Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing lens for certain uses, August 29, 2009
First the lens itself is an excellent wide angle prime. Very sharp edge to edge even wide open. Virtually no flare. But it should not be bought for that purpose. The 14mm f2.8 is cheaper (at $2,000!) and faster. The 16 to 35mm f2.8 zoom is even cheaper and much more versatile. Also, this lens does not auto focus and has a big unprotected bulb in front that requires special care in handling.
What the lens does is produce wide angle shots that cannot be obtained from any other lens. In a normal wide angle, tilting the camera so it is not parallel to the ground makes the vertical lines tilt strongly open or closed. The more you tilt the camera, the stronger the effect. Sometimes you want that effect. It can enhance the height of things. But other times you don't. This lens offers the ability to control line tilt or eliminate it altogether. Set the camera so lines are all straight or tilted to the extent you want then shift the lens itself up, down or sideways to capture the desired field of view. The effect is amazing.
But that is not all. Because lines can be kept straight, shooting two or more shots by shifting the lens instead of the camera facilitates stitching multiple shots into very wide angle images. It is possible to get a shot wider than a fish eye lens with no linear distortion.
And that is still not all. The ability to tilt the lens helps depth of field. I won't try to explain the principle (there are plenty of sites on the internet that describe it) but with the camera on a tripod, it is possible to set the basic shot, shift the lens to the desired point, tilt the lens until everything is in focus up to within a very short distance from the lens, take that shot, then shift the lens the other direction with no or the opposite tilt and take a second shot, then stitch the two shots to get an image wider than a fish eye in focus from inches to infinity even with the lens wide open.
This lens is mostly useful for architectural and landscape photography. You will not use it to photograph the kids or carry around town on vacation (unless you take photographic vacations). It takes a lot of work. Basically, the shot has to be set up in manual exposure and focus before the lens is shifted. A tripod is not absolutely necessary but will be useful for most shots, especially if you plan to stitch multiple shots. It takes those of us old enough to remember back to the days when everything had to be set manually. For those not that old, it will be a shock to have to make so many settings. But for certain shots, there is no substitute for this lens.
It is probably a professional only lens. The cost, effort and basic photographic knowledge required means this lens will never hit the mass market. But for those who like to take landscape panoramas, it is almost a necessity.
UPDATE
I recently had a chance to photograph a slot canyon. It was narrow and tall and I thought a perfect place to try out this lens. I did get some good shots but I was much more impressed with the 16 to 35mm f2.8 II. It was a sharp as the 17mm, easier to use and a lot more versatile. Part of the problem with the 17mm was the work required to set up a shot. It took forever and the results were uneven. This was not a place where tilting lines were a problem so I had the highest hope for shooting multiple shots shifting from side to side to create very wide angles. I found that the 17mm would produce a shot that appeared to be wider angle because I could get closer but the 16mm would get the same shot just not as elongated. The 16mm shot was the more impressive for that particular place. At another site I was shooting an arch and found I could easily get the whole span in the 16mm. A two shot stitch with the 17mm was no more impressive and had a problem with darkening at each end.
Bottom line, the 17mm is no substitute for other lenses. It is a highly specialized lens useful when you have to stitch multiple shots or keep vertical lines straight. The 16mm to 35mm zoom and the 15mm fisheye will be better choices for 95% of all the landscape panoramas and canyon shots.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely Stellar!, July 31, 2009
This review is based on using this lens for the last month or so on a Canon 1Ds Mark III camera.
General positive aspects of the lens:
- Build quality is superb
- Image sharpness unshifted and untilted is excellent in the corners even at f/4
- When shifted fully, image sharpness decreases in the corners at f/4 but is once again critically sharp when the lens is stopped down to f/8
- CA is absent across the frame unshifted
- When fully shifted, there is mild CA in the corners, but is still considerably better than most lenses
Negative aspects:
- Price of course. It would have been great it this lens was $500 or even $1000 cheaper. However though the current price is very high, I wouldn't say the lens is poor value.
- Bulbous front element, so no front filters. This will be a deal breaker for a lot of landscape shooters or anyone who want to use filters. You also have to be careful with flare. I've had shots where the sun was almost behind me and yet produced flare in the image. There is no lens hood, so in those cases you'll need to use your hand as a shade to reduce flare.
In the end though, its unlikely that one is going to just impulse purchase this lens. Chances are you'll have specific uses for it and so you'll know what you are buying. You shouldn't hesitate because of optical quality though, its superb and I believe the lens has enough resolution to drive higher and higher MP cameras of tomorrow.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, opens new possibilities in Photography, September 19, 2009
If the price has not completely deterred you, and you love wide angle images, this is your lens. I cannot rate it high enough. I shoot it on a 5d mark 2, and it is best used on a full frame camera. It is sharp! Not as sharp as the Nikon 14-24 with the 16:9 adapter, but it blows away the canon 20mm, the older version of the 24 mm ts-e, and the 24 - 70 L . It is a beauty to behold. And the images are truly remarkable. I can't imagine you will be disappointed.
Although the nikon 14 -24 sharper and a SUPERIOR lens in terms of image quality, the 17 mm ts-e can do things that will simply make you happy. Using the shift function, you can take a series of three images, that are overlapping by 30% or so, and then merge them in photoshop to give you 2 things. 1) you will have an effective sensor size of something like 48mm x 36 mm( depending on the direction of the shift) and 2) with that size sensor you will still have a 17mm lens! The files are big. On my 5d mark 2, they sometimes work out to be 500 - 600 MB. If you are going to print 8 x 10 or 13 x 19 it does not matter, but if you are going to go large, 30 x 40 and up, it makes a huge difference. You are effectively getting medium format sensor resolution with a 35 mm camera ( Once you merge the images together)These files have an angle of view on a 35 mm camera, that is equal to about a 10 mm lens, with no fisheye effect and little distortion unless you are close to things. This lens will give you images that will amaze you. The perspective( in these merged files) is real but unreal. It is unlike anything else.
The build quality is beautiful. It is hard to imagine having any disappointments in that area. The front lens element is a bit scary. Beautiful and scary at the same time. I think they call this the sublime. It is.
You have to watch for flare when your light source is in front of you, but I have actually found some of the flares to work well with the images I have taken. That would be an individual issue, I suppose.
If you think it should be 500 or a thousand less, you are wrong. It is a steal at 2500. It has changed the way I make images and see the world with the camera. It has opened new possibilities. If you are serious about the images you make and you love wide angle because it mimics the way your eye sees the world, then the money is well spent.
Please also note, that for archtectural and landscape photogrpahers, the perspective correction of the shift will also make you very happy. If you have expereince with a view camera and love the movements, this is close to that and in a very usable, functional form.
Personally I have not done much with the tilt function. I have played with the out of focus thing, but the lens is so wide and has such amazing depth of field that it does not easily give you the toy look of a longer tilt shift lens. But so what?
I cant figure out how to give this lens 6 stars, or even 7! Amazon wont let me click that many, but this lens is certainly worth it. BTW I have just shot an architectural interiors job, and using the shift function has given me a series of i images that would otherwise simply be impossible. Both my client and I love these shots!
You can wait a year or so, and the price will come down. But i would not wait! It is only money. This lens, to be culturally cliche for a moement, is , really, priceless. I will admit I was very nervous about spending that much for a lens! I am not rich! I would not buy it on credit, but I would buy it for sure! If I lost mine, I would figure out way to buy another....immediately.
If this lens appeals to you, and if you still have doubt, don't worry, you will love this lens every second you use it. Enjoy!
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