Have I found my new UWA?

jaggedhorizon · Apr 11, 2018

I have UWAs. There's the Canon 16-35 F4, a Samyang 14mm 2.8MF, and even a CV 15.

But my girlfriend has inherited my Canon 6D. This summer we'll go to Atacama and I can bet both of us will want to shoot the Milky Way at the same time (plus other landscapes).

The CV 15 is great as a small city travel lens, but I feel that its sharpness is not really up to par for landscape.

I was thinking of either one of the Sony 16-35 zooms (f4 or f2.8) or the Laowa 15 F2, which would be great for landscape. And I was also thinking of the Canon 17mm TS-E for architecture.

But I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

Anyone have experience with this?

sybersitizen · Apr 12, 2018

jaggedhorizon said:
... I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

I guess you're talking $1250 for the combo. Hmmm.

jaggedhorizon said:
Anyone have experience with this?

No, but this review was easy to find.

noggin2k1 · Apr 12, 2018

"Cos I still haven't found, my UWA.."

Sorry - had to.

Tirpitz666 · Apr 12, 2018

Aren't you satisfied with the Sammy 14? I have it in Canon mount and I'm pretty happy with that, distortion amount aside, but it won't matter much for astrophotography.

For what it costs it's still one of the best bang of the buck in UWA realm IMHO

Guess you can buy a second one and save quite a bunch of money vs the Laowa

Rol Lei Nut · Apr 12, 2018

jaggedhorizon said:
I have UWAs. There's the Canon 16-35 F4, a Samyang 14mm 2.8MF, and even a CV 15.

But my girlfriend has inherited my Canon 6D. This summer we'll go to Atacama and I can bet both of us will want to shoot the Milky Way at the same time (plus other landscapes).

The CV 15 is great as a small city travel lens, but I feel that its sharpness is not really up to par for landscape.

I was thinking of either one of the Sony 16-35 zooms (f4 or f2.8) or the Laowa 15 F2, which would be great for landscape. And I was also thinking of the Canon 17mm TS-E for architecture.

But I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

Anyone have experience with this?

So what is exactly wrong with the Canon 16-35 4.0 and the Samyang 14mm?

Also, the CV 15 III should be fine for landscapes stopped down a little.

The Sony 16-35 4.0 won't be any improvement over your Canon, except for size & weight (and you will lose a little IQ and flare resistance). The GM should be a bit better, but at a price.

The Canon TS-E 17mm is huge & heavy, also needs careful use to minimize flare. Do you really need tilt and/or shift?

No ideal about the laowa. Again, do you really need a shift lens? Your 14mm should allow you a great deal of flexibility capturing architecture with the camera held horizontal and then cropping. I have a TS-E 24 II, but keep it just for its tilting ability.

Generally, one of the best considered landscape & astro lenses is the Loxia 21mm.

OlHeath · Apr 12, 2018

My CV 15 is very sharp indeed, even wide open. I got the M mount version III and a dumb adapter. Really sharp lens, lovely colour, and tiny (but slow)

Lightshow · Apr 12, 2018

jaggedhorizon said:
I have UWAs. There's the Canon 16-35 F4, a Samyang 14mm 2.8MF, and even a CV 15.

But my girlfriend has inherited my Canon 6D. This summer we'll go to Atacama and I can bet both of us will want to shoot the Milky Way at the same time (plus other landscapes).

The CV 15 is great as a small city travel lens, but I feel that its sharpness is not really up to par for landscape.

Says who?

jaggedhorizon said:
I was thinking of either one of the Sony 16-35 zooms (f4 or f2.8) or the Laowa 15 F2, which would be great for landscape. And I was also thinking of the Canon 17mm TS-E for architecture.

But I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

Anyone have experience with this?

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-An option to return the focus assist zoom to one button press
-An option to return to how the NEX-7 handled playback, ie. center button to zoom, then you could use the control dial to zoom in and out, then center button to exit the zoom mode.

jaggedhorizon · Apr 13, 2018

Tirpitz666 said:
Aren't you satisfied with the Sammy 14? I have it in Canon mount and I'm pretty happy with that, distortion amount aside, but it won't matter much for astrophotography.

For what it costs it's still one of the best bang of the buck in UWA realm IMHO

Guess you can buy a second one and save quite a bunch of money vs the Laowa

Hmm, yes, good point. Don’t really like having two identical lenses though...

jaggedhorizon · Apr 13, 2018

Rol Lei Nut said:
jaggedhorizon said:

I have UWAs. There's the Canon 16-35 F4, a Samyang 14mm 2.8MF, and even a CV 15.

But my girlfriend has inherited my Canon 6D. This summer we'll go to Atacama and I can bet both of us will want to shoot the Milky Way at the same time (plus other landscapes).

The CV 15 is great as a small city travel lens, but I feel that its sharpness is not really up to par for landscape.

I was thinking of either one of the Sony 16-35 zooms (f4 or f2.8) or the Laowa 15 F2, which would be great for landscape. And I was also thinking of the Canon 17mm TS-E for architecture.

But I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

Anyone have experience with this?

Click to expand...

So what is exactly wrong with the Canon 16-35 4.0 and the Samyang 14mm?

Also, the CV 15 III should be fine for landscapes stopped down a little.

The Sony 16-35 4.0 won't be any improvement over your Canon, except for size & weight (and you will lose a little IQ and flare resistance). The GM should be a bit better, but at a price.

The Canon TS-E 17mm is huge & heavy, also needs careful use to minimize flare. Do you really need tilt and/or shift?

No ideal about the laowa. Again, do you really need a shift lens? Your 14mm should allow you a great deal of flexibility capturing architecture with the camera held horizontal and then cropping. I have a TS-E 24 II, but keep it just for its tilting ability.

Generally, one of the best considered landscape & astro lenses is the Loxia 21mm.

Thanks for the detailed answer! You make many good points. I guess the main reasons would be night sky photography at the same time as my girlfriend, the even wider FOV for composition, and the shift - though I hear what you’re saying, can crop a lot from a 42 meg file and a 14 or 15 mm lens with camera held horizontally.

jaggedhorizon · Apr 13, 2018

Thanks for the sample CV15 image (and thanks also to other for comments - Olhealth, etc).

I’ve been travelling - I’ll post some recent shots with the CV15 and compare them with yours. Had no chance yet to examine them in detail on a good screen.

Tirpitz666 · Apr 13, 2018

jaggedhorizon said:
Tirpitz666 said:

Aren't you satisfied with the Sammy 14? I have it in Canon mount and I'm pretty happy with that, distortion amount aside, but it won't matter much for astrophotography.

For what it costs it's still one of the best bang of the buck in UWA realm IMHO

Guess you can buy a second one and save quite a bunch of money vs the Laowa

Click to expand...

Hmm, yes, good point. Don’t really like having two identical lenses though...

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If you are into astrophotography and don't want to buy two identical lenses, it could then make sense so buy a Samyang 8mm F 3.5 fisheye in Canon mount, even if you l lose half a stop you will gain quite a lot in terms of max exposure time (basically double you could get with a 14mm) and nightsky coverage.

It's quite cheap and apparently doesn't suffer much of coma, even wide open (apart from the corners, but you can always crop them away, considering how wide the FOV will be): https://www.lenstip.com/160.7-Lens_...ical_IF_MC_Fish-eye_Coma_and_astigmatism.html

jaggedhorizon · Apr 13, 2018

Tirpitz666 said:
jaggedhorizon said:

Tirpitz666 said:

Aren't you satisfied with the Sammy 14? I have it in Canon mount and I'm pretty happy with that, distortion amount aside, but it won't matter much for astrophotography.

For what it costs it's still one of the best bang of the buck in UWA realm IMHO

Guess you can buy a second one and save quite a bunch of money vs the Laowa

Click to expand...

Hmm, yes, good point. Don’t really like having two identical lenses though...

Click to expand...

Tirpitz666 · Apr 13, 2018

Yep sorry, the FF version is the 12 F2.8, looks quite a fine lens for the price, here some samples:

https://www.juzaphoto.com/recensione.php?l=it&t=samyang_12fisheye

P.S. it comes even in Sony E native mount as a bonus

Mordi · Apr 13, 2018

OlHeath said:
My CV 15 is very sharp indeed, even wide open. I got the M mount version III and a dumb adapter. Really sharp lens, lovely colour, and tiny (but slow)

Totally agree. For terrestrial photography, I have yet to see markedly superior images with comparable focal length lenses -certainly not at comparable prices.

My copy can’t be used with Lightroom profile because it lacks the vignetting of the lens(es) used to generate it .

Jonathan117 · Apr 13, 2018

The Lowa 12 is a extremely large lens (if you get the emount version). They did not design a separate lens but rather just permanently attached a converter to the lens. If you want to use the shift function you need to by a Nikon or Canon mount version of the lens. It also has a ton of lens flare when shooting into or near bright objects.

I would much rather have the 16-35 GM as it is significantly more useful.

The Lowa 15 f2 is smaller and was specifically designed for sony emount it is not as wide but you may want to consider that as an option if the GM is too expensive.

MikeTakesPix · Apr 13, 2018

Wide angle lenses are super expensive, and I get very limited use out of them. I picked up the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 dirt cheap, used at $150... paying any more for the limited use of this focal length would have resulted in immediate buyer’s remorse, so I’ve been very happy with it the few times I’ve used it for astrophotography or gotten a goofy shot of a car’s fender or my baby’s face...

Dan_168 · Apr 13, 2018

jaggedhorizon said:
I have UWAs. There's the Canon 16-35 F4, a Samyang 14mm 2.8MF, and even a CV 15.

But my girlfriend has inherited my Canon 6D. This summer we'll go to Atacama and I can bet both of us will want to shoot the Milky Way at the same time (plus other landscapes).

The CV 15 is great as a small city travel lens, but I feel that its sharpness is not really up to par for landscape.

I was thinking of either one of the Sony 16-35 zooms (f4 or f2.8) or the Laowa 15 F2, which would be great for landscape. And I was also thinking of the Canon 17mm TS-E for architecture.

But I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

Anyone have experience with this?

--
http://cedricpopa.zenfolio.com/
https://1x.com/member/cedricpopp

For general landscape, I like the Canon 16-35 F4 IS a lot, like it much better than my now sold Sony 16-35 F4. if that's the Canon 16-35 F2.8 III vs 16-35GM the choice maybe a little harder, but I would probably still go with the Canon. I have played with all those quite a bit when I go out with friends, I have a lot of friends using those on their Sony bodies, myself included.

Both TSE 17 and TSE 24 II are simply amazing, even you don't do T/S and use it as regular lens, , it's still sharp edge to edge lens, but that Tilt shift capability really makes these lens stand out, being able to do distortion control on the spot is a huge advantage to PP, also don't forget by using this feature you don't need to do focus stacking any more and get enormous DOF and everything from close to far away will be in good focus. i use them on my A7R II and my Canon 1DS3 all the time, even I sold all Canon stuffs I will still keep those two, well, just saying that I am not selling anything.

I also use super wide for milky way a lot therefore, my favorite is the Laowa 15 F2 for native FE mount lens, and for my D850, my all time favorite now is the Sigma 14/F1.8 Art , previously mainly using the Nikon 14-24 F2.8 ad Samyang 14 2.8 but the Sigma is just so much better it replaced both. Tamron 15-30 is also another nice one too if I want to use a zoom for general landscape.

For astro, so people like the Batis 18, but I persanlly not a fan of the Batis lie and sold both my 18 and 25 and didn't regret a bit, if 21mm and F2.8 is good enough for you, the Loxia 21 is nice, I have that lns but use it landscape not Milky way becasue I have few faster and wider lenses already, but if I dont, that would be the next one i will use, I own and ( have own ) lots of super wide becasue those are my main lenses, and I think I am finally settle down now.

PWPhotography · Apr 15, 2018

jaggedhorizon said:
I have UWAs. There's the Canon 16-35 F4, a Samyang 14mm 2.8MF, and even a CV 15.

But my girlfriend has inherited my Canon 6D. This summer we'll go to Atacama and I can bet both of us will want to shoot the Milky Way at the same time (plus other landscapes).

The CV 15 is great as a small city travel lens, but I feel that its sharpness is not really up to par for landscape.

I was thinking of either one of the Sony 16-35 zooms (f4 or f2.8) or the Laowa 15 F2, which would be great for landscape. And I was also thinking of the Canon 17mm TS-E for architecture.

But I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

Anyone have experience with this?

--
http://cedricpopa.zenfolio.com/
https://1x.com/member/cedricpopp

Among all lenses you mentioned I have owned all except CV 15 and Laowa 15. Happen there are several threads regarding FE 16-35 GM recently.

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61024987

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/post/61000932

Yes I found my new UWA, that is FE 16-35/2.8 GM, absolutely and couldn't be happier. At 16mm side it beats my trusted Canon EF 16-35L/4.0 IS clearly which itself is very good (I have lots of photos from it in my Flickr). At 35mm side it is as good as Sony FE 35/2.8 ZA prime lens even at f2.8 and as good as Canon EF 16-35L/4.0 IS at edges (but still slightly sharper in center). The GM zoom is not even heavier/bigger (probably slightly smaller) than EF 16-35L/4.0 IS+adapter but one-stop faster that is a big deal. I have been in the Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan many times as frequently I took train into the city and took snapshot every time with Canon or Sony cameras in the past. Very first time I am able to shoot hand-held at ISO 100 at either 16 or 35mm side because of F2.8 that is still sharp, IBIS in Sony body.

I bought Samyang/Rokinon 14mm 2.8MF when it's in discount two years ago, virtually never used it and likely will sell it. It only has 2mm wider advantage that is not a big deal.

I owned FE 16-35G/4.0 OSS ZA. It's very sharp at 16mm side, probably as sharp as GM version. At 35mm side (as shown in one of my above linked threads), it is not sharp wide open but still acceptable if stop down. I sold it and switched to Canon EF 16-35L/4.0 IS for better 35mm side and thought still will own dual systems then. Canon version is very good for sharpness in entire range especially at 35mm side (relatively) and you can get lots cheaper than either Sony zoom versions.

Still keep Canon 17L TS-E despite it's bulky and MF. For city street photos, it's still indispensable to me as I hate vertical converging lines of building. Sure you can fix in software but will lose large portion of edges and remaining edges will be greatly stretched. Fortunately with EVF and MF tool, manual focus is never so easy.

I considered CV 15 and Laowa 15 for their compact size. But former is too slow and latter only has one-stop advantage over FE 16-35 GM and I virtually don't have a chance in shooting astro photos. F2.8 should be OK in astrophotography and I have seen many such photos from GM version.

Another great option is popular FE 12-24G/4.0 that many rave it. If you need 12mm and OK with f/4 max aperture then this lens is your choice and cheaper than 16-35 GM. But these two factors either not a big deal or not OK to me, that's why I chose 16-35 GM over 12-24G. In addition I dislike the severe vertical converging from 10-14mm UWA as most times I just unable to level camera in crowded space and in city streets. In open space I can easily just stitch two photos from 16mm to be 12mm wide or wider.

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jennajenna · Apr 15, 2018

jaggedhorizon said:
I have UWAs. There's the Canon 16-35 F4, a Samyang 14mm 2.8MF, and even a CV 15.

But my girlfriend has inherited my Canon 6D. This summer we'll go to Atacama and I can bet both of us will want to shoot the Milky Way at the same time (plus other landscapes).

The CV 15 is great as a small city travel lens, but I feel that its sharpness is not really up to par for landscape.

I was thinking of either one of the Sony 16-35 zooms (f4 or f2.8) or the Laowa 15 F2, which would be great for landscape. And I was also thinking of the Canon 17mm TS-E for architecture.

But I've just read about the Laowa Magic Shift adapter that would transform the Laowa 12 f2.8 into a 17mm f4 shift lens and suddenly I'm thinking that I'll kill two birds with one stone (well, strictly speaking two stones if we count the adapter, but one's a bit cheaper!)

Anyone have experience with this?

--
http://cedricpopa.zenfolio.com/
https://1x.com/member/cedricpopp

laowa 12mm 2.8 is the best wide angle i've ever used. don't even hesitate. I'm using it with 6dii....excellent results...

i think it's like $949 US now too...where are you located?

jennajenna · Apr 15, 2018

Jonathan117 said:
The Lowa 12 is a extremely large lens (if you get the emount version). They did not design a separate lens but rather just permanently attached a converter to the lens. If you want to use the shift function you need to by a Nikon or Canon mount version of the lens. It also has a ton of lens flare when shooting into or near bright objects.

I would much rather have the 16-35 GM as it is significantly more useful.

The Lowa 15 f2 is smaller and was specifically designed for sony emount it is not as wide but you may want to consider that as an option if the GM is too expensive.

The laowa 12mm is ~ 600 grams in all flavors.

Flare? Are you kidding...its the best flare handling lens I own....and the 16-35mm is about 40% wider then the 12mm...how can you even compare it...plus it cost 2.5x as much and does not even come close to the laowa quality and distortion (lack of)...

and the shift function is avail for sony no probs..

Loading…

www.4kshooters.net

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...tics_vemscef_laowa_magic_shift_converter.html

pic below in super flarey high altit skiing..not a problem...

Have I found my new UWA?

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