picture of a little wildflower filling one side of the frame with a field and stream in the midground and the distant mountains in the background...and all of it in sharp focus except for the grass right underneath the flower with dreamy bokeh.
Cheers,
b&
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TrumpetPower! said:
That sounds like you're speaking from experience. I'd love to see it. It might put me over the fence on buying one.
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bchernicoff said:
I'm writing from anticipation as much as anything else. I haven't shot wildflowers since getting the version II, though I've played around with perspective and the like with an eye towards what I'll do in the spring.
Here're two sorta-samples, though. The poppies are with the version I from some years back. The other was messing around in the back yard. Neither are near MFD, mostly for compositional reasons.
I'm also attaching a rough draft of the shot I took of the annular solar eclipse this past summer. The foreground on the lower right is several feet away. The rest...is a little bit farther.
Cheers,
b&
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Got this lens from the CPS Evaluation program, and loved it. Definitely agree with the "need to use it methodically". I'd really like this, but way too expensive for me right now when I have big holes in my current lens line on lenses I would use a lot more.
That said, nice writing, I'm looking forward to more of these.
If I had one request on this particular review, it's to take the 3rd party ones such as the announce Samyang and put those through the wringer. Especially as it's anticipated to be a much more affordable lens than the Canon one, and if it even comes close to the IQ and usability, it'll be a lens I get much sooner.
That said, nice writing, I'm looking forward to more of these.
If I had one request on this particular review, it's to take the 3rd party ones such as the announce Samyang and put those through the wringer. Especially as it's anticipated to be a much more affordable lens than the Canon one, and if it even comes close to the IQ and usability, it'll be a lens I get much sooner.
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dryanparker
Art photographer based in Miami.
Just a magical lens.
I have since moved to a M4/3 system, but I feel the TS-E 24L II is mission-critical gear for a dedicated landscape photographer (horizontal shift for added width; no movements for general sharpness, most likely) or an architectural photographer.
The lens is rock-solid, but it does require your attention to get the result you're after. That said, when you nail it, the lens delivers.
I have since moved to a M4/3 system, but I feel the TS-E 24L II is mission-critical gear for a dedicated landscape photographer (horizontal shift for added width; no movements for general sharpness, most likely) or an architectural photographer.
The lens is rock-solid, but it does require your attention to get the result you're after. That said, when you nail it, the lens delivers.
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This is a great lens and I love this one.
For stitching panoramas (two or three shots), one has to shift the camera (not the lens). Yes, this was already mentioned above, but the review should have had an point here to address it to Canon, that a mount-option is missing for that. This mount-option would save 50% of the work that needs to be done right now, which means the need to move the camera after shifting the lens. (Time is critical for some objects to shoot, so this double work is not fun).
If Canon Rumors continues to review lenses, (thanks and very much appreciated), please include some points how usable a lens for video work is. Is the lens breathing while adjusting the focus, did the color matches with other lenses from the series, is the image stable while pulling the focus or even zoom. How is the focus ring set up, very short on the end or very wide. Important points I think, and most lens reviews ignore that point.
Thanks for a nice review.
For stitching panoramas (two or three shots), one has to shift the camera (not the lens). Yes, this was already mentioned above, but the review should have had an point here to address it to Canon, that a mount-option is missing for that. This mount-option would save 50% of the work that needs to be done right now, which means the need to move the camera after shifting the lens. (Time is critical for some objects to shoot, so this double work is not fun).
If Canon Rumors continues to review lenses, (thanks and very much appreciated), please include some points how usable a lens for video work is. Is the lens breathing while adjusting the focus, did the color matches with other lenses from the series, is the image stable while pulling the focus or even zoom. How is the focus ring set up, very short on the end or very wide. Important points I think, and most lens reviews ignore that point.
Thanks for a nice review.
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Love the Grand Canyon shot. I owned the 90mm TS-E for a while got a few nice pictures, but wished I had bought the 45mm or 24mm. I still think the 45mm might be the best choice for me. I'm really hoping the Samyang 24mm is as good optically as their 35mm and is priced reasonably. For those who missed the announcement: http://www.canonrumors.com/2012/09/samyang-24mm-f3-5-tilt-shift-announced/
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TrumpetPower! said:
Totally right - in trying to avoid getting to technical, I think I might have missed the real reason this works in the review. Your statement of "Good enough" beats what most people are doing; pivoting their camera on the tripod without a nodal rail. And once you get into the complex gears and gadgetries of pano's I think we're dealing with a whole other sort of review.
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drs said:
Full disclosure: I don't shoot video. So any review I'd have based on video would be worse than a guy who did, I'll leave video to video guys doing reviews; they're more qualified. I want to express the "feel" of a lens more than the specs. It's hard to get away from them though, which is why they sneak up, but I want to stay away from precise measurements, from too many comparisons (though inevitable). I want to approach each lens from my own day-to-day working experience and qualify it under those parameters. That said, when I notice things, like the focus and zoom rings on the new 24-70 f/2.8 L II, I'll definitely include them in my review.
Thanks so much!
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P
Peter Hill
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Finally, a review of a Tilt+Shift lens which mentions the panoramic capabilities of the Shift function. I use the original 24mm Tilt+Shift lens, the 45mm and the 90mm all the time to create such images of landscapes. The merge in CS5 is seamless and distortion-free. (Other software programs try to correct for distortion that isn't there.)
I think the Rotate function is not publicised enough, and the review doesn't do it justice either. This function when combined with the Tilt, and careful aperture selection, gives VERY precise, angled, focus fields. Advertising shoots benefit greatly but again, so do landscapes!
I think the Rotate function is not publicised enough, and the review doesn't do it justice either. This function when combined with the Tilt, and careful aperture selection, gives VERY precise, angled, focus fields. Advertising shoots benefit greatly but again, so do landscapes!
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I often hear about how this lens is the sharpest in the Canon arsenal and how it is sharper than the 24 f/1.4 MkII. Now, I haven't actually used it, so can't make a comparison, however, I was looking at the reviews for both lenses on Photozone the other night. Photozone also states that this lens is the sharpest of the two, but the data they present tells a different story. Granted, it is undoubtedly a meaningless difference in the real world, but at every common aperture, the MTF figures for the f/1.4 are slightly higher then the TS/E. Photozone seem to be marking the f/1.4 down because it falls apart at the corners wider than f/2, especially at f/1.4. However, I'm not aware of any other 24mm lens that can even shoot at f/1.4, so the marking down is actually pretty meaningless. I'm wondering if people are actually taking more notice of such a fact and also that generally, you are shooting wider on a TS/E lens (and therefore more in the sweetspot), when they say that the TS/E is sharper. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who is used to using both and has made a direct real world comparison for similar scenes. That said, the results are probably just as meaningless, as I needed a wide aperture for shooting the northern lights, which is the reason I went for the f/1.4 over the TS/E and Zeiss 21mm, otherwise it would have been a hard choice to choose between the three.
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