Canon 11-24mm - Who has one? What's it like?

cymruchris

cymruchris

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Chris
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I'll start by saying I can't afford one yet, and probably can't for a long time, but it's a lens that interests me since I threw my 16-35mm in a lake a few months ago. I've read the reviews, and searched the forums here, but aside from some chatter when it was launched - there's not a lot been written about it. So I would like to know if anyone has been out and actually bought one, and if so, how are you getting on with it? Was it worth the large price tag? Does it come out of your bag often? Or have you found its use limited? Would be interested to hear from anyone that has one.
 
I've got one, Chris, but there's not too much I can say about it at the moment. I wouldn't normally buy a wide lens at this time of the year but it was a stock clearance and too good to pass up.
It's a great lump of a lens and more suited to my 1Dx than an ungripped 5D3 when hand held....at well over 1Kg it felt unblanced on the 5D3 and it'll be very front heavy on a tripod when using the camera as the mount attachment.
I'll make an effort to get out with it and report back....seems that you're not in an immediate rush anyway.

Bob
 
I have one, but like Bob I have not used it a massive amount, did some landscape stuff and some architecture and the results were very pleasing, it's a tough lens to master and a great deal of thought is required in my case to get the best from it, IQ wise on my 5D3 I've been very please, again as Bob said its a big lump of a lens, has its dowsides as wrote about online, filters, care of glass and weight! I sold my 14 2.8ii for it, got some great Astro with it too.
 
Canon Bob said:
but it was a stock clearance
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So early in it's life? Was it a return or something?

I have the 1D-X - and after dropping my last one in a lake - I need to replace the 16-35 I had. The question I'm asking myself is do I stay patient a little longer - save some more - and get this instead of another 16-35..

I look forward to both of you sharing a few images once you get the chance....
 
cymruchris said:
So early in it's life? Was it a return or something?
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Supposedly it was the display model. It has a November 2015 date code and I bought it on 31st December so it wasn't around too long.
 
Yes - seen many online reviews :) There's a lot of good things said about it.

However, wondering what the real people of this forum have in the way of experience.
 
I was using Canon 16-35 f2.8L mk1, i sold it, and was thinking a lot about its replacement, thought about Nikon 14-24 that time, and also Canon 16-35 2.8 mkII, then Canon released f4IS version so i put that into consideration after too many reviews about it, and also Tamron 15-30, after many reviews i narrowed it down to Canon F4IS and Tamron 15-30, then Canon released 11-24, but this was out of my budget as you said, i may afford it in the future but not yet now, and i couldn't wait longer, so after sometimes here and there i just prayed and decided on Tamron, it has slightly more than Canon 16-35 f4IS with 15mm and 2.8, reviews showed it as a very capable on par with Canon, regardless how sharp is that Canon this lens isn't bad or less sharpness as well, so i didn't think much, the only issues from members about it was the weight and filter, if those weren't the issues i bet they will go with this lens over Canon 16-35 f4 then.
 
arthurbikemad said:
I have one, but like Bob I have not used it a massive amount, did some landscape stuff and some architecture and the results were very pleasing, it's a tough lens to master and a great deal of thought is required in my case to get the best from it, IQ wise on my 5D3 I've been very please, again as Bob said its a big lump of a lens, has its dowsides as wrote about online, filters, care of glass and weight! I sold my 14 2.8ii for it, got some great Astro with it too.
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Thats interesting as the Canon 14mm f2.8 is a great lens. IS the zoom better or just more versatile
 
Just that, the zoom offers more scope for me, the 14mm f2.8 ii is a stunning lens, tbh I miss it, so much smaller and lighter than the monster 11-24 and 14mm seems to cut it for a good number of subjects. At the time I had some cash to burn and was shooting a lot of wide stuff, I still have the 16-35 f2.8 Mkii that I also love but after shooting so much with the 14mm I was drawn to the 11mm, guess it was a personal challenge to see if I could master it, the 16-35ii gets lot of stick online for IQ etc but I love it also, it's great for my Astro and landscape, problem is once you take a look through the 11mm nothing else seems wide!
 
arthurbikemad said:
... problem is once you take a look through the 11mm nothing else seems wide!
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That's the truth. I haven't used the 11-24 seriously, but in my casual use of it I've been very impressed with the lack of distortion and amazed by how wide 11mm is. Composition with that kind of field of view is challenging / fun.
 
StewartR said:
Composition with that kind of field of view is challenging / fun.
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You missed out "frustrating", Stewart. I had a quick wander around the garden/fields yesterday....it's incredibly difficult to keep your own shadow out of the shot at this time of the year (low sun).

Bob
 
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It's a heavy lens compared to say the 16-35 - how does that transpire into your carrying it around? Are you put off because of the weight? Or don't really notice it and get on with wandering and shooting?
 
Canon Bob said:
You missed out "frustrating", Stewart. I had a quick wander around the garden/fields yesterday....it's incredibly difficult to keep your own shadow out of the shot at this time of the year (low sun).

Bob
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Ideal lens for the short guy then!
 
corny said:
Ideal lens for the short guy then!
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That quip got me thinking......

The sun's azimuth needs to be > vertical AoV/2 + a bit for the head above eyeline. With a vertical AoV of 95 degrees then the sun needs to be 50 degrees or more above the horizon (landscape) or 60+ degrees in portrait.

Bob
 
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Canon Bob said:
That quip got me thinking......

The sun's azimuth needs to be > horizontal AoV/2 + a bit for the head above eyeline. With a horizontal AoV of 95 degrees then the sun needs to be 50 degrees or more above the horizon (landscape) or 60+ degrees in portrait.

Bob
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Can someone translate this into English for me please?
 
short or tall makes no difference if you are standing and holding it at head height. Although Ant of Ant and Dec fame my have a problem due to his forehead size!
 
11mm full frame is amazing that's for sure! As said it's shocking to use, you can shoot an inch or so from a subject and it still seems a mile away through the viewfinder, so much so care needs to be taken not to bump it's huge glass bulb into anything!
 
Thanks a lot guys

As I said, it takes a lot of getting used but can produce some amazing shots. Have to say not a lens I normally carry unless I have something specific in mind or am in the car :)
 
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