Rick Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 Well, it's not L glass but it has some good reviews. I picked up a 20-40mm f2.7/3.5 wide angle lens a couple of days ago and have been playing around with it. I've been using a 50mm f1.8 prime lens for most of my tank shots due to the large aperture. My 18-55mm IS lens only opens up to about f5 at the shorter lengths whereas this one opens up a couple of stops more throughout the zoom range. (It has a 77mm opening at the end which is huge compared to the 52m and 58mm on the end of most of my lenses) I did need to run right around and go back out again to get a hood for the lens as the lens flare from my aquarium lights was ugly. (The hood pretty much cured that problem though) Where this lens really shines is the wide angle for full tank shots. At a distance of about 4 foot from the front of my tank I can take a full tank shot with my 6 foot tank. Here are some pics. Still looking for the sweet spot but so far I'm happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 3, 2010 Author Share Posted May 3, 2010 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saltfinsax Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 Nice pics Rick. Thats one of my problems is getting close to see the corals and still get a full tank shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 Wow those pics look great. I love the wide angle look!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted May 4, 2010 Share Posted May 4, 2010 very nice. What camera body are you using again? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 All of the above are on a Canon T1i. I decided to get the T2i instead which I picked up yesterday so future pics will be with it instead. Here are some I took last night over at my brothers house. (Same lens) One thing I noticed right away is that the T2i is handling the lower light a bit better. The last pic below is taken under regular freshwater aquarium lights. (I.E. Not much light to speak of compared to reef lighting) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 Rick, what sized tank is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 Rick' date=' what sized tank is that?[/quote'] The ones at my brothers? All except the last one are a 46g Bowfront. I think the last one (freshwater) is 100g. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgf86123 Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 nice, it looks good You do good work man, [language filter] nice pics Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 Nice pics Rick. Thats one of my problems is getting close to see the corals and still get a full tank shot. Thanks, I was able to get the full tank before by getting back and/or zooming out some with my other lenses. If I came in too close the barrel distortion got nasty. Wow those pics look great. I love the wide angle look!!! Thanks, I'm pretty impressed with this lens when I have it out wide. Hardly any distortion at all. (My sand slopes up at the ends) nice, it looks good You do good work man, [language filter] nice pics Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 Looks good, that's a nice lens. Something's up with the contrast in a few of those mid-range shots though, did you do any postprocessing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 Let me know which post(s) and which picture(s). The problem could vary from one to the next. The very first picture is slightly blown out. Part of the pics in the second post are over saturated (The greens especially) plus the white balance is messed up. (At that point I was still trying to define a new picture style for this lens since the colors are bolder with it) I could probably go back and correct them by resetting the picture style to what I'm using now. With the third set I think I'm starting to get the lens dialed in. Now I just need to get the new camera figured out.(scratch) (To start with I need to get use to shooting higher ISO settings(scary)) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 I noticed the last two pics, everything was in focus what did you do there? The pics of the fish were great but too much in the background out of focus unless you just want to crop the picture. How is the zoom on that camera? The color is great! I meant the last two pics you posted and the fish being the saltwater fish, they are perfect of the fish themselves, very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 I noticed the last two pics, everything was in focus what did you do there? The pics of the fish were great but too much in the background out of focus unless you just want to crop the picture. How is the zoom on that camera? The color is great! I meant the last two pics you posted and the fish being the saltwater fish, they are perfect of the fish themselves, very nice The blurry background is from a shallow depth of field. In those pics it was intentional to isolate the fish from the rest of the picture. In effect it's a fish portrait. Some of the rocks along the sides are in focus (same focal plane as the fish) but can be cropped out later if I want. To get the shallow depth of field I zoomed in and set the aperture wide open. (A bonus is that the wide aperture let's more light in for a faster shutter speed in low light) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMiller Posted May 5, 2010 Share Posted May 5, 2010 Yah, got a new lens ..... How do you like your 50mm 1.8?? That's my next lens purchase Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 5, 2010 Author Share Posted May 5, 2010 How do you like your 50mm 1.8?? That's my next lens purchase Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk For the price it's a pretty good lens and it's tack sharp (confirming what most of the reviews say). With the 1.8 aperture it let's a lot of light in making it great for our low lighting and on an APS-C camera (1.6 crop) it makes a decent portrait lens. (It wouldn't be bad on a full frame either but you would need to step in a bit closer) I used it for a lot of the pics I posted here in the last month since my other lenses don't open up enough. With this 20-40mm lens though I don't think it will get much use. It only opens up to f2.7 however the optics so far are outstanding. I'm losing a little in the zoom but I have two other lenses that cover it. How soon are you planning to get the 50mm 1.8? I may be interested in selling mine for a decent price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddcarpenter Posted May 14, 2010 Share Posted May 14, 2010 That's very nice. I love the fish shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrScuito Posted May 26, 2010 Share Posted May 26, 2010 I see the torch you traded me, it looks good. Mine has already grown 3 heads to replace what we (you) cut. My tank has changed a lot since you shot it. I need to find somthing irresistible to trade you so you can shoot it again, and I still need to pick up the first pics you did maybe tomorrow I can swing by. I will be out on a clown rescue anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rick Posted May 26, 2010 Author Share Posted May 26, 2010 I see the torch you traded me' date=' it looks good. Mine has already grown 3 heads to replace what we (you) cut. My tank has changed a lot since you shot it. I need to find somthing irresistible to trade you so you can shoot it again, and I still need to pick up the first pics you did maybe tomorrow I can swing by. I will be out on a clown rescue anyway.[/quote'] I should be around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.