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Canon 16-35mm f4L IS Review

September 29, 2014 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Canon Lenses

Now that I’ve had the opportunity to spend a couple months thoroughly testing out the 16-35mm in the field, I thought I’d post my final opinion on this new wide angle that was released in June from Canon.

So far this lens has traveled with me to numerous workshops, many miles on Glacier National Park’s trails and around the awesome landscapes of Washington’s Palouse.

I’ve put this one through many storms, dust, rain and everything else in between. It’s pretty much been glued to my 1DX since I received it in June.

To start out, I first will say I’ve had plenty of experience with just about all of Canon’s wide angles and wide angle zooms. For a number of years I shot with the 17-40mm f4L and after that the 16-35mm 2.8L II. I’ve also used a number of primes including one of my favorites the 24mm 3.5L ts II.

Going into this, like many others, I had a little grumbling here and there with the 16-35mm 2.8L II’s corner sharpness and performance on the long end, particularly when shooting landscapes. I also had some reservations about a few of the changes on the new F4 version, including the 9 aperture blades vs. 7 on the 2.8 version for sunburst shots. And the f4 vs. the f2.8 was a bit of concern as well in regards to night photography.

First off, the previous corner sharpness and other issues with the 16-35mm 2.8II have been greatly improved providing edge to edge sharpness. All around the image quality is getting right up there with the 24-70mk 2.8L II and the other improved optic updates Canon has released. I’ve done some pretty extensive testing in the field and I am completely impressed, no grumblings here!

The new 16-35mm f4L IS also comes with IS, which at first I was kind of scratching my head as I was with a few of Canon’s other wide angles that include it. But in real world use I do like it, and found that down to 1/10 when holding steady I was getting some sharp images. I probably would have been just fine without it, but I feel it’s a nice addition and it’s coaxing me off my tripod a little more often in difficult shooting situations and providing a little more assurance.

Canon at Glacier National Park

And for me, the whole issue with aperture blades really wasn’t a big deal. For those unfamiliar, the 7 aperture blade lenses will give you 14 point sunstars, whereas the 9 blade ones will give you 18 points. It’s just a personal preference thing, and I find both appealing.

For night photography, the f4 is a serious concern and really f2.8 or faster is ideal. However as others have tested, the f4 does perform well, but it does force you to go with a little longer exposure or use a higher ISO which can result in more noise. So not my preference, but acceptable and something I think I can live with.

As far as construction goes, this one uses the new build that is present in the 24-70mm 2.8 L II and 100mm 2.8L macro, utilizing a professional grade plastic build and latest optical coatings. One thing this accomplishes is lower weight and very good durability, there doesn’t appear to be any problems here.

That’s it for the pros. As far as the cons, I really can’t find anything to pull apart with this lens other than it would have been nice to have a f2.8 for night photography. Oh and also another for the pros, cost. Coming in at $1200 most will find this tolerable to very reasonable as far as current Canon glass prices go.

So to finish, I will say without a doubt that this is in my opinion one of Canon’s best wide angle zooms they have ever made and they have really knocked it out of the park on this one. I sold my 16-35mm 2.8L II and have absolutely no regrets.

If you’re concerned about image quality of previous wide angle zooms from Canon, want the best build quality and can live without f2.8, I would say this one would be a great choice and a nice addition to any Canon shooters bag.

More Canon 16-35mm f4L IS

July 21, 2014 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Glacier Photo Workshop
Lake McDonald Lodge, Glacier National Park

I’m currently working on putting together a more thorough review of Canon’ s 16-35mm f4L IS now that I’ve had a chance to do some extensive shooting with it over the last few weeks. I used it almost exclusively on my recent Glacier National Park workshop, which gave me some great opportunities to test out its “IS” and corner to corner sharpness.

I thought I would share this image from the trip of a young girl playing piano in the lobby of the Lake McDonald Lodge. Unfortunately my tripod was out of reach at the time so I had to handhold this one in very low light. Also in order to achieve the depth of field I wanted, I had to set my aperture to f11 which made things even worse for my shutter speed.

But fortunately I was using one of my new favorite camera/lens combos with the Canon 1DX and new 16-35mm which gave me a couple very important advantages.

With the 1DX’s amazing hi-noise performance I was able to bump up my ISO to 6400 and at least get a 1/90 of a second for my shutter speed. Combined with the 16-35mm’s excellent corner to corner sharpness and a little help from the “IS” I was able to pull off a shot that quality wise, turned out to be pretty decent. I also underexposed this by about a stop to preserve some of the window highlights.

Stay tuned for a full review soon!

Canon 1DX 16-35mm f4L IS f11 1/90 ISO6400

 

 

Fall Photography Workshop

October 30, 2011 by Jason Savage Leave a Comment

Rainy Lake, Montana
Rainy Lake.Canon 5dmkII, 100-400mm. F8.0 1/20 ISO100

Here are a few shots from the Seeley-Swan Valley workshop in Montana last week. We had a ton of rain, matter of fact it really didn’t let up much the whole weekend, but we still managed to find some great stuff and the valley was at it’s peak for fall colors. The Larch trees this time of year are spectacular and line the whole valley. We’ve had such a late fall this year that it’s been a great season for photography.

Beaver Creek, Montana
Beaver Creek. Canon 5dmkII, 100-400mm. f13 2sec ISO100

One thing I was reminded of this last week and it’s certainly something I’m reminded of over and over, is that heading out into some of the worst weather can lead to some great, and sometimes amazing images. Usually when it’s dumping rain or when a blizzard is raging the tendency is to hang up the camera and wait for a better day. But those bad weather days I find lend themselves to usually more interesting or unusual images when you can be patient. Patient being the key as inclement weather and changing conditions sometimes take a while to give you those right moments where a bit of light might be peaking through the clouds or a rainbow may develop for a few short moments. Those are some of the little surprises we were grateful to have this weekend and we ended up walking away with some beautiful fall images despite the conditions.

So next time the wind is howling or it’s dumping buckets try heading out and seeing what you can find, you might be surprised.Thanks to everyone for making it such a great workshop this year!

Salmon Lake, Montana
Salmon Lake. Canon 5dmkII, 16-35mm2.8mkII. f11 1/20 ISO100

Horses, Montana
Horses.Canon 5dmkII, 100-400mm. f6.7 1/500 ISO1600

Jason Savage Montana Photo Workshop

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About

Based in Montana, Jason works as a freelance and commercial photographer, specializing in travel and outdoor photography.

His work has been featured in National Geographic Traveler, Time, Outside, Audubon, Outdoor Photographer,The Nature Conservancy and many others.
His images have also been featured in numerous advertising campaigns, books, and calendars around the world.

Contact

Jason Savage Photography
610 N. 1st St. #5-221
Hamilton, MT 59840
jason@jasonsavagephoto.com
406-202-0709

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