Mk III Extenders and Mk II Lenses

Back last year I wrote a blog post all about the new EF MkIII Extenders from Canon looking at how they performed and whether they were worth the upgrade. At the end I concluded that indeed they were very good and definitely a step up from the Mk II Extenders.That was using them in conjunction with an EF300mm f/2.8L IS USM – in other words the outgoing version.

Well, the other week I was working for SanDisk (as part of my being an Extreme Team Member) on safari in the Masai Mara with Jonathan and Angie Scott, two fellow Extreme Team members. For the trip I managed to lay my hands on one of the new range of Mk II Super Telephoto lenses -  the EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM and both the EF1.4x III and EF2xIII Extenders. First of all, that lens is stunning and is a great (if expensive) choice for wildlife photographers, but I’ll write more on that at a later date as this is really about the Extenders.

A lot of my images were taken with either the 1.4x or 2x attached to the 400mm, which seemed permanently bolted to the front of my EOS-1D Mark IV. While shooting I got the impression everything was working well, but it was on looking at the files afterwards I saw just how well. The Mk II lenses really seem to be a step on from previous models, especially when put on an EOS-1D Mark IV – almost like they speak a special kind of ‘super-Japanese’ that makes them even better than you’d expect. However, even with the Extenders attached I was blown away.

In days of old, the 2x Extender was reserved for those ‘dammit, it’s too far away but I really need to get that shot. Oh well, I’ll *have* to use the 2x. Image quality won’t be up to much though…’ situations. In other words it was to be used in a pinch only and only if there was no other solution. No more though. There is one image from the files that really stood out for me. One image that really showed just how far the technology has progressed. If this doesn’t convince you that the Mk III Extenders are a big improvement over their Mk II counterparts then I guess you’re beyond help!

If you’re wondering why I’m concentrating on the EF2x III, it’s because the EF1.4II was always good. The Mk III is definitely better, but the jump in image quality on the EF 2x III is so great that it caught me even more by surprise.

First up is the whole image. This is direct from the camera with the Picture Style set to Neutral so there is no sharpening applied at all. All I have done is re-size it for the web and put the watermark on. I’ll say it again to be sure, THERE IS NO SHARPENING on this first, or indeed second, image. The flat colours are the result of no contrast or saturation being applied by the Neutral Picture Style. Exposure details as follows:

ISO 400, 1/800sec, f/6.3. Handheld.

EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM, EF2xIII Extender, EOS-1D Mark IV

Next up is a 100% crop of this image. Again, Neutral picture style and no sharpening.

100% crop, Neutral picture style, no sharpening. EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM, EF2xIII Extender, EOS-1D Mark IV

Now we get into a little bit of processing. Here’s the full image but with the Picture Style set to ‘Landscape’. This adds sharpening in RAW at Level 4 (out of 10).

Landscape picture style, no additional sharpening. EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM, EF2xIII Extender, EOS-1D Mark IV

Now for the two crops. Firstly a 100% crop of this Landscape Picture Style image:

100% crop, Landscape picture style, no additional sharpening. EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM, EF2xIII Extender, EOS-1D Mark IV

And finally the same 100% crop but with some sharpening applied specifically for display output using Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0. And yes, it could easily be argued that actually adding any sharpening to the previous image will result in over-sharpening. The settings in Nik for this image have been kept very low, but I personally would not argue with someone who said it’s actually a bit too much…..! :

100% crop, Landscape picture style, SHARPENED FOR DISPLAY OUTPUT with Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0. EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM, EF2xIII Extender, EOS-1D Mark IV

If you look carefully at these last two images, you’ll notice a bump just below the catchlight in the eye. Well, the catchlight is unsurprisingly the sun. The bump is the vehicle I was in. Yes, I think it’s fair to say that the performance of these Extenders really is a step on. I for one will no longer dread reaching for the 2xIII, knowing that it is more than capable of resolving an amazing amount of detail, especially on the newer lenses.For those of you thinking of buying an EF100-400mm f/5.6L IS USM lens for wildlife, this may convince there there could well be a better option – the EF70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM and an EF2xIII Extender. If you’re thinking along those lines, then I can’t see anyway you could be disappointed as I’m fairly confident that combination will out-resolve the EF100-400mm and given that you can take the Extender off, you’d have a much more versatile lens arrangement.And don’t forget that adding an Extender to the lens doesn’t reduce the minimum focusing distance, so if you want to use an Extender but still get close to your subject for really frame filling shots, you can.

And before someone comments, I suppose I should point out that the four black dots in front of the hyena are not dust spots, but flies buzzing around! This is the lowest of the four shown here cropped out of the image. He’s slightly off the plane of focus so not as sharp as it should be, but it shows the resolving power. This is cropped out of the full Landscape Picture Style image with output sharpening applied by Nik Sharpener Pro 3.0.

Fly! EF400mm f/2.8L II IS USM, EF2xIII, EOS-1D Mark IV

What do you think? Will you be considering making the upgrade, or even buying to the new found abilities of the EF 2x III Extender?

Are there alternatives to the latest Canon lenses?

With the launch of the new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM Canon has updated three existing lenses from their range, however the updates come at a price premium that does mean you might want to weigh up the alternatives that already exist in the range.

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

EF 24-70mm f2.8L II USM

Of the three lenses this is the one that most folks won’t question or seek alternatives. Many professionals buy the standard set of three fast f/2.8 lenses to get them from 16mm to 200mm. Actually this is why the Canon Professional Services (CPS) program wants three pro lenses in it’s eligibility criteria. Most pros will have them plus a main and spare pro body, hence two bodies and three lenses.

The older 24-70mm f/2.8L USM is a good lens but the most recent batch of high-megapixel cameras have started to show it’s shortcomings. At 70mm the old lens is not so good – shame as it’s often used for portraits – and the press release makes particular note of the improvement of the new lens at 70mm. Another benefit of the new lens is the reduction in size, 10mm less overall length at 113mm is always helpful. Though possibly less helpful is the move to a pretty rare 82mm filter thread. If you’ve tried looking for or pricing 82mm circular polarisers for the EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM you’ll know the cost. Also it means that the three standard pro lenses now have 82mm, 82mm and 77mm lens filter threads, when not so long ago they were all 77mm meaning one filter would fit any of the lenses. All it needs now would be a “Mk III” version of the 70-200mm f/2.8L IS to sport an 82mm filter thread.

Thew new lens weighs in at 805g, some 145g – 15% lighter than the old model, but the features a new 9-blade aperture assembly that should ensure smooth bokeh.

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM - mtf chart

The optical performance indicated in the MTF charts show that Canon has paid a lot of attention to overal quality improvement and also particularly the edge performance. If you compared the chart above to that of the old model the lines are higher and flatter. An ideal lens would be a flat line at the top of the graph.

Price

It’s a bit early to see where market prices actually end-up, and so comparing current market prices with full list prices is mostly unfair, however some places you can find the list prices of the old model too.

• New lens, £2,229 list price
• Old lens, £1,539 list price, under £1,000 in store

What’s more there seems to be some different approaches to currency conversion, in the USA Canon lists the lens at 2,299 USD, and in Germany it’s 2,299 EUR – of course European and UK prices include sales tax at around 20% whereas the USA prices don’t, but I can’t hope but wish that in Japan the lens sells for 2,299 YEN! What this means is the new lens is around 50% more in list price terms than the outgoing model at the time of writing.

Is f/2.8 worth it?

Some photographers will say is that the EF 24mm f/4L IS USM is a much cheaper alternative and the Image Stabilizer (IS) fitted means that you can handhold the cheaper f/4 lens at slower shutter speeds. However you cannot get faster shutter speeds for freezing motion with an f/4 lens, also the AF system in just about every Canon EOS camera has a centre AF point, and maybe others, that is 3x more accurate with f/2.8 lenses. So if AF accuracy, lower light focus, & faster shutter speeds for freezing subject movement are your needs then f/2.8 is the way to go.

The new world’s first wide-angle prime lenses with optical Image Stabilizer are an interesting pair. With 4-stop IS units they make handholding possible at shutter speeds that make me think subject movement will get a lot of blame for blurred images.

4-stops on the EF 24mm works out as 1/25s – 1/13s – 1/6s -0.3s – 0.6s

Clearly the older lenses these replace have been in the line-up for many years and were in need of an update, plus there’s an increase in attention and use of prime lenses by photographers so probably a good time for an update. Small lightweight lenses that get plenty in will appeal to landscape photographers and photojournalists for sure, prices may not.

EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM

EF 24mm f2.8 IS USM

This lens has possibly the toughest task, can it be an alternative to the EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, one of Canon’s recently updated pro-spec prime lenses. The new EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM is more than double the price of the old model, and yes you get 4-stop IS, 7-blade aperture and much better optical performance however pushing the price towards the L-series lens it’s going to be a qeustion of low-light needs. If you want to shoot at lower ISO and you have moving subjects in the dark then the L-series is the one to go for as you get 2-stops more shutter speed. If you’re a landscape photographer stopping down for depth of field and using a tripod then i’d be tempted by the slightly better optical performance of the cheaper lens.

EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM - mtf chart

EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM

EF 28mm f2.8 IS USM

The EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM has quite a different competitive landscape, Canon has an interesting f/1.8 USM lens in the 28mm range that is quite old but actually quite good and cheaper. Will the new f/2.8 with IS win over people with APS-C sized sensors in the cameras? 28mm on a 1.6x crop makes a very nice 45mm effective focal length. Looking at the MTF charts it’s clear that the new EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM is a good lens, currently the best performing Canon prime at 28mm so expect great things. The use of the special glass and the IS would likely win over against the cheaper and heavier 28mm f/1.8. If I want a small discrete lens then I want one that is sharp, compact and light – the EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM fits the bill nicely.

EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM - mtf chart

Even more choices

Canon’s line up has over 60 lenses and so there’s often alternatives to be found to the latest and greatest new products. At EOS Netwok we think there’s two other lenses you might want to check if either of the 24mm f/2.8 IS USM or EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM lenses appeal. Firstly the pro-spec weather sealed, EF 17-40mm f/4L USM. Currently selling in the UK for less than the list price of either of the two new prime lenses it’s a cracking lens and also would count as a qualifiying lens for CPS program membership. Currently the new IS lenses are not listed as qualifying for CPS membership.

Secondly if you use a camera with an APS-C size sensor then the EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM might be the alternative for you. Giving the same filed of view as the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM and providing IS and f/2.8 aperture. Priced close to the point of one of the new primes and much cheaper than the new L-series zoom this could be the one that actually covers all three of the new lenses. The new primes and the EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM zoom have better optical performance over the APS-C sensor area so that is likely to be the reason for their selection.

Bit of a long post, but if you’re still reading then have your say in the comments, are the new lenses on your shopping list or off?

Prices sourced from online vendors and manufacturer sites: 14/Feb/2012. Park Cameras (UK), Fotokoch (Germany), Canon USA

Three new lenses from Canon

Canon has today announced three new lenses for the EF range. The first (and possibly the most interesting) is a replacement for the venerable EF24-70mm f/2.8L USM. Contrary to popular speculation, the new lens, the EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM does not feature an Image Stabiliser, but has improved image and build quality.
The two other lenses are the EF24mm f/2.8 IS USM and the EF28mm f/2.8 IS USM. These lenses bring image stabiliser technology to wide-angle primes for the first time.

All the information can be found on the CPN website.

EF24mm f/2.8 IS USM

EF28mm f/2.8 IS USM

EF24-70mm f/2.8L II USM

Canon UK Press Release:

Class-leading performance, unrivalled flexibility – Canon launches three new lenses

United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, 7th February 2012 – Canon today adds to its world-famous EF lens series with the launch of three new lenses for photography professionals and enthusiasts. The new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM professional zoom lens is an update to the popular EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, while the new EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM are the world’s first¹ wide-angle prime lenses to feature optical Image Stabilizer (IS) technology. All three provide the highest levels of performance for modern digital photographers, combining premium image quality with durable, user-friendly designs.
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM: the ultra-high performance standard zoom
The new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM features completely redesigned optics to provide outstanding clarity, image quality and durability. A compact design makes it ideal for carrying on every shoot, and a range of optical enhancements provide improved performance – capturing greater detail across the frame while reducing distortion throughout the entire zoom range, particularly at the maximum 70mm focal length.

With a redesigned optical system that includes two Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) and one Super UD aspheric elements to minimise chromatic aberration and colour blurring, the lens delivers consistently sharp, high-contrast images. Each lens element also features Canon’s optimised Super Spectra coatings to reduce ghosting and flare and ensure excellent colour balance. Additionally, a fluorine coating minimises the amount of dust, dirt and fingerprints that adhere to the front and rear of the lens, helping to maintain superior image quality.

The EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM also enables photographers to capture their subjects up close, with a minimum focusing distance of 0.38m at all focal lengths throughout the zoom range. A ring-type Ultrasonic Motor (USM) works in combination with a high-performance CPU and advanced AF algorithms to ensure accurate, silent and ultra-responsive autofocus. For those who prefer to maintain full control in every shot, full-time manual focusing allows photographers to precisely tweak or alter the focus of their shot at any time, even when AF is engaged.

Distinguished L-series design
The EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM is the latest lens from the elite L-series to offer Canon’s high-grade and user-focused design enhancements. The mechanical structure of the lens has been improved to offer enhanced zoom durability and greater shake and shock resistance within the lens barrel. The size of the lens has also been reduced by 10mm compared to the previous model, providing enhanced portability and greater convenience in everyday use. A new Zoom Lock lever also enables photographers to lock the zoom position at the extreme wide end to prevent damage to the lens in transit, while a water and dustproof construction² enables users to continue shooting in harsh conditions.

Introducing the world’s first wide-angle primes with IS
Canon today also launches the new EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM – the world’s first 24mm and 28mm fixed wide-angle lenses to feature optical IS technology. Ideal for landscape and reportage, both lenses offer outstanding flexibility allowing photographers to shoot an even broader range of scenes and subjects – combining fast apertures with IS to enable sharp results when shooting handheld, even in low light conditions.

Offering an advantage of up to 4-stops over lenses without IS, both lenses are ideal for capturing more of the scene thanks to their wider focal lengths. Both feature a wide f/2.8 aperture, allowing photographers to explore shallow depth of field, or to shoot in lower-light conditions. Wide apertures and IS technology also make each lens ideal for shooting fast-moving subjects, while Canon’s advanced IS technology is able to detect intentional panning movement and automatically switch from Normal IS mode to Panning IS mode – helping users to capture movement with greater accuracy.

Silent, high-speed AF performance is provided by the inclusion of a ring-type USM and additional features including optimized AF control. Full-time manual focusing also ensures adjustments can be made even when AF is engaged, while a minimum focusing distance of 0.20m (EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM) and 0.23m
(EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM) allows photographers to get even closer to smaller or more detailed subjects.

Designed to perform
Both the EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM feature redesigned optics to improve image quality and reduce the need for post-production. An aspherical glass moulded (GMo) lens element is incorporated to correct aberration throughout the optical system, while Canon’s optimised Super Spectra Coatings reduce ghosting and flare for stand-out image quality. Externally, both models also boast a number of design similarities with Canon’s professional L-series lenses, with a similar coating on the barrel and a similar design on the focus ring. A distance scale is also included to assist with landscape photography, while the compact design makes these lenses an unobtrusive addition to any kit bag.

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM – key features
• All-new optical design delivers exceptional sharpness
• Ultra-low dispersion (UD) and super UD elements
• Fast f/2.8 maximum aperture
• Sealed against dust and moisture
• Fast, silent ultrasonic autofocus
• Manual focus override
• Nine-bladed circular aperture

EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM – key features
• 24mm wide angle lens (38mm equivalent on APS-C sized sensors)
• Fast f/2.8 maximum aperture
• Up to four-stop Image Stabilizer
• Ultrasonic autofocus mechanism
• Circular aperture for soft background blur
• Super Spectra coatings reduce flare

EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM – key features
• 28mm wide-angle lens (45mm equivalent on APS-C sized sensors)
• Fast f/2.8 maximum aperture
• Up to four-stop Image Stabilizer
• Ultrasonic autofocus mechanism
• Circular aperture for soft background blur
• Super Spectra coatings reduce flare

¹ According to Canon research as of February 2012
² Waterproof construction around the lens mount, switch panel, zoom ring, focusing ring and zoom lock. Weatherproof when used with weatherproof EOS bodies.

SWPP 2012 round-up

Brian and I took a trip to the SWPP 2012 show in Hammersmith the other week, with a view to having a look around, catching up with some old friends and seeing what various stands had to display. Most interestingly was the ability to actually put hands on the new Canon PowerShot G1X. While we couldn’t take any pictures with it, it feels nice in the hand and the layout and design look great. I really think it’s a great move by Canon and early reports suggest the image quality really is as good as you’d hope it would be with a sensor that size.

We also got to have a chat with Guy Thatcher from www.hireacamera.com – a really great place if you’re looking to hire cameras and lenses either for a job or to try out before buying. Guy always has the latest stuff in stock and the service has always been great when we’ve used them before.

Colin Woodley from Eizo gave us a quick tour of their self-calibrating monitors and Gary Astill took us through some of the Lastolite Speedlite flash accessories and light modifiers they had on display. We also spoke to Helen Atkinson from Snapperstuff who told us about the updates to the ThinkTank Photo bags they were now shipping. So, take a look at the video and see what you missed.

If you’ve not been to the SWPP before, then male sure you book up to head in next year. While it is very much aimed at Wedding and Portrait shooters, there is always something of interest for people working across the genres.

Canon launches PowerShot G1 X – professional compact

Canon has launched the PowerShot G1 X a camera with a large size CMOS sensor. PowerShot G1 X takes the trend of large sized sensors in the G-series cameras to the next level with it’s 18.7mm x 14mm sized 14.3MP CMOS sensor. This big sensor means much bigger pixels than a regular compact camera, the pixels in the PowerShot G1 X are almost 6.3x larger than the PowerShot G12 and essentially the same as those found in the EOS 600D. Big pixels gather more light and the camera ISO range starts at ISO 100 and pushes all the way to ISO 12,800. What’s more large sized pixels tend to have improved gradation being  less prone to overflow causing highlight blow out.

PowerShot G1 X

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