I'm done - I have all the lenses I need

[mackguyver]

16-35 2.8L II - I don't love this lens as much, but it is very versatile for architecture, landscape, and events

To quote myself o), as I said, it's not favorite, so it's going up for sale and I'm going to cross my fingers on the new 16-35 f/4 IS I pre-ordered. It looks like a winner and much better for my needs.

Starting a thread called "I'm done" might not have been one of your most successful ventures in the year of the lens(es?)

In all fairness, I started it last year, but I guess a better title might have been "I'm delusional, please help my G.A.S. addiction" ;D

 

[sagittariansrock]

16-35 2.8L II - I don't love this lens as much, but it is very versatile for architecture, landscape, and events

To quote myself o), as I said, it's not favorite, so it's going up for sale and I'm going to cross my fingers on the new 16-35 f/4 IS I pre-ordered. It looks like a winner and much better for my needs.

Starting a thread called "I'm done" might not have been one of your most successful ventures in the year of the lens(es?)

In all fairness, I started it last year, but I guess a better title might have been "I'm delusional, please help my G.A.S. addiction" ;D

And we would all have chimed in with a +1

 

[mackguyver]

LOL and have you had a chance to play with your TS-E 17 yet?

 

[privatebydesign]

16-35 2.8L II - I don't love this lens as much, but it is very versatile for architecture, landscape, and events

To quote myself o), as I said, it's not favorite, so it's going up for sale and I'm going to cross my fingers on the new 16-35 f/4 IS I pre-ordered. It looks like a winner and much better for my needs.

Starting a thread called "I'm done" might not have been one of your most successful ventures in the year of the lens(es?)

In all fairness, I started it last year, but I guess a better title might have been "I'm delusional, please help my G.A.S. addiction" ;D

And we would all have chimed in with a +1

Hey count me out of the GAS stuff, I got most of my lenses ten years ago and have only added the 100 L Macro, the 15mm fisheye, and the 17TS-E since then.

Indeed I am breaking the habit of a lifetime and actually selling even older lenses that I now accept I will never use again.

Though I am at the stage where I realise I will not be "done" until I can't lift the camera up anymore. ;D

 

[sagittariansrock]

Hey count me out of the GAS stuff, I got most of my lenses ten years ago and have only added the 100 L Macro, the 15mm fisheye, and the 17TS-E since then.

Indeed I am breaking the habit of a lifetime and actually selling even older lenses that I now accept I will never use again.

Though I am at the stage where I realise I will not be "done" until I can't lift the camera up anymore. ;D

Good for you, although in all fairness I didn't even have a dSLR 10 years ago, and the only SLR I had was an FM10 that actually belonged to my friend (although he hardly used it).

LOL and have you had a chance to play with your TS-E 17 yet?

Nope. It will be in Houston on May 22 (I got it shipped to my permanent residence in OR so my wife received it).
In the meantime, I disassembled that spare lens cap and promptly managed to lose the spring for the locking button

 

[mackguyver]

Hey count me out of the GAS stuff, I got most of my lenses ten years ago and have only added the 100 L Macro, the 15mm fisheye, and the 17TS-E since then.

Indeed I am breaking the habit of a lifetime and actually selling even older lenses that I now accept I will never use again.

Though I am at the stage where I realise I will not be "done" until I can't lift the camera up anymore. ;D

The more I get, the less I seem to need, but sometimes upgrades come along, or at least equipment that seems to be a better fit, and the new 16-35 seems to fit the bill. I like the last statement, though!

Nope. It will be in Houston on May 22 (I got it shipped to my permanent residence in OR so my wife received it).
In the meantime, I disassembled that spare lens cap and promptly managed to lose the spring for the locking button

A long wait...and I watched that video and thought I might be able to make use of my Dremel, but would be more likely to cut my fingers off, so I think I'll stick with the Wonderpano that privatebydesign recommends. Sorry to hear about the lost spring.

 

[privatebydesign]

Hey count me out of the GAS stuff, I got most of my lenses ten years ago and have only added the 100 L Macro, the 15mm fisheye, and the 17TS-E since then.

Indeed I am breaking the habit of a lifetime and actually selling even older lenses that I now accept I will never use again.

Though I am at the stage where I realise I will not be "done" until I can't lift the camera up anymore. ;D

The more I get, the less I seem to need, but sometimes upgrades come along, or at least equipment that seems to be a better fit, and the new 16-35 seems to fit the bill. I like the last statement, though!

Oh I agree, I really should "upgrade' to the MkII 24-70, but my MkI seems to be a particularly good copy after some early snafus, the MkII 16-35 is nearly as lacklustre as the MkI, and the MkI fits in my old underwater housing, I will get a 14-? if one ever comes out. The 70-200 2.8 IS MkII is another, sure it is sharper, but most noticeably with TC's which I tend to not use and the backgrounds are slightly harsher anyway. The 300 f2.8 IS similarly, I'd like the MkII, the weight saving alone would be nice, but I rarely use it now so there really isn't a driving need for me to.

It is amazing how well the old stuff holds its own. I have even struggled with the '1Ds MkIII upgrade to what?' question, but have decided to ignore it for another year or so, they can be had for under $2,000 now, that is a crazy amount of camera for the money.

Come on Canon, I am feeling left out, apart from the RT flashes and the 17TS-E I really haven't had you light me up for a long time, though they were two very innovative products worth the wait.

 

[mackguyver]

Oh I agree, I really should "upgrade' to the MkII 24-70, but my MkI seems to be a particularly good copy after some early snafus, the MkII 16-35 is nearly as lacklustre as the MkI, and the MkI fits in my old underwater housing, I will get a 14-? if one ever comes out. The 70-200 2.8 IS MkII is another, sure it is sharper, but most noticeably with TC's which I tend to not use and the backgrounds are slightly harsher anyway. The 300 f2.8 IS similarly, I'd like the MkII, the weight saving alone would be nice, but I rarely use it now so there really isn't a driving need for me to.

It is amazing how well the old stuff holds its own. I have even struggled with the '1Ds MkIII upgrade to what?' question, but have decided to ignore it for another year or so, they can be had for under $2,000 now, that is a crazy amount of camera for the money.

Come on Canon, I am feeling left out, apart from the RT flashes and the 17TS-E I really haven't had you light me up for a long time, though they were two very innovative products worth the wait.

My copy of the 24-70 was a great one and took excellent photos but I beat the hell out of it and was one drop away from disaster. I was up on a zip line taking some photos for a local zoo and slipped, fell, and then slammed into a tree with the lens in my pocket. It survived but was not the same after that. The Mark II has much better color and contrast and is obviously sharper as well, but what I like best about it is the smaller size and better ergonomics.

I went from the 70-200 f/4 IS which I had for many years to the 2.8 IS II when they were having great sales & rebates. And I was also able to get the 300 IS II at a nice price, and most of the rest of my gear is refurbished. I use the 300mm more than any other lens for my personal work so it was a great investment and the TS-E lenses are for my commercial work. I have a 580 EX II, which covers all of my flash needs - and a pair of Einsteins I use for everything else. Prior to the 600s, I added up the cost of the 580s, transceivers and such and the Einsteins came out way ahead. They have plenty of power for most situations, the accessories are reasonable, and the wireless triggers are built in and very reliable.

As for the 1D - I can see why you would wait and I'm sure I'll have the 1D X in many years from now and skip the next gen 1D.

 

[Eldar]

I will never be done, but I thought I was done for a while.

But now I realize I will have to start looking for a new 35 and 50. The Sigma Art lenses I have cannot be trusted. AF is very unreliable on both (even though I thought the 50 was excellent for a while), so I´ll ship´em off to Timbuktu or something similarly remote.

I´ll practice more with my Otus, when the Ec-S focusing screen arrives and I´m crossing my fingers for an outstanding 35mm f1.4L II in the Year of the Lens.

 

[mackguyver]

I will never be done, but I thought I was done for a while.

But now I realize I will have to start looking for a new 35 and 50. The Sigma Art lenses I have cannot be trusted. AF is very unreliable on both (even though I thought the 50 was excellent for a while), so I´ll ship´em off to Timbuktu or something similarly remote.

I´ll practice more with my Otus, when the Ec-S focusing screen arrives and I´m crossing my fingers for an outstanding 35mm f1.4L II in the Year of the Lens.

That's too bad about the Sigmas as they are so good in all other respects, but I've never had much luck with the other brands, either. The Zeiss 135 f/2 is the lens that I'm most interested in using right now given the stellar reviews. I might have to give one a rent sometime, but other than that, I think the 16-35 f/4 IS and my recent TS-E 17 should keep me happy for a while. I'm not a huge wide angle guy, so it will be good to stretch my creativity a bit by forcing me to find to new and interesting subjects to shoot.

I'd like to hear how your Ec-S screen works out as I really miss my 5DII with Eg-S screen with my fast lenses, well all of my lenses, really. The standard screens are so grainy in comparison.

Also, with the Otus, how much tripod/LiveView shooting have you done? I know that not the best use for a 50mm, but I bet the results are pretty spectacular for landscape and architecture.

 

[Eldar]

Also, with the Otus, how much tripod/LiveView shooting have you done? I know that not the best use for a 50mm, but I bet the results are pretty spectacular for landscape and architecture.

When shooting the Otus wide open, it is difficult to focus right without using LiveView. According to those with experience, the Ec-S focusing screen makes view finder focusing doable. But from f2.8 I nail focus pretty much every time. I have ordered the Ec-S for the 1DX, since I can´t get a similar alternative on the 5DIII, and I cross my fingers that my eyesight is sufficiently good to make it work I have been playing with the idea to get a 6D for this though, since the 1DX is pretty occupied with the long whites.

The Otus is a bit like the TS-E lenses. I really enjoy carrying it around on a tripod and taking my time to get the things right.

Now that the 35 Art will be returned (I think), it will be very interesting to see what the new Otus family members will be. There will be an 85mm f1.4, but I am too happy with my 85/1.2L II to consider that. But both a 35 and a 24 would be mighty tempting.

 

[mackguyver]

Also, with the Otus, how much tripod/LiveView shooting have you done? I know that not the best use for a 50mm, but I bet the results are pretty spectacular for landscape and architecture.

When shooting the Otus wide open, it is difficult to focus right without using LiveView. According to those with experience, the Ec-S focusing screen makes view finder focusing doable. But from f2.8 I nail focus pretty much every time. I have ordered the Ec-S for the 1DX, since I can´t get a similar alternative on the 5DIII, and I cross my fingers that my eyesight is sufficiently good to make it work I have been playing with the idea to get a 6D for this though, since the 1DX is pretty occupied with the long whites.

The Otus is a bit like the TS-E lenses. I really enjoy carrying it around on a tripod and taking my time to get the things right.

Now that the 35 Art will be returned (I think), it will be very interesting to see what the new Otus family members will be. There will be an 85mm f1.4, but I am too happy with my 85/1.2L II to consider that. But both a 35 and a 24 would be mighty tempting.

Thank you for the insight and I'm sure the Otus is a pleasure to use. The 6D might not be a bad idea, but hopefully the screen will help. I also wonder about the Otus 85 - it will have to be pretty amazing to top the 85L II! The wide lenses look interesting, too, but I guess they are another year or so away.

 

[sagittariansrock]

LOL and have you had a chance to play with your TS-E 17 yet?

So I got my 17mm TS-E yesterday, haven't got a chance to play with it yet. But I have a couple of questions since you also just purchased the same lens:
1. Did yours come with an extra, bigger shift knob like your 24mm TS-E?
2. I see some paint chipped around the barrel. Never seen this in any of the refurbs I bought before. Is this usual? Should I worry about impact damage? They also shipped with the movements unlocked, which I wasn't too happy about.
Glass looks great, and the build quality is awesome.
I am so looking forward to using this after the long weekend.

 

[mackguyver]

1. Did yours come with an extra, bigger shift knob like your 24mm TS-E?
2. I see some paint chipped around the barrel. Never seen this in any of the refurbs I bought before. Is this usual? Should I worry about impact damage? They also shipped with the movements unlocked, which I wasn't too happy about.
Glass looks great, and the build quality is awesome.
I am so looking forward to using this after the long weekend.

No, it didn't but neither did my TS-E 24mm and I had to call and email them several times to get it, only to find that the Tilt knob screw was loose and the Shift knob so tight that I halfway stripped it trying to get it off until I gave up They were supposed to refund my shipping as well, but it doesn't look like that has happened, so I'll be following up with Canon.

I can't believe the paint was chipped - most of my refurbs, including this one, have been practically brand new. My 5DII was beat up and scratched a bit and had fingerprints on the mirror, but was still pretty good. I guess it's the luck of the draw...but at least your glass is perfect and it works well. I'm excited to get out with mine over the next few days, too. I have been working at least 2 jobs 6 or 7 days a week (consulting gig and teaching or more side consulting) since December and I'm finally back to just working 30-40 hours a week and this will be my first real weekend in 6 months, so I'm going to have a great time!

Also, a quick tip or two for you - if shooting landscapes, 1-3 degrees (usually 1) is all that's needed at f/8-11 for full depth of field. Tilting is tricky - focus on a distant subject, tilt the lens until the near subject comes into focus, then re-check the far focus and adjust tilt/focus until both line up. For buildings, level the camera with the lens pointing up 1 red bar (with the in-camera level) for more natural looking perspective. Finally, if you get a spot on the front element, the LensPens work really well for cleaning. The old ones sucked, but a few years ago they really improved them.

Have fun shooting and post your results in the TS-E 17 thread...I'll do the same...

 

[sagittariansrock]

1. Did yours come with an extra, bigger shift knob like your 24mm TS-E?
2. I see some paint chipped around the barrel. Never seen this in any of the refurbs I bought before. Is this usual? Should I worry about impact damage? They also shipped with the movements unlocked, which I wasn't too happy about.
Glass looks great, and the build quality is awesome.
I am so looking forward to using this after the long weekend.

No, it didn't but neither did my TS-E 24mm and I had to call and email them several times to get it, only to find that the Tilt knob screw was loose and the Shift knob so tight that I halfway stripped it trying to get it off until I gave up They were supposed to refund my shipping as well, but it doesn't look like that has happened, so I'll be following up with Canon.

I can't believe the paint was chipped - most of my refurbs, including this one, have been practically brand new. My 5DII was beat up and scratched a bit and had fingerprints on the mirror, but was still pretty good. I guess it's the luck of the draw...but at least your glass is perfect and it works well. I'm excited to get out with mine over the next few days, too. I have been working at least 2 jobs 6 or 7 days a week (consulting gig and teaching or more side consulting) since December and I'm finally back to just working 30-40 hours a week and this will be my first real weekend in 6 months, so I'm going to have a great time!

Also, a quick tip or two for you - if shooting landscapes, 1-3 degrees (usually 1) is all that's needed at f/8-11 for full depth of field. Tilting is tricky - focus on a distant subject, tilt the lens until the near subject comes into focus, then re-check the far focus and adjust tilt/focus until both line up. For buildings, level the camera with the lens pointing up 1 red bar (with the in-camera level) for more natural looking perspective. Finally, if you get a spot on the front element, the LensPens work really well for cleaning. The old ones sucked, but a few years ago they really improved them.

Have fun shooting and post your results in the TS-E 17 thread...I'll do the same...

Thanks a lot, these are really useful advice. I was concerned about the tilt and focusing.
Here's a titbit: I went and bought a 24mm TS-E while I was waiting for the 17mm to arrive and have been playing with it since yesterday. (Yeah, that's how bad my GAS is...)
And I wasn't aware of the difficulty of tilt and focusing until I tried it. So your tips are greatly appreciated and will be a good starting point.

I guess I'll be calling Canon and bitching about the screw now...

 

[mackguyver]

No problem, and just remember to be patient with them - they aren't the easiest lenses to use and I'm a long way from mastering them. When I first got the 24mm, I thought I needed to tilt 5+ degrees and I was way wrong. The full range is for the creative stuff, it just takes a few degrees or less for the Scheimpflug principle to work. LiveView makes it much easier, but you'll still find yourself scrolling back & forth at 10x between near & far a lot with adjustments in between to get it perfect. Not too bad in good light, but in low light with a ND 1.2 & C-PL on the lens, well, that's a bit tougher . Shift is much easier to use, just level (well almost as I said) the camera and shift the lens. Keep in mind that shifting exposes the softer corners of the image circle, though.

Congrats on the 24mm as well, and I understand the G.A.S. affliction well! Once you get the hang of the lenses, you'll be really annoyed that all lenses don't tilt & shift!

 

[privatebydesign]

My 17 did come with the extra knob in a small bag in the box. I didn't get the funky instruction booklet though!

Tilt when focused at infinity is Scheimpflug, adjusting focus while tilted is Merklinger. Merklinger really is the key to using tilt well.

As a basic start out point a little theory makes sense, if you focus or your far point, then tilt for your near point you will get there quicker. So for a typical landscape image focus at infinity via 10x live view, then move your zoomed square to the bottom of the frame and tilt until it is sharp. That is normally all you need do unless the plane to infinity is not close to 90°, if it slopes up or down a lot from you then a focus adjustment will be needed.

For closer work the idea works again, focus for the far part you want in focus, then tilt to get the close part.

As for the amount of tilt that is needed, that all depends on how far the bottom of the camera is away from the plane of focus, if it is at eye leve, say 5',l 1° is typical with the 17 ( tilt degrees have a focal length factor, if a 17 needs 2° a 24 would need 3°) however put the 17 close to ground level, 8" or so, and you need the full 8°.

 

[mackguyver]

My 17 did come with the extra knob in a small bag in the box. I didn't get the funky instruction booklet though!

Tilt when focused at infinity is Scheimpflug, adjusting focus while tilted is Merklinger. Merklinger really is the key to using tilt well.

As a basic start out point a little theory makes sense, if you focus or your far point, then tilt for your near point you will get there quicker. So for a typical landscape image focus at infinity via 10x live view, then move your zoomed square to the bottom of the frame and tilt until it is sharp. That is normally all you need do unless the plane to infinity is not close to 90°, if it slopes up or down a lot from you then a focus adjustment will be needed.

For closer work the idea works again, focus for the far part you want in focus, then tilt to get the close part.

As for the amount of tilt that is needed, that all depends on how far the bottom of the camera is away from the plane of focus, if it is at eye leve, say 5',l 1° is typical with the 17 ( tilt degrees have a focal length factor, if a 17 needs 2° a 24 would need 3°) however put the 17 close to ground level, 8" or so, and you need the full 8°.

Thanks for the tips and the correction on the tilt - every time I use the T/S lenses I realize how much I still have to learn . I didn't shoot with them over the weekend - it was way too hot up here so I ended up shooting baby alligators...

 

[privatebydesign]

.......... so I ended up shooting baby alligators...

I hope with a camera ;-)

Mind you we do have a place down here that does very good Gator on occasions!

 

[sagittariansrock]

My 17 did come with the extra knob in a small bag in the box. I didn't get the funky instruction booklet though!

Tilt when focused at infinity is Scheimpflug, adjusting focus while tilted is Merklinger. Merklinger really is the key to using tilt well.

As a basic start out point a little theory makes sense, if you focus or your far point, then tilt for your near point you will get there quicker. So for a typical landscape image focus at infinity via 10x live view, then move your zoomed square to the bottom of the frame and tilt until it is sharp. That is normally all you need do unless the plane to infinity is not close to 90°, if it slopes up or down a lot from you then a focus adjustment will be needed.

For closer work the idea works again, focus for the far part you want in focus, then tilt to get the close part.

As for the amount of tilt that is needed, that all depends on how far the bottom of the camera is away from the plane of focus, if it is at eye leve, say 5',l 1° is typical with the 17 ( tilt degrees have a focal length factor, if a 17 needs 2° a 24 would need 3°) however put the 17 close to ground level, 8" or so, and you need the full 8°.

Thanks so much Macguyver and PBD!

The 17mm is a lot harder to use without a tripod (read: unusable in my inexperienced hands without a tripod). The FoV is great. Sufficient for very tall buildings. The focusing ring was disappointingly lose, especially compared to the 24 TS-E. Is that your experience, too?
As PBD said the tilt adjustment is very course and will need a lot of practice, but it is a fun toy to play with (I hope I make some money with it so I never need to part with it).
So I was reading Harry Merklinger's article and found tilt affecting vertical lines in my case too. Apparently the overpriced tripod mount solves that. I want to see if I can find a DIY way around it.