Photography News 03

24 Lens review Superwide zoomlenses Give your images greater impact by fitting an ultra wide-angle lens and getting in really close. Here we test seven marque and independent zooms at a range of prices ON TEST

The biggest problem experienced by newcomers to the ultra wide-angle zoom is simply not making the best use of the frame. The result can be an empty expanse of foreground that lacks interest or any lead-in lines that are needed to take the viewer into the picture. With a telephoto lens, often it’s the background that needs careful consideration; with wide- angles, that switches to the foreground so do bear that in mind when you are composing your shots. Also, don’t be afraid of pointing the lens downwards or upwards. This can intensify strong lines or make converging

vertical lines more obvious, but this can also make pictures more powerful. One thing to watch with aiming the lens upwards is flare. It can be difficult to cut out the sun in this situation so make sure the lens, or UV filter if you have one on, is clean. The original tests featuring these lenses was originally published in Advanced Photographer, issues 35 and 36. Advanced Photographer regularly publishes in-depth lens tests so keep your eye on the magazine for the latest reviews.

Words by Richard Hopkins

The ultra wide-angle zoom is an incredibly flexible lens suitable for interiors, landscapes and environmental work when space is at a premium. It’s even great for powerful portraits although it is true that it’s not ideal for flattering images – fill the frame and you suffer from the ‘big nose, small ears’ syndrome. But if you’re not selling your images, getting in close for deliberate distortion is a very powerful technique to exploit.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM This 10-22mm super-wide dates from2004 and since then Canon has not updated it or added anything similar to the EF-S range that is specifically optimised for crop-format DSLRs. Fortunately, Canon got it right first time and this very sharp and lightweight 10-22mm has been winning fans ever since.

SPECS

dipping below it at f/16. This makes the Canon 10- 22mm one of the very sharpest super-wide APS-C lenses, perhaps top of the tree. Just to reinforce the fact, 129 lines-per-mm was recorded at MTF 20% in the peak resolution test, and that exceeds the theoretical maximum of any Canon APS-C sensor which currently stands at 116 lines-per-mm (18 megapixels). Verdict The EF-S 10-22mm has several outstanding features: it’s very sharp, especially in the centre; it’s well made, compact and lightweight with excellent AF; and the new, lower price makes it much more affordable. The key point is sharpness of course. Not easy to say outright that it’s the best APS-C super-wide out there, and at least a couple of rivals are pretty much neck and neck, but it’s as close as makes no difference. Excellent performance.

PRICE £490 CONTACT canon.co.uk

FORMAT APS-C 1.6x OPTICAL DESIGN 13 elements in 10 groups GLASS TYPES 1x USD, 3x aspherical APERTURE RANGE

At 10mm, it’s wide – 107° wide on Canon’s 1.6x APS-C format, equivalent to 16mm on full-frame. Build quality is excellent, with smooth and lightly weighted focus and zoom controls. AF is Canon’s USM; it’s fast and quiet, with full-timemanual override. Optical performance is top drawer, at least on the sharpness front, and is notable for maintaining uniformly high figures throughout the focal length and aperture range, with no significant weak spots. In the centre, sharpness is well into the Excellent zone at all times, except at f/16 when diffraction takes the shine off things. Edge sharpness is always lower but sits firmly within the Very Good level, only

f/3.5-4.5 to f/22 DIAPHRAGM

6 rounded blades ANGLE OF VIEW APS-C (diagonally) 107° to 63°

MINIMUMFOCUS 0.24m (from sensor) MAXREPRODUCTION RATIO 1:6

AUTOFOCUS Ultrasonic USM

MANUAL FOCUS Full-time override FILTER SIZE 77mm non-rotating WEATHER SEALED No DOF SCALE No DIMENSIONS (DXL) 84x90mm WEIGHT 385g ACCESSORIES None supplied FITTINGS Canon only

%MTFat36lines-per-mm(APS-C)

Centre 79+ 62+ 78+ 64+ 75+ 63+ 69+ 59+ 58+ 49 f/4.5 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 79 62 78 64 75 63 69 59 58 49

78+ 54+ 82+ 56+ 82+ 58+ 79+ 54+ 72+ 49+ 60+ 41 f/3.5 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 78 54 82 56 82 58 79 54 72 49 60 41

84+ 53+ 83+ 61+ 77+ 58+ 70+ 54+ 59+ 45 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16 84 53 83 61 77 58 70 54 59 45

22mm 100

Sharpness10mm 100

15mm 100

Edge

Howitrates

FEATURES

22/25

090 080 070 060 050 040 030 020 010 000

090 080 070 060 050 040 030 020 010 000

090 080 070 060 050 040 030 020 010 000

Versatile focal lengths, USM autofocusing HANDLING Nice, compact and light, smooth controls. Fast AF with full-time manual override PERFORMANCE High sharpness throughout focal length and aperture range is hard to beat VALUE FOR MONEY Price has recently been dropped by over £100, making it very attractive OVERALL

25/25

24/25

23/25

ABOVE This is what we want to see – three graphs with nice high figures well into the Excellent zone, throughout the zoom and aperture ranges, with edge sharpness following close behind. Few APS-C super-wides can match this performance. Overall optimum aperture is f/5.6 at all focal lengths.

94/100

Photography News | Issue 3

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