Canon Wide Angles for Aquatica and 5D markII

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews...ens-Review.aspx

 

as you can see, the 15mm is "wider" than the 14, because of the fisheye effect, which is not that bad to have underwater.

Just as a quick note - the comparison on this page is not accurate for the 5DMk2, because it was done on a crop sensor camera. Because of the inherent barrel distortion, the angle of view of a fisheye lens is not evenly distributed across the diagonal of the frame, with a greater degree of coverage towards the corners. This means when testing FF lenses on a crop body, as this test does, you will reduce the angle of coverage proportionally much more on a fisheye than a rectilinear wide angle. So on the 5DMk2 the 15mm would have a much wider angle of coverage compared with the 14mm, than you see in those tests.

Alex

Just as a quick note - the comparison on this page is not accurate for the 5DMk2, because it was done on a crop sensor camera. Because of the inherent barrel distortion, the angle of view of a fisheye lens is not evenly distributed across the diagonal of the frame, with a greater degree of coverage towards the corners. This means when testing FF lenses on a crop body, as this test does, you will reduce the angle of coverage proportionally much more on a fisheye than a rectilinear wide angle. So on the 5DMk2 the 15mm would have a much wider angle of coverage compared with the 14mm, than you see in those tests.

 

Alex

thanks for the class !

I've read that the Sigma 15mm "is" better than the Canon 15mm. ("noise" during focus, slow AF, price...)

What do you think?

I've read that the Sigma 15mm "is" better than the Canon 15mm. ("noise" during focus, slow AF, price...)

What do you think?

I'm not a Canon user, so I dunno. The Sigma 15mm is significantly better than the Nikon 16mm in terms of close focus. But I was always under the impression that the Sigma and Canon 15mms were pretty close on performance. I think the Sigma is a bit cheaper - but the Canon probably has a better build quality.

I tried the Sigma FE(several copies) before settling for the Canon. Sharpness wise I couldn't tell the difference between the 2. This is all on full frame or APS-B (1.25crop)

Pros:

4 year warranty in the US.

It focuses closer

40% cheaper.

Lens cap is better (but both suck!)

Slight yellow tint in pic (which is great for uw, and easily removed in post)

Cons:

The Sigma QC: I tried 3 copies. 2 front focused (yes you can tell even with a FE DOF). I had the same issue with the Sigma 12-24 (but I put up with it because I love that lens!).

Construction material the Canon has a very slight advantage.

CA is more noticeable in the corners.

The only reason I kept the Canon is because the the Sigma extends a bit when focusing and thus can suck in more dust. I use my lenses in high dust environments sometimes so I went with Canon.

For primarily u/w use, I'd go with the Sigma but test a few copies to get a good one.

If I can extract the bottom line from this discussion, it sounds like a good combo would be Canon 16-35mm II and the Canon 15mm FE (if I have left over $). Currently have 100mm macro (whick I like) and I also have a 1.4x TC which should come in handy as well. Diopter may be needed for the wide angle lens but could have a problem finding 82mm at this time.

Thanks Alex and Drew,

another last question, which I think will help a lot, but maybe it's hard to answer :

What the sigma/canon 15mm FE can't do ? (as wideangle/FE photo of course) do you have exemple of wideangle photo it is not possible to do with these lenses?

(I'm not speaking about the distorsion)

not sure there is an answer, and if not it will be a good point for the lenses.

(I have been using the tokina 10-17 a lot on an apsc and I'm switching to FF, just want to find the same kind of performance).

Teleconverter for 15mm FE??

Hi All,

I'm also about to move from 20D to 5DMKII and have a question about the Canon (or possibly Sigma) 15mm FE.    

Can anyone recommend a 1.4x teleconverter that will work with either of these lenses and also if possible with the Canon 100mm USM f/2.8 Macro?  How about the Kenko Teleplus Pro 300 1.4x? 

Yep - that's the one you want.

Cheers

James

With refernce to the 100mm and 150mm mentioned earlier....I went for a dive on Saturday with my 5DII, EF100 with a +2 on the front (Hoya) and a Tokina 1.4X (Aquatica housing).

In summary; I'm ordering a Sigma 150mm later today!!

More detail; The autofocus performance of the above setup in low light (under a jetty) even with a good LED focus light plus light from my DS-125 was very poor to non existant. Out in natural light it was as expected i.e. a tad slower than normal but locking OK. I knew the above setup would be borderline for auto focus but it was too frustrating and I suspect at night will be a total failure.... I'm going for the 150mm.

HTH's someone.

Cheers,

Aengus

Thanks for that update Aengus. Let me know how that 150mm lens works out. I can see how a sandwich of all those parts might give the autofocus a headache. For now I will have to stay with my 100mm macro as I am tapped out and need to save an actual little for a trip now. On the WA front, I sold the 10-22mm on ebay (still have a focus gear for that if anyone is interested) and got the Canon 16-35mm which is a great lens so far on dry land testing (have not gone in the water with it yet). I did well enough with the ebay sale that I splurged for the Sigma 15mm FE and have been trying to get the feel for it on land as well. Still trying to get a trip together for late summer or fall if the economy does not decide to tank again.

Chris

Thanks for that update Aengus. Let me know how that 150mm lens works out. I can see how a sandwich of all those parts might give the autofocus a headache. For now I will have to stay with my 100mm macro as I am tapped out and need to save an actual little for a trip now. On the WA front, I sold the 10-22mm on ebay (still have a focus gear for that if anyone is interested) and got the Canon 16-35mm which is a great lens so far on dry land testing (have not gone in the water with it yet). I did well enough with the ebay sale that I splurged for the Sigma 15mm FE and have been trying to get the feel for it on land as well. Still trying to get a trip together for late summer or fall if the economy does not decide to tank again.

 

Chris

Chris, the Canon 16-35mm you got was the 16-35mm f/2.8L II, correct? Have you had a chance to get underwater yet, or made a plan? I'm moving from 20D to 5D mk II although my progress is much slower. I bought the 50D and need to sell it and two EF-S lenses first.

I am also going to use as much of my older equipment as possible moving from 20D to 5D mk II and so I will use be using the Canon 100mm for macro. I was considering 14mm f/2.8 L II, 15mm f/2.8 FE, 24mm f/1.4L, 16-35mm f/2.8L II, or 17-40 f/4L. From reading this thread, I'll drop the 17-40L in favor of the 16-35mm f/2.8L II.

Is the 16-35mm f/2.8L II the best wide angle lens to use with the 5D mk II in the Aquatica Housing with 8" dome compared to either the 14mm f/2.8 L II or 24mm f/1.4L? And would the Aquatica 9" dome change which lens to get? I will probably only be able to get one WA lens and then I will need to save up for the 5D mark II housing.

Hi Rick-You are correct, this is the 2.8L series II. The 15mm FE is the new Sigma unit (EX DG). Unfortunately I have not made it into the water yet with this setup so my advice is limited here. This Summer has been busy. The 16-35mm is really quite sharp corner to corner on land however as is the Sigma. I talked to Jean at Aquatica and he recommended a +3 diopter for the 16-35 lens. I have not picked one up yet and the only folks that make one with 82mm threads is Heliopan.

I think the primes you mention would be outstanding, I just like having the zoom capability/flexibility as I am not a real pro like some of these lads here. It just seems to me that unless you are doing multiple dives on a site and/or you know ahead of time the shot you want to get, a zoom is going to be the way to go in most cases. Perhaps some others here have experience with the primes you mentioned.

I think I made the correct picks based mostly on flexibility (for land and UW work) and also advice from people here (although this is a fairly new camera and only a few folks have taken it UW). You might discuss this with folks at Backscatter as they have some first hand experience with the camera and housing. Once I get some photos I will update the post.

Perhaps start a new thread and see if anyone responds that has recent experience with this setup.

Chris

I've seen a rumour flying around that Canon might release a 15mm FE mkII with USM focus around the same time as the rumoured 60D. Then again, from the time of the anouncement to when its in the store it could be a long time (still hard to get the new TS in stores, anounced in Jan/Feb?).

/Björn

Hi Rick-You are correct, this is the 2.8L series II. The 15mm FE is the new Sigma unit (EX DG). Unfortunately I have not made it into the water yet with this setup so my advice is limited here. This Summer has been busy. The 16-35mm is really quite sharp corner to corner on land however as is the Sigma. I talked to Jean at Aquatica and he recommended a +3 diopter for the 16-35 lens. I have not picked one up yet and the only folks that make one with 82mm threads is Heliopan.

 

I think the primes you mention would be outstanding, I just like having the zoom capability/flexibility as I am not a real pro like some of these lads here. It just seems to me that unless you are doing multiple dives on a site and/or you know ahead of time the shot you want to get, a zoom is going to be the way to go in most cases. Perhaps some others here have experience with the primes you mentioned.

 

I think I made the correct picks based mostly on flexibility (for land and UW work) and also advice from people here (although this is a fairly new camera and only a few folks have taken it UW). You might discuss this with folks at Backscatter as they have some first hand experience with the camera and housing. Once I get some photos I will update the post.

 

Perhaps start a new thread and see if anyone responds that has recent experience with this setup.

 

Chris

Thanks Chris. Not sure that a new thread is needed yet. I am about ready to get the Canon 14mm f/2.8 L II. Looks to be US$1875.00 shipped for one with a USA Canon Warranty. The Aquatica website has no information for which focus gear to use, could be the same as the Type I. Jean?

Hi Rick-You might try calling directly. I have always found the Aquatica folks to be quite friendly and knowledgeable.

C.