Customer Reviews

Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM Ultra-Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

as soon as i received it, i set my camera up on a tripod and shot the same picture, first with the old canon 14mm, and then with the new. the improvement in the new lens in terms of corner to corner sharpness was really significant. the only thing that was somewhat disappointing, was that the new lens had considerably more fringing around high-contrast edges. i shot an image of an interior with a view out the window and there was a very wide, highly saturated blue fringe even in the center of the image. the old 14mm experienced fringing too, but rarely in the center of the image, and even at the edges, was not as extreme as it is in the center of the new lens. granted the difference in luminance was quite extreme between the interior and exterior (at least 5 stops) so this is not a problem that would effect every image, but it is something to be aware of. even with this problem, i would still recommend the new lens again as the increase in sharpness far outweighs the inconvenience of having to retouch the occasional fringing.

This is the sort of lens that you buy if you know that you want to buy this sort of lens. If you're casually thinking of buying glass, this probably isn't for you. It's the best wide prime for Canon if you're looking for something that can autofocus. The difference between the 14mm of this lens and 16mm of the 16-35 is huge. The results are impressively sharp, and then lens is far more compact than the zooms which provide your only other options. If you want a wide lens on full frame and aren't concerned about your budget, this is your choice.

I have no idea why there's only a 6-blade aperture in this thing. I think they could have done much better. It doesn't usually matter, but it makes bright point sources look ... interesting. Not necessarily bad, but interesting. The effect on bokeh is negligible, since you're not going to get much bokeh.

Minor quibbles come from the front element, which of course doesn't accept filters, though there's a gel holder in the back. Next up, the hood (permanent, can't be moved/detached) is mostly useless; stopping flare often requires hands strategically placed to block the incoming sunlight. Finally, the lens cap only barely locks onto the hood, and comes off easily when removing the lens from the bag. I don't know why they couldn't design a lens cap that's secure -- some notches in the hood into which some clips actually engage would be a huge improvement.

Build quality is up there with the best black L lenses. Handling and use is good. The issues the lens has don't really make it any less exceptional, it's a lens you're going to love despite its minor flaws.

I can't see a good argument for getting this lens if you're on a crop body; you're paying for full frame corners in this sort of glass, and it doesn't make an exceptionally interesting focal length on anything short of full frame. It might be worth considering on APS-H.

I have a 17-55 Canon lens which I use on my 30D and 50D. It works great. When I got my 5D MkII I purchased the 14mm lens. It is awesome. For me just wide enough - not quite fisheye. It is a lens which offers incredible possibilities for unique views and perspectives and its speed certainly helps - although I tend to go for more depth of field which it accomodates as well. I have several L series lenses, but I can see where this one will be my "creative" lens. If you can afford it, you will be thrilled to own and use it.

This is an outstanding lens. A bit pricey... but nothing else really compares to it.

This is a "rectilinear" wide angle lens. This means that horizontal and vertical lines in a photograph will remain straight, rather than curving as they would in a "curvilinear" (aka "fish-eye") lens. This is the widest rectilinear wide-angle lens made by Canon (one of the very widest on the market.) It creates stunning architectural or landscape photographs. If you want to see samples of images taken with this lens, flickr has a group dedicated to it (as they do for most lenses). Search Flickr for a group named "Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM"

The lens physically has excellent build quality. The tulip-style lens hood is metal and is a permanent part of the lens body. It is not removable (and it comes with a special lens cap designed to work with the tulip hood). There are no front filter threads (such is typical of very wide angle lenses like this one.) however there is a gel-style filter holder at the rear element (products such as Rosco Cinegel.) Unfortunately this means there are certain types of filters that are commonly desired for landscape photography such as polarizing filters or gradient neutral density filters which can't really be rear-element mounted since the point of the filter is to be able to control it's placement and orientation. I have not found a solution for this problem other than to get particularly large size filters plates (from companies such as Singh-Ray or Lee filters) and hand-hold them in front of the lens.

As is common for "L" series lenses, this lens is weather-sealed against dust & drips. It also includes a Canon gray-suede soft-pouch.

I consider this lens to be a one-of-a-kind -- nobody else really makes anything that does what it does or comes close to competing with it in terms of quality. I absolutely love my copy. My only real complaint is that the price is steep (I happened to buy mine when Canon was offering a rebate on it. Even with the rebate it's still a very expensive lens.)

This lens is the top of the line wide angle. A significant improvement over the last 14mm and a must have for anyone who loves the distorted look wide angle gives. When I was a kid my dad gave me a very wide lens for an old minolta. Since then i have always loved the look this brings to certain photos. I have tested this lens and the results are spectacular. It is very fast and works well in low light. I highly recommend this lens, despite its price.

I bought this lens 2 days ago. I shoot Architecture and I'd had my eye on this thing for a while. I own a good number of L lenses at this point and I generally use either the 24mm TS-E or the 17mm TS-E for jobs such as the one I shot today. The 24 is fantastic...the 17 is less so but necessary in a pinch. I bought this lens because of the wider reach, reports of minimal barrel distortion and AF. It seemed like it might be a good option for interiors where I could square the lens to the wall and get a good wide view. Well, let me say...this thing is stunning...STUNNING!!!. Tonight I had to shoot the interior (lobby/bar area) of a large movie complex. The client (Architect) wanted beauty shots of their work with people milling around. Ordinarily I'd do this with one of my trusty TS-E lenses...set the shot up, manual focus..check it once or twice and then spend a few minutes at that spot shooting off frames before moving to the next spot. Tonight I needed to be quicker. The owner of the property had agreed to let me shoot for only about a half hour...not much time at all. So I elected to buy this in hopes that AF would speed things up...I did a few test shots at my studio before heading out. I set myself up with the camera (5d mk ii) on a medium sized tripod and this 14mm beauty...set to AF, with +/- f16 to be safe and I simply walked laps of the big space popping off shots (via pocket wizard) as people moved through the space. I occasionally stopped to make multiple exposures but mainly I was just shooting singles hoping I could patch it up in post. I never work this way...and the thoughts of using AF on an architectural shoot just seemed nuts..

In any event I got back to my studio and immediately I knew things had gone well. The images were tack sharp front to back and the color was perfect. Much more impressive was the degree to which the images were perfectly straight...no barrel distortion at all. Of the 24 images I just processed, only 3 of them had to be lens corrected and that was due to pilot error in the field..not because of the lens. My TS-E lenses are, from this point forward my exterior lenses. If you shoot Architecture you need this lens..It is pure magic...WOW!!!!!

Had used the previous revision before. I was amazed by the how wide and the distortion control. Finally bought it late last year. It's an amazing lens. Super sharpness and color!

Awesome lens for the pro who's constantly shooting in tight spaces. Architecturally correct, this lens is the answer for those who need to get the panoramic feel without linear distortion

Quality and ease of use make up for the price. The picture quality is what you expect from the L series.

I just finished 2 photo shoots using this beautiful lens. The High Dynamic Range (HDR) shots turned out to be especially haunting. I highly recommend this wide angle lens for those experienced photographers who know how to use this type of lens.