This lens was my first prime L series lens. I had fallen for all the hype over the crazy quality found in primes that zooms seemed to lack.
Once I got the lens, I put it to the test.
Holy shitballs Batman!
Basically, the color saturation and sharpness is amazing. Test pics of my cat showed microscope-like detail on each whisker and piece of kitty fur. The low dispersion ULD glass has a hand in this performance as well as the typical quality of Canon's L optics.
Photographers need to pay attention to the crazy focal plane this lens works with, especially when wide open at 1.4. Be very careful! Objects that seem to be crisp in the 5D2's 3" monitor are far from it on the big screen back at the studio. Not good for the spray and pray shooters of our time.
Also, my biggest complaint for this lens is the seeking. It seems to be a very slow focusing lens in lower light. Now, I know this is the case with a lot of lenses, but I did not expect this for such a fast piece of glass. Also, when the light is lower (i.e. a reception hall), I always mount this bad boy to the cam and rely on it for low light performance.
The lens also seems to be a bit loose on the 5D2's ring mount but I am not sure if that is a fault of the body or the lens.
Bottom line: This is a welcome addition to my camera bag. But, like most gifted kids, this one needs to be watched very closely. If not watched properly you will end up missing shots due to seeking, or the focal plane will be way off. Worst case, it will wander from you at the mall and come back crying when you don't buy it any candy. Which of course is just plain annoying.
I bought it from B&H in good ol' NY for the MSRP. $1,400.
No comments:
Post a Comment