Brev00
Forum Pro
I have had this lens for less than a week but have had the chance to do many test chart and real world shots with it. I have posted many of these images here. My initial impression from the chart shots was not that great. The sharpness did not seem as high as I had seen in the reviews I have read. But, the evenness across the frame was very good and the ca's were remarkably low--as compared to my Sigma 24 1.4. When I took a shot with the sun off frame and saw the flare, I was leaning toward returning it. At 14mm, f 2.8:
At 14mm, f 8:
My 24 1.4 showed no flare (but it is a 24mm lens). At 24mm, the flare of the 14-24 was greatly reduced. These shots were of the wall not the chart. I wanted to see if the barrel distortion which was very high at close distance was less further out and that is the case. You can also see the vignette at f 2.8 and how it lifts at f 8.
These next two shots show barrel distortion before and after correction. The correction is my best effort. It is manual as Elements does not have any lens info and On1 has no info on this lens. I can save it as a preset in On1 but not in Elements. All of these shots are processed in Photoshop Elements 18. The second version was editied in DxO Filmpack 5 after distortion correction. At f 8.
The flare may be off putting, but the lens does better with the sun in the frame and I also like the sunstars:
I corrected for the slight ca's in the first but did no ca correction in the sunstar shot. Both my Sigma 24 1.4 and my Tamron 35 1.8 would show easily noticeable ca distortion in such backlit branches. There is some purple flare running off to the lower right. Not objectionable to me.
I was starting to have fun with the lens. I took a break at Antoinette's Bakery. Had a lemon tart. And, as I have done before, I took shots both with my phone and with the lens I had on hand. Here is one at the minimum focusing distance (which put me just inches away with the hood almost touching the plate). This is slightly cropped:
Here is a shot a little further back:
Here is a shot using the 24 1.4 at an earlier time at 1.8. Being faster, it can blur the background more completely though that is not always desirable. I wish I took a picture of the lettering with the 14-24 as I did here, a much better target than meringue.
I stayed out late on my second day downtown and, after another stop at Antoinette's, tested out the bokeh circles:
I was surprised at the quality. They were nice and round with pretty smooth surfaces and a pretty negligible rim. Probably not important to most people, but I may go for shallow dof at any time.
The 14-24:
The 24 1.4. Not shot at the same time. The 24 required ca correction, the 14-24 did not. Both were sharpened to some degree.
One last one. Another brick wall shot with distortion correction. I used a vivid picture control rather than diving into DxO. Some ultra sharp mask applied. I shot it in live view to take advantage of the level indicator. I did that pretty often during the shoot. It does wear down the battery. I took shots both with the af and manually in live view during both the test chart series and the real world shots. I saw no difference in the results. I may do some more precise testing to see if I need to fine tune the lens with the dock.
Any observations would be appreciated. I like using the lens. Most of my misgivings have fallen to the side. The lack of ca's is amazing to me. I don't know if the sharpness is quite as high as I thought it would be given that some say it is better than the Nikon version. The upper left corner seems a tad worse than the rest--less sharp and contrasty. My tendency so far is to add more sharpening than I do with the Sigma 24 prime. Maybe I am expecting too much. The barrel distortion at 14mm is correctible as is the vignetting at 2.8. The close focusing and bokeh are nice. I don't mind the weight. I did use a tripod for the alley shots and the camera was on a table in the bakery. The sunstars are nice and it does well with the sun in the frame. I can probably reduce the flare with a well placed hand. The build quality is amazing. The focus ring is huge and smooth.
I have until February to decide as B & H extended the period during the Christmas season. They also offered a nice $300 discount: $899. I will probably be so deep in taking pictures with it that I don't even notice when the return period ends. I will give it 4 stars right now with an option to update the score.
Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays and a great New Year!
Larry
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At 14mm, f 8:
My 24 1.4 showed no flare (but it is a 24mm lens). At 24mm, the flare of the 14-24 was greatly reduced. These shots were of the wall not the chart. I wanted to see if the barrel distortion which was very high at close distance was less further out and that is the case. You can also see the vignette at f 2.8 and how it lifts at f 8.
These next two shots show barrel distortion before and after correction. The correction is my best effort. It is manual as Elements does not have any lens info and On1 has no info on this lens. I can save it as a preset in On1 but not in Elements. All of these shots are processed in Photoshop Elements 18. The second version was editied in DxO Filmpack 5 after distortion correction. At f 8.
The flare may be off putting, but the lens does better with the sun in the frame and I also like the sunstars:
I corrected for the slight ca's in the first but did no ca correction in the sunstar shot. Both my Sigma 24 1.4 and my Tamron 35 1.8 would show easily noticeable ca distortion in such backlit branches. There is some purple flare running off to the lower right. Not objectionable to me.
I was starting to have fun with the lens. I took a break at Antoinette's Bakery. Had a lemon tart. And, as I have done before, I took shots both with my phone and with the lens I had on hand. Here is one at the minimum focusing distance (which put me just inches away with the hood almost touching the plate). This is slightly cropped:
Here is a shot a little further back:
Here is a shot using the 24 1.4 at an earlier time at 1.8. Being faster, it can blur the background more completely though that is not always desirable. I wish I took a picture of the lettering with the 14-24 as I did here, a much better target than meringue.
I stayed out late on my second day downtown and, after another stop at Antoinette's, tested out the bokeh circles:
I was surprised at the quality. They were nice and round with pretty smooth surfaces and a pretty negligible rim. Probably not important to most people, but I may go for shallow dof at any time.
The 14-24:
The 24 1.4. Not shot at the same time. The 24 required ca correction, the 14-24 did not. Both were sharpened to some degree.
One last one. Another brick wall shot with distortion correction. I used a vivid picture control rather than diving into DxO. Some ultra sharp mask applied. I shot it in live view to take advantage of the level indicator. I did that pretty often during the shoot. It does wear down the battery. I took shots both with the af and manually in live view during both the test chart series and the real world shots. I saw no difference in the results. I may do some more precise testing to see if I need to fine tune the lens with the dock.
Any observations would be appreciated. I like using the lens. Most of my misgivings have fallen to the side. The lack of ca's is amazing to me. I don't know if the sharpness is quite as high as I thought it would be given that some say it is better than the Nikon version. The upper left corner seems a tad worse than the rest--less sharp and contrasty. My tendency so far is to add more sharpening than I do with the Sigma 24 prime. Maybe I am expecting too much. The barrel distortion at 14mm is correctible as is the vignetting at 2.8. The close focusing and bokeh are nice. I don't mind the weight. I did use a tripod for the alley shots and the camera was on a table in the bakery. The sunstars are nice and it does well with the sun in the frame. I can probably reduce the flare with a well placed hand. The build quality is amazing. The focus ring is huge and smooth.
I have until February to decide as B & H extended the period during the Christmas season. They also offered a nice $300 discount: $899. I will probably be so deep in taking pictures with it that I don't even notice when the return period ends. I will give it 4 stars right now with an option to update the score.
Thanks for reading and Happy Holidays and a great New Year!
Larry
--
