Zeiss 21mm and 60d

F

Francesco Dal Bosco

Active member
I'm planning to buy the Canon 16-35mm 2.8 and the Zeiss 21mm 2.8 lens for my Canon 60d. After reading several reviews the only problem I see (price apart) is the possibility to have a worsening of aliasing and moire (at the moment i have only the Sigma 18-125).
What's your opinion? Thank you in advance.
 
I think the canon 16-35mm f2.8 might be a good choice, it's a nice range and will double up as a great stills lens as well. I guess it depends on what focal lengths you prefer shooting at but if I were to go for a wide lens then Zeiss perhaps wouldn't be my first choice, have you seen the 11-16mm Tokina f2.8? it's very sharp with great contrast and will take you wider than the Canon 16-35 if you needed to and I think will complement your Sigma in terms of your focal coverage. For the price of the Zeiss you could get the Tokina and a 50mm f1.4 or 85mm f1.8 which would be nice for low light and still have money in your back pocket for some extra batteries or something.

As to the Aliasing and moire it's going to appear more so in any lens which resolves much finer detail but having said that out in the real world as long as you are aware what causes it then you can improvise, it's all about knowing your limitations and working around them and that goes for any camera.
 
Thank you for your reply add. The focal lenght I use the most time is 35mm (in Full Frame) so the Zeiss 21 for my camera would be right but probably the Canon 16-35mm is more than enough in terms of resolution and general quality (I know it is consdered one of the best Canon lens).
The Tokina you mentioned it's also very interesting. My purpose is to find a set of 2-3 very good lenses with a special attention for the 35mm (FF) focal lenght.
 
the tokina 16-28 seems to be a great lens too

being designed for full frame, though, it's considered ultra wide angle, and doesn't even take filters, which may be a problem if you're using it on a 1.6x sensor and thus in a more "normal" range

but it's sharper in general than 16-35L, 17-40L and 24-70L:
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/595-tokina162828eosff?start=1
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/435-canon_1635_28_5d?start=1
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/427-canon_1740_4_5d?start=1
http://www.photozone.de/canon_eos_ff/528-canon2470f28ff?start=1


edit: and, of course...
in terms of sharpness, it's not easy to beat the very cheap canon 24mm f/2.8:
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=246&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
but there's more to a lens than just a general definition of sharpness:
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2011/03/fun-with-thumbtacks-for-advanced-photogeeks
one of the comments says:
A: Canon 35mm f/2
B: Canon 35mm f/1.4L
C: Zeiss 35mm f/2
 
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Thank you for your comment and links Norman. Very helpful. I think I'll go with the Tokina 11-16 first. I've read a lot about it and it seems really amazing for quality, performance and price. I would like to have a nice prime in the 20-24 range too so I'm considering the various options on the market. Zeiss 21 2.8? Canon 24 1.4? Both fantastic lens but not cheap for shure so I'm wondering if they are or not "too much" for video and if there's a suitable alternative.
 
I had the 17-35 on crop sensor and loved it. I sold it actually intending to replace it soon with 16-35, didn't end up happening due to other priorities that came up but I really wish I atleast still had the 17-35mm, great range. With a 16-35 and 11-16 tokina you don't need primes in the wide end.
 
Francesco Dal Bosco said:
Thank you for your comment and links Norman. Very helpful. I think I'll go with the Tokina 11-16 first. I've read a lot about it and it seems really amazing for quality, performance and price. I would like to have a nice prime in the 20-24 range too so I'm considering the various options on the market. Zeiss 21 2.8? Canon 24 1.4? Both fantastic lens but not cheap for shure so I'm wondering if they are or not "too much" for video and if there's a suitable alternative.
Click to expand...

for the price of the zeiss, the 24L or the 16-35L, you can get the tokina 11-16, the canon 24mm f/2.8, and keep some spare change

that canon 24mm f/2.8 is one great lens, much much better than most other "cheap" canon primes, like the 20mm f/2.8, the 28mm f/1.8, the 28mm f/2.8, or the 35mm f/2.0
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=244&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=2
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=254&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=122&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0

about the "too much for video" thing... you can still see small sharpness differences when shooting 1080p

at 18 Mpix, my leitz 90mm f/2.8 is a bit soft on the corners at f/2.8, gets better by f/3.5, and is perfect by f/5.6:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsa.html
and that's exactly the same in video resolution:
http://www.similaar.com/foto/lenstests/lenstestsv.html
 
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I would bag the 16-35 and the zeiss (which are optimized for full frame) and get the canon 17-55 2.8IS and tokina 11-16 instead. If you really have to get an expensive 35 equiv prime get the 24 f1.4L II. That zeiss 21 is really more for full frame landscape shooters :)
 
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saneproductions said:
I would bag the 16-35 and the zeiss (which are optimized for full frame) and get the canon 17-55 2.8IS and tokina 11-16 instead.
Click to expand...

Probably a good choice if you have an APCs body. Can even go with the Tamron 17-50 non VC if cash is tight.
I got the Canon 24mm f2.8 with a future 5D in mind and have to say it won't buy you much over the f2.8 zooms if anything on an cropped body.
 
Michael rockmore is right, the Tamron (VC or Non-VC) is a great way to go. 17-50 is the core range to cover. Figure out your total budget all up and decide what priority you get the lenses in.

Suggested priority order:
17-50 (55) 2.8 Zoom
Fast 50 (f1.4)
Fast normal (sigma 30 f1.4)
Ultra wide (Tokina 11-16 2.8)
Then telephoto like the canon 85 1.8 or the bower/samyang/vivitar 85 1.4
 
My main problem with the Tokina 11-16mm is it looks rather dull. Compared to even using the kit lens I would say the Tokina 11-16mm is a very dull and flat looking lens.
 
vision_filmz said:
My main problem with the Tokina 11-16mm is it looks rather dull. Compared to even using the kit lens I would say the Tokina 11-16mm is a very dull and flat looking lens.
Click to expand...

Maybe he means the appearance of the lens itself... now if the focus ring was chrome - then you'd have something. And multi-coloured f-stop numbers like my Nikkor-S 50.
 
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