Ultra-Wide Primes?

C

CF01

Active member
Just curious if there are any ultra-wide primes out there that are not fisheyes and are significantly cheaper than the Tokina 11-16mm zoom? I'm really not seeing any and thought someone might know of some obscure lens that I might have missed.
 
samyang 14mm f/2.8

it's also sold under a lot of other brands: rokinon, bower, opteka, etc
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769532-REG/Rokinon_FE14M_C_14mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_f_2_8.html

as all the other recent samyang lenses, it seems to be pretty good; here you can see how it compares with the 6 times more expensive canon 14mm f/2.8L II: the samyang has more distortion and more vignetting (at least on full frame), but it is actually sharper and has much much much smaller lateral chromatic aberration:
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/532-samyang14f28eosff?start=1
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/541-canon14f28mk2ff?start=1

it is completely manual, which for me is a good thing, but may be a problem for others
 
NormanBates said:
samyang 14mm f/2.8

it's also sold under a lot of other brands: rokinon, bower, opteka, etc
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769532-REG/Rokinon_FE14M_C_14mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_f_2_8.html

as all the other recent samyang lenses, it seems to be pretty good; here you can see how it compares with the 6 times more expensive canon 14mm f/2.8L II: the samyang has more distortion and more vignetting (at least on full frame), but it is actually sharper and has much much much smaller lateral chromatic aberration:
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/532-samyang14f28eosff?start=1
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/541-canon14f28mk2ff?start=1

it is completely manual, which for me is a good thing, but may be a problem for others
Click to expand...

The samyang has extreme distortion compared to the Tokina at 14mm which has almost none.
Decide what is important in the long run, and if cash is the issue better to save and get what you need tomorrow.

Compare these two lenses in terms of distortion/
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/379-tokina_1116_28_canon?start=1
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/532-samyang14f28eosff?start=1
BTW you can still use the Tokina 11-16mm on a full frame body as wide as 15mm with all the advantages of auto focus and exposure.
 
Yeah, the distortion on the Samyang is bad enough that I wouldn't want to spend my money on it and would rather get the Tokina. Thanks for the help.
 
Eh, it's 1/2 to 1 1/2 stops slower. Not a show stopper in my mind, and I wouldn't really use the lens unless I was in a situation where I had control over lighting anyways.
 
I vote Tokina 11-16mm also, if the Canon had IS, i would say it's worth it, but for the price, Tokina is the best bang for your buck.
 
ROCKMORE said:
It's not the slower stops, it's the shift between stops that causes a flicker in the image that's a problem.
Click to expand...

So are you talking about exposure or image breathing? Are you trying to do zooms while rolling or ramping aperture?
 
aguia said:
So are you talking about exposure or image breathing? Are you trying to do zooms while rolling or ramping aperture?
Click to expand...

No, if you zoom that lens, or any variable aperture zoom, the aperture will change in the middle of the zoom, creating a flicker in the video. So basically you can't zoom with the lens. The lens does that all by itself, and there's nothing you can do about it. That's why people here sometimes call them "variable primes" rather than zoom lenses.
 
steventimothy said:
No, if you zoom that lens, or any variable aperture zoom, the aperture will change in the middle of the zoom, creating a flicker in the video. So basically you can't zoom with the lens. The lens does that all by itself, and there's nothing you can do about it. That's why people here sometimes call them "variable primes" rather than zoom lenses.
Click to expand...

Yes, I understand how that works, I'm just trying to remember the last time I did a zoom in a shot even with a lens that was designed to hold both focus and aperture. I have to say that on every set I've ever worked on even the filthy-expensive big gun zooms are used as variable primes 99% of the time. So the Canon 10-22 is definitely a compromise if you intend to do any zooming or you need to work at 2.8. I guess its nice to even have a choice, not a heck of a lot of 10 or 11mm primes out there that will cover APSC.
 
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/714810-REG/Zeiss_1796379_Distagon_T_25mm_f_2_8.html

edit: well ok, neither cheaper or ultrawide... but a darn nice lens for just 1k if you're rolling on FF

Tokina 11-16 is prolly the best choice for most folks, never used it myself though. Don't exclude Canon 10-22 though

for double the cash of the Tokina you get a Nikon 14-24, it's pretty much considered the best wide angle zoom in the world (and fairly priced, too). They say it blows away most more expensive wide primes too (including Zeiss). It's a pretty sick lens, I'm wanting one badly.
 
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aguia said:
Yes, I understand how that works, I'm just trying to remember the last time I did a zoom in a shot even with a lens that was designed to hold both focus and aperture. .
Click to expand...

I never do zooms with any of these lenses while shooting, or with any other zoom lens I've shot with for that matter. When repositioning the focal length, I expect to check focus, but would like my exposure to stay in one place. When shooting a scene with a variety of wide, medium and close ups, the focal length may change every shot, so not having to constantly correct exposure is much better. Obviously.
 
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