Canon EF 11-24 F4L USM

This is not a technical review of this lens.

Its wide (very, very wide), sharp, contrasty and perfectly rectilinear.
That's about all I have to say about that.
And now that that's been said, let me tell you what I think of this four thousand dollar (Canadian, eh) lens.

Here is the grand total of my feelings, summarized in two sentences: I am enamored by this lens. I really enjoy how it challenges and excites me.

A bit of background
At the beginning of 2013 I sold both my 16-35 and my 24-105 to help fund the purchase of the new 24-70.
At the same time, I purchased my first full frame digital camera, the 1Dx.
So, not only have I been without a wide lens since then, I have never experienced just how truly wide a lens could be.
Well, that was the case until March 20th of this year when, on a whim, I wandered into a local retailer and they happened to have the 11-24 on the shelf in the store.
And I picked it up.

A bit on 11mm
Here's the thing about 11mm on the Canon 1Dx that I'm loving.
When I travel or wander and take pictures of landmarks, I know that I'm not the first one that's been there.
I'm not the first person to take a photo of the subject.
When I browse Flickr, I see virtually identical photos of many landmarks.
Like the Eiffel Tower.
Its truly damn hard to get a unique picture of the Eiffel Tower.
BUT, break out the EF 11-24 F4L on the full frame camera.
That 126 degree view.
The perspective distortion.
The vignetting.
The flare.
New and unique pictures are no longer a fleeting dream.
And that excites me.

Take Orpheus here for example.
He's been hanging out at this spot on this hill for over 40 years.
But I doubt anyone's taken THIS photo of him before.
I've managed to snap pictures of the CN Tower, Baltimore harbour, the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, the US Capital Building, Nathan Phillips Square and even the Toronto Irish Famine Memorial.

And it wouldn't surprise me if these were all unique as well.
And I think that's awesome.

All about the base
Its crazy how aim can affect an image with this lens.
Take a look at ol' Orpheus again.

This is a good representation of actual proportions.
But if I shift the aim to the right a little...

Or, if I tilt up a bit...

Three totally different images, all from the same scene and same camera/lens set-up.
Creatively, this is bonkers.

But, if there's one thing that this lens has taught me, its that I can't hold my camera straight.
Never have I experienced a lens that draws so much attention to the slightest shift in aim.
At 11mm, the horizon is long. Very long. And if off by a degree or two, a very noticeable slant is apparent.

And then there's the leaning buildings.
Tilt slightly up and the towers lean in dramatically.

Tilt slightly down and they lean out lazily.

But perspective distortion is not a flaw, where as my handling of it may be.

Speaking of distortion, I love grills.

I've been taking pics of interesting grills for as long as I can remember.
And the wider, more distorted the image, the more I love them.

So, that's another reason this lens is heavenly in my eyes.

Filling the frame

Pictures at 11mm are more appealing, at least to this humble scribe, when there is a definitive subject in both the foreground and background.

The angle of view covers so much space that if its not filled to a certain degree, both near and far, the image's excitement can fade.

So finding the subject, or should I say, an ideal angle now involves observing so many more details of the scene.
More complicated, more challenging, more fun!

So to conclude, let me say that I love this lens.
Its well worth the price for not only professional applications, but also for amateur play.

As my farewell anecdote, I will answer the question that is on everyone's mind...
...yes, yes it takes great BIF images at 11mm

Note: all images in this review were taken at 11mm on a Canon 1Dx.

I love it!

FINALLY, an announcement from Canon that gets me really excited.



They have just announced the development of a EF200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x lens.
Yes, that's a 200-400mm zoom lens with a constant F4 aperture.
And YES, it has a BUILT IN 1.4 extender, which when turned on will make the lens a 280 to 560 F5.6 lens.

With the release of the 100mm L Macro with IS, and this lens, Canon, you are keeping me a happy customer.
I can't wait to get my hands on this one!

Celebration calls for...

...a new lens.
So in celebration of accepting a position with a new company, which will involve frequent trips to West Africa, I went out in search of a nice telephoto lens.
And I had a few characteristics in mind:
1) It had to be as light as possible since I'd be lugging it around in my backpack with all my other things.
2) It had to be as small as possible - see 1)
3) I wanted it to reach as far as possible. I already have a 300mm and a 1.4 extender, giving me 420mm of reach, so I was hoping for something longer.
4) A zoom would be better than a prime since it would lower the risk of missing a photo op while spending time changing lenses.
5) Image stability would be an added bonus since I'd like to take shots without a mono or tripod.
With all that in mind, I found what I was looking for.
I found the Sigma APO 150mm - 500mm F5-6.3 OS.
Wicked.

The New Fam

I couldn't fit the ringflash and the Metz...

June 2009 to May 2010

(if you click on the pics, you'll see the larger version)

Yesterday was the first official day of summer.
So that means its time for my photograholic year in review.
I started shooting three years ago this month, so please indulge me on my selfish reminiscing.

Let's start with the excitement: the travels.
Over the past year I have taken six trips, on four continents, in 12 countries.
And taken a lot of photos along the way.

Last June I embarked on a two week road trip up and around the shoreline of the Great Lakes to my hometown of Thunder Bay, Ontario. While there, I visited many attractions including:

Kakabeka Falls - beautiful place, with a lovely trek along the trails - my recommendation: bring your bug spray

Sleeping Giant provincial park - sandy beaches, amazing cliff-face lookouts with spectacular views, Silver Islet historical area, and wildlife galore - my recommendation: don't try to pet the bears

Centennial Park - small farm, and a great re-creation of a 19th century logging camp - my recommendation: bring your kids, they'll have a blast

Chippewa Park - sure, the wolves howling at the break of dawn is a little eerie, but the sunrise is spectacular, the zoo is a perfect representation of northern animals, and there's a mini-amusement park with a tilt-a-whirl - my recommendation: take the time to read the history of the place on the wall inside the main hall

Old Fort William - I don't care if they've changed its name, it'll always be the Old Fort to me - my recommendation: try the axe throwing

The Hoito - best breakfast in the province - my recommendation: try the Finn pancakes

In December I made the same trek and found the contrast in the seasons quite interesting, not to mention the difference in physical appearance of the deer.

In August I made a trip down to Peru, which lit aflame my desire to visit UNESCO world heritage sites.
While in the country I managed to visit three sites, plus one site that is on the tentative list.
My trip included:

Machu Picchu (unesco) - you can't go to Peru and not go here - my recommendation: take the bus, the hike is exhausting!

Caral-Supe (unesco) - who knew there would be a desert on the edge of a lush valley in Peru?!? With 5,000 year old ruins of a bygone civilization?!? - my recommendation: bring someone who speaks Spanish to translate for the tour guide.

Cuzco (unesco) - lovely central square and an awesome and unique market - my recommendation: watch your purse.

Cajamarca - lovely central square and very short people - my recommendation: don't carry too much as the altitude is exhausting.

Paramonga - an adobe brick ruin of another bygone civilization - my recommendation: go in the morning to get the best light

In September I was off to Africa for a three country tour, including:
Senegal - the ile de Goree (unesco) was an interesting place - my recommendation: learn at least basic French before you go

Mali - Savannahs, monkeys, bats and artisanal miners...awesome - my recommendation: don't wander around Bamako alone

Burkina Faso - dry and foreboding but with very friendly people - my recommendation: enjoy the pizza in Ouagadougou...I'm serious

Stopped over in Paris along the way and got my first look at the Eiffel Tower.

This past April I was off to South America again, with stop-overs in the Caribbean:
Antigua - sun, sand and sailing - not that I pursued any of them - for me it was all about friends...and pumping iron - my recommendation - check out English Harbour

Curacao - Willemstad (unesco) was pretty, busy and hot! - my recommendation: drink lots of water and wear sunscreen.

Colombia - the gold museum in Bogota was unbelievable - my recommendation: duh, the gold museum.

Brazil - Ouro Preto (unesco) was a beautiful town with more cathedrals than you could count - my recommendation: spend some time touring the churches

Suriname - Paramaribo (unesco) was HOT and humid, but the people were friendly - my recommendation: never wear pants.

Last month the family and I visited Finland with a stop-over in Paris.

This time we managed to see the Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles.
In Finland we visited Helsinki and traveled up the west coast to Kristiinakaupunki, stopping at various places along the way:
Helsinki - crazy statues, cathedrals, a sea fortress - my recommendation: bring lots of euros to spend in the market, and never pass up a fresh and warm munkki!

Turku - a castle and a cathedral, yet neither were my favourite attraction (refer to my recommendation) - my recommendation: check out the Luostarinmaki Handicrafts museum.

Laitila - farms, lots of farms - my recommendation: visit the old church
Uusikaupunki - water and warm weather - my recommendation: check out the SAAB museum and then go to a waterfront cafe and have a coffee and a munnki. Mmmm, munnki.
Pori - The Sigrid Juselius mausoleum was cool, so was Reposaari - my recommendation: go to the mausoleum after noon, since it doesn't open till then.
Rauma - between old town and the bronze age burial site just outside of town, this place is a UNESCO jackpot - my recommendation: wear comfy shoes.

Kristiinakaupunki - beautiful town split in half by a river (or was that a lake?) - my recommendation: check out the slant of the tower of the old cathedral (weird, eh!)

So I may have managed to jam in seven countries in the last eight weeks of the year, but whatever, they still count.
I can only hope the next year is half as interesting travel-wise, eh!

Gearaholic afterthought

Whether close to home, or continents away, I had my gear close and ready to capture the scenes.
I am a canon lover and most of my gear is a testament to that fact.

If you're not as much of a gear whore as me, let me initiate you on a few things:
1) For Canon bodies, the smaller the D number and/or the higher the mk number, the better.
2) For lenses, L is for luxury. L = awesomeness.
3) The smaller the F number, the more awesome the lens.
4) IS is for image stability. For caffeine addicts like myself, IS is the ultimate feature.

I began last June with two bodies (1DmkIII & 50D) and seven lenses (300F4LIS, 70-200F4LIS, 17-35F2.8L, EFS17-55F2.8IS, 85F1.8, Sigma 150F2.8 Macro, and a Lensbaby 2.0).
I had a few departures along the way...
...the 1DmkIII
...the 50D
...the 17-55
...the 17-35
...the 85
...the Sigma macro
...OK, maybe more than a few.
I miss that 17-55. It was F2.8 AND had IS.

Now I have just one body, my 1DmkIV, and a couple lenses:
50F1.2L
100F2.8LIS Macro
300F4LIS
16-35F2.8L II
24-105F4LIS
70-200F4LIS
Sigma 8F3.5 Fisheye
Asahi Super-Multi-Coated Takumar 50F1.4
Lensbaby 2.0
Ok, nine lenses is a bit more than a couple.
And of those nine, seven showed up in the last year.
In all honesty, I think my gearaholic lusting is 100% satisfied at the moment.
In fact, I'm looking to rid myself of a couple lenses since only seven fit in my backpack.
So, yep, lusting is over...
...well, until they introduce a 24-70 F2.8 with image stability.

My next post - to end my photograholic year in review - my favourite photos from the past year.

PS - don't worry, more from the Finland trip still to come ;-)