11-24 is here, with images of it compared to Nikon 14-24

[mackguyver]

In the meantime, I'm thinking I'll try the rear gelatin filter. I know you mentioned the Rosco gels, but I have also seen a fair number of people (including DPReview in their 11-24 overview) mention the Kodak Wratten #96 filters. They are way more expensive, but I'm guessing better as well. Do you have any experience using the Kodak gels?

Unfortunately I have no experience with the Kodak gels, sorry.

Okay, thanks for letting me know. I might give them a try, but at $72 for a 3"x3" sheet, it makes me wonder what the difference is between them. I might just wait for the Wonderpana. Between the small waves of the Gulf and the almost still rivers there's not much moving water up here in North Florida! I mainly use NDs to blur out people/cars for my real estate shots.

 

[privatebydesign]

At $72 for the Kodak I'd say give the Cinegel swatch book a tryout, you might be pleasantly surprised by the results. The Cinegel books have the ND filters, the cheaper Roscolux books don't.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/45185-REG/Rosco_950SBCNG0306_Large_3x5_Cinegel_Swatchbook.html

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/45184-REG/Rosco_950SBCNG0103_Cinegel_Swatchbook.html

 

[old-pr-pix]

Years ago I used Kodak Wratten filters for some high speed infrared work... #89 as I recall. At the time they were famous for optical precision and clarity and were used often for scientific purposes as much as photographic. There are several very specialized versions available. Here's a link to their site: http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Products/Lab_And_Post_Production/Kodak_Filters/wrattten2.htm

 

[zim]

Wow what a beautiful optic, truly envious of all those who get this.

 

[mackguyver]

Years ago I used Kodak Wratten filters for some high speed infrared work... #89 as I recall. At the time they were famous for optical precision and clarity and were used often for scientific purposes as much as photographic. There are several very specialized versions available. Here's a link to their site: http://motion.kodak.com/motion/Products/Lab_And_Post_Production/Kodak_Filters/wrattten2.htm

Thank you for the info and in comparison to a B+W, etc. $72 isn't bad if it's high quality.

Also, full-res sample photos shot on a 5DIII with full EXIF have been posted - you'll need to click on the image and then right-click and save to see them full-res:

http://www.cameraegg.org/ef-11-24mm-f4l-usm-lens-sample-images/

It looks like CA is all but non-existent (WOW!), distortion is extremely low (WOW x 2!), there is almost no coma (Astrophotographers who can deal with f/4, rejoice!), but the extreme corners do soften a bit (as the MTF curves would suggest).

 

[Jack Douglas]

Thanks for the filter information and commentary guys.

There is something drawing me to this lens ahead of a body for sure. 6D + 11-24 = Fun, at Haida Gwaii in May (add music and that sounds just wonderful playing in my head). Now I need to figure out if there is any logic to it.

Jack

 

[JustMeOregon]

@ mackguyver,

I'm desperately hoping to reassure myself that my finger wasn't a little too quick on the preorder trigger... What are you looking at to declare this new beast having "almost no coma"? When I look at the nightscape-shot with the arch, I see elongated stars on the sides of the frame! I don't think that coma would be a deal-breaker for me, but for $3,000 without a single technical review, I'm skittish about anything...

 

[Dylan777]

As you know I just got the 16-35 f4, but after actually seeing this 11-24 I think I am going to have to get one, of course I'll await the reviews, and the 16-35 is an outstandingly good lens, but 11mm just opens up a range of perspectives the 16 nor 17TS-E can get to, throw in the usual weatherproofing and AF of the L's and even if you have to stop it down for maximum sharpness it still looks like a killer lens.

Think of the dynamic stuff 11mm will get you with the L series AF, it will become the new must have lens for skateboard shooting, snowboarding, anything that grinds rails, goalmouth, etc. Heck I'd like to put one on the EOS M and stick it as a remote above the wedding couple! So many possibilities of shots never captured before.

I think my Profoto B1 money is going on the 11-24!

It's hard to resist.

 

[deleteme]

The MTF looks great to me as the 16-35 f/4 IS is very sharp. Also, for another comparison, I've added the Sigma 12-24 II, which as the chart suggests, is rather sharp in the center but slowly, then rapidly softens as it approaches the corners.

As a former owner of the Sigma I can attest to the fact that its performance in the real world matched its MTF curves. When I bought my 17 TS-E my clients remarked on the first job that my images looked a lot more vibrant. The edges of the Sigma images were visibly soft and in some images were distracting.
However, this lens allowed me to get angles of view that were simply unavailable with any other lens.

This lens will be a popular item with those shooting interiors and other tight locations.

 

[zlatko]

Compared to 11mm, 24mm looks like a telephoto!

 

[mackguyver]

@ mackguyver,

I'm desperately hoping to reassure myself that my finger wasn't a little too quick on the preorder trigger... What are you looking at to declare this new beast having "almost no coma"? When I look at the nightscape-shot with the arch, I see elongated stars on the sides of the frame! I don't think that coma would be a deal-breaker for me, but for $3,000 without a single technical review, I'm skittish about anything...

Okay, I looked at it again and there may be some slight coma at the corners. It looks to me like there's a bit of streaking/star trails as well from the 30s exposure, but I think that shouldn't be the case at 11mm. It's certainly a ton better than the 24L II and most of Canon's other lenses.

Also, it's pretty likely that there will be at least one if not more technical reviews before your lens ships. I have cancelled a number of pre-orders one the reviews came out in advance, so that should be the case here. Hopefully the reviews just confirm that it's an awesome lens!

As a former owner of the Sigma I can attest to the fact that its performance in the real world matched its MTF curves. When I bought my 17 TS-E my clients remarked on the first job that my images looked a lot more vibrant. The edges of the Sigma images were visibly soft and in some images were distracting.
However, this lens allowed me to get angles of view that were simply unavailable with any other lens.

This lens will be a popular item with those shooting interiors and other tight locations.

I owned the Sigma, too, and have the TS-E 17 as well. I really missed the 12mm and now we get an even sharper lens at 11mm!

 

[RobertG.]

As "privatebydesign" mentioned in his 2nd post, the lens is very useful for all kinds of action shots. It offers a lot of new possibilities.

My focus is on landsape shots. I shoot wide angles pretty often but I stitch these shots to avoid distortion of the perpective. See http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/EF-1124-f4L-USM-5715/highres/Canon-EF-11-24mm-at-11mm-Wide-037A9220-resized_1423140098.jpg and compare the tree in the middle to the 3 trees on the right side. The bend in a lot. Maybe I'm the only one, but I prefer all elements within the frame to be as straight as they were in reality. I also like landscape shots to be equally sharp from edge to edge.

It is an interesting lens but for me it's use would be more limited than my TS-E 17mm and TS-E 24mm. For seascapes it would be pretty useful because stitching doesn't work well with waves. But the lack of a filter thread for the use of grad nd filters or even pol filters is one major reason to wait a while. Let's hope that LEE, Wonderpano etc. come out fast with an adapter.

 

[JoeKerslake]

As "privatebydesign" mentioned in his 2nd post, the lens is very useful for all kinds of action shots. It offers a lot of new possibilities.

My focus is on landsape shots. I shoot wide angles pretty often but I stitch these shots to avoid distortion of the perpective. See http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/EF-1124-f4L-USM-5715/highres/Canon-EF-11-24mm-at-11mm-Wide-037A9220-resized_1423140098.jpg and compare the tree in the middle to the 3 trees on the right side. The bend in a lot. Maybe I'm the only one, but I prefer all elements within the frame to be as straight as they were in reality. I also like landscape shots to be equally sharp from edge to edge.

It is an interesting lens but for me it's use would be more limited than my TS-E 17mm and TS-E 24mm. For seascapes it would be pretty useful because stitching doesn't work well with waves. But the lack of a filter thread for the use of grad nd filters or even pol filters is one major reason to wait a while. Let's hope that LEE, Wonderpano etc. come out fast with an adapter.

Struggling to see the bendy trees, but it might be because I'm tired.

What I can see is that the bottom right of the image looks incredible strange, I can't quite decide whether there's some pin cushioning or whether it's the actual ground/bollard.

 

[privatebydesign]

As "privatebydesign" mentioned in his 2nd post, the lens is very useful for all kinds of action shots. It offers a lot of new possibilities.

My focus is on landsape shots. I shoot wide angles pretty often but I stitch these shots to avoid distortion of the perpective. See http://www.magezinepublishing.com/equipment/images/equipment/EF-1124-f4L-USM-5715/highres/Canon-EF-11-24mm-at-11mm-Wide-037A9220-resized_1423140098.jpg and compare the tree in the middle to the 3 trees on the right side. The bend in a lot. Maybe I'm the only one, but I prefer all elements within the frame to be as straight as they were in reality. I also like landscape shots to be equally sharp from edge to edge.

It is an interesting lens but for me it's use would be more limited than my TS-E 17mm and TS-E 24mm. For seascapes it would be pretty useful because stitching doesn't work well with waves. But the lack of a filter thread for the use of grad nd filters or even pol filters is one major reason to wait a while. Let's hope that LEE, Wonderpano etc. come out fast with an adapter.

Bendy trees fixed. Whilst doing this in post will never be as good as getting it right in camera, these new sensors with the additional resolution have more wiggle room.

 

[quod]

Now we know the weight, a very hefty 1180g! That is even heavier than the Nikon 14-24 f2.8 at 1000g.

It's a lot bigger than the 14-24, too. I used to own that lens and it is both heavy and takes up a lot of space in the bag.

 

[KimH]

...

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_gHK5hqnE

Does anybody know where this promo video has been filmed? Looks like somewhere in the U.S.
A national park in Utah or Arizona?

thanks

Pretty good guess, you are on the border of those very states near Page.

 

[sagittariansrock]

...

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_gHK5hqnE

Does anybody know where this promo video has been filmed? Looks like somewhere in the U.S.
A national park in Utah or Arizona?

thanks

Pretty good guess, you are on the border of those very states near Page.

Incidentally, Canon is shooting promo video for their 11mm ultrawide in a location where I had been severely limited with my widest FL being 28mm at that time.

 

[Rahul]

...

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mI_gHK5hqnE

Does anybody know where this promo video has been filmed? Looks like somewhere in the U.S.
A national park in Utah or Arizona?

thanks

Pretty good guess, you are on the border of those very states near Page.

Incidentally, Canon is shooting promo video for their 11mm ultrawide in a location where I had been severely limited with my widest FL being 28mm at that time.

I see you are working on the reason to get this lens. It always pays to build your case as to why you need new gear early on.

 

[Loswr]

[quote author=DPReview]
According to Canon, the 11-24mm's front element is the largest ever manufactured for an SLR lens, at 87mm in diameter.
[/quote]

Either DPR misinterpreted that statement, or the Canon spokesperson who made had their brains scrambled by getting hit on the head with a 600/4 or one of the many other SLR lenses with front elements diameters larger than 87mm.

 

[privatebydesign]

[quote author=DPReview]
According to Canon, the 11-24mm's front element is the largest ever manufactured for an SLR lens, at 87mm in diameter.

Either DPR misinterpreted that statement, or the Canon spokesperson who made had their brains scrambled by getting hit on the head with a 600/4 or one of the many other SLR lenses with front elements diameters larger than 87mm.
[/quote]

They forgot the word aspherical, it is the largest aspherical lens ever manufactured for an SLR.