Help me to choose a single wide angle lens for my 5d Mrk II

[sami_palta1]

<p>I am in need of a wide angle lens for my 5D Mark II, in addition to my 24-70 mm f/2.8 which I already have.<br>

I don't want a fisheye but omething like 18 mm. I know there is not 18 mm at Canon EOS. I don't want something like 16-36 mm or 17-40 zoom but I want to have a single lens.<br>

How about 14 mm f/2.8? Too wide and too expensive?<br>

20 mm f/2.8? Too close to 24-70 mm? Doesn't worth to buy it for only 4 mms?<br>

What do you recommend?</p>

[Ian Taylor]

<p>What do you want to shoot? Why a prime?</p>

[jean_yves_mead]

There's always the Zeiss 18mm f/3.5 Distagon ZE, which would cost you only an arm and a leg. I suggest it only because you mentioned 18mm - I haven't played with one myself.

[dan_south]

<p>I'd like to help you find a "single" lens, but all of my wide-angle lenses are married. ;-)</p>

<p>The 17mm tilt-shift is an intriguing lens if you can forego autofocus and if you can leverage the power of movements. I own the 24mm version, and build and optical quality are both top notch.</p>

[sami_palta1]

<p>will shoot landscapes, indoors and architecture ... </p>

[yakim_peled1]

<blockquote>

<p>will shoot landscapes, indoors and architecture ...</p>

</blockquote>

<p>The 17/4 TS is more or less irreplaceable for indoors and architecture.</p>

<p>Happy shooting,<br />Yakim.</p>

[markonestudios]

For your application, if budget is a non-issue, I would also propose the 17mm f/4 Tilt-Shift. It may take some getting used to as it is quite a specialised lens

[sami_palta1]

<p>I already have a Sinar system. So already got used to tilt-shifts :)</p>

[martin-s]

<blockquote>

<p>"I already have a Sinar system. So already got used to tilt-shifts :)"</p>

</blockquote>

<p>Given your experience with a LF system, I'm surprised you feel the need to ask advice here.<br>

As others have said, the 17/4 TS would make a lot of sense for your applications.</p>

[Robin Smith]

<p>Sami,</p>

<p>I am in the same boat. The choices from my perspective are:</p>

<p>14mm Canon -- good performance (but not superb), very expensive ($2000+)<br>

15mm Canon fisheye - excellent performance, good price, small size, <em>but</em> it's a fisheye<br>

17/24mm tilt-shift --very expensive very bulky, manual focus, great performance. ($2000+)<br>

Zeiss ZE 18mm - nice lens, not such a stellar performer as ZE21mm, expensive (considering it's manual focus), $1300+<br>

Voigtlander 20mm -- nice small lens at a good price. Manual focus, Performance nothing to get too excited about. Not much better than Canon 20mm.<br>

Canon 20mm--good price, performance not exciting.<br>

Zeiss ZE 21mm - superb performance, very expensive (considering its manual focus), bulky for an f2.8 lens. $1600+<br>

24mm L Mk11 -- good lens, expensive and bulky - overlaps your zoom, though high speed is neat feature (but do you need this fast?). $1600+ <br>

Nothing quite seems to fit the bill does it? Currently for me its the 15mm fisheye or the 18mm Zeiss. The tilt-shift is not required for my use. If I needed that feature, I would rent one.</p>

[stp]

<p>One of your assumptions is not quite correct. A few millimeters at the wide end can make a huge difference. 14mm is exceptionally wide, and there is a huge difference between 20mm and 24mm.</p>

[PuppyDigs]

<p>MAYBE the Samyang 14mm f2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical mk2 might tickle yo' pickle.<br>

http://samyang.pl/article,12,download</p>

[gabriel_l1]

<p>Here's an answer you almost certainly weren't expecting: the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. It isn't SUPPOSED to be used on a fullframe camera, but it can be, and allegedly it works fine at 16mm.</p>

<p>I'm not speaking from experience however, so caveat emptor in re: corner sharpness, etc. And I'm sure the 17mm TS makes more sense for interiors / architecture.</p>

<p>Not a very serious suggestion, but throwing it out there for your entertainment.</p>

[dcstep]

<p>Gabriel said:</p>

<blockquote>

<p>I'm not speaking from experience however, so caveat emptor in re: corner sharpness, etc. And I'm sure the 17mm TS makes more sense for interiors / architecture.</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I've heard that assumption before about the 17mm TS-E being best for interiors, but when I looked at examples of Flickr (search the Tags and there's a user group) I saw some stunning landscape images taken with this lens.</p>

[gabriel_l1]

<p>I meant "better at interiors than the Tokina," not "better for interiors than for landscapes."</p>

[markus_keinath1]

<p>The Samyang 14 mm / 2.8 is available now - but I would not reccomend that lens for higher requirements.<br />See the pictures here:<br />http://www.4photos.de/camera-diy/index-en.html<br />The sharpness on the edges is low. The moustache distortion is heavy.</p>