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Canon 16-35mm f2.8L: Part 3
#1

Welcome back, pop-pickers.
You'll have heard me enthusing particularly about this lens' performance at wider focal lengths(I'm still suspicious of 16mm at wide apertures though); my real interest was in the area of 20-24mm.
Here's a look at 25mm..once again at f2.8, f11 and f22. Before the centre, we'll have a look at the bottom right this time for a change:

[Image: 11br.jpg]

[Image: 14br.jpg]

[Image: 16br.jpg]

Actually, though wide open is soft, things quickly pick up by f4, with it all getting distinctly enjoyable at f5.6 all the way through. Notice the sparkle to f11 again. As ever, things are consistent, with a flatter curve from f11 to f16 than from f16 to f22
And so, to centres at 25mm:

[Image: 11c.jpg]

[Image: 14c.jpg]

[Image: 16c.jpg]

Now, I think I'm not being all that fair, am I? I mean, I hope there's no inference that the quality of this lens is as a symmetrical curve based around f11 as a fulcrum point. Though the extreme apertures seem soft in comparison to f11, remember that in addition to our 1.6 crop factor, at 25mm things are far improved from f4 to f16; by f5.6 and f8 we reach superb. It's just that f11 here outstrips both my Canon 50mm f1.8 Mk2 at f8 and even my Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro at f5.6, both stonking prime lenses in their own right. See how there are contrasty shadows...yet you can notice that within those shadows there are details that do not appear at other apertures.

To further describe, let's have a look at another shot. Same conditions: no processing except a little sharpening: as I mentioned before, this seems to take fewer "passes" than my Canon 10-22.
As before, I've taken the shot at ASA 200, uncropped. You''ll see that though the first shot is at widest aperture, we're sufficiently far from the focus-point(in all cases, the plant pot) to minimalise bokeh: perhaps good for capturing a whole people-scene in low light/indoors( I can understand why Chris traded up from the 17-40 at this point): focal length here is 25mm....at f2.8, then f11, then f22

[Image: garden25mmf2eight-web.jpg]

[Image: garden25mmf11-web.jpg]

[Image: garden25mmf22-web.jpg]

There are several things that are apparent, though not all immediately obvious on the websized version. Again, notwithstanding the crop factor, we have genuine wide angles...but without barrel or pincushion distortion. True, we would not expect oodles of it until the more outer lengths of the lens, but it's nice having lines! I'm also impressed with different qualities of texture that it seems to produce "merely" by changing aperture: it's not just depth of field that changes, it's degree of low-contrast resolution, shadow detail, contrast too. I don't know if you can make out the differing textures of the same bits of fence in the series: not just a "sharpness" thing, but tonal differences..all of which start to build up a series of subliminal suggestions in the photographer that there are a great many possibilities within the same shot other than compositional ones. I may be a bit nuts at present though lack of food and sleep, of course, but the sense of real pleasure is there using this lens..I've only had this hinted at by the Tamron, for instance. Of course, many of you may well be smirking smugly because you have had prior knowledge of L lenses for some time.. yet I do get pleasure from seing, for instance, the distinct differences in tone in the foliage and the fence right at the back.
In the next part we'll have a look at this scene in a bit more detail...

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