Canon 16-35mm F/2.8L (the old model)

[LEIGHTON]

Has anyone used the old Canon EF 16-35mm F/2.8 on a cropped sensor? I'm thinking of looking for a used item. How's the over-all performance of this particular glass?

cheers

[joele]

mmm oldish thread but as no one replied I might as well for anyone searching this thread later..

Yes I have it at the moment, have been using it about a month on my 50d.

It is a good lens, very good build, very fast accurate AF and good colours, contrast etc. It isn't really super sharp in the edges until you stop down a bit though, but that generally isn't a problem for me..

To be honest if you get one very cheap, get it given to you or borrow it as I did, it is a very nice lens. If you have to buy it and are not using it for full frame I don't think it offers that much over the many other APS-C specific lenses in this focal length range. I would probably prefer to buy the 17-55/2.8 IS if I was going to spend the kind of money required to buy this lens (if I was sticking with crop)..

[Xenedis]

Has anyone used the old Canon EF 16-35mm F/2.8 on a cropped sensor? I'm thinking of looking for a used item. How's the over-all performance of this particular glass?

I have the mark II, but some years ago I asked someone who owned both the 16-35/2.8L (the original) and the 17-40/4L to capture the same image at the same location with the same exposure settings.

The 17-40 was visible sharper.

I may have only examined the original 16-35 once, so I cannot properly comment on it, and can only go on what I saw from the images posted.

The mark II is quite sharp, however, and I use it almost exclusively for seascape/landscape images.

On an APS-C camera, neither lens is particularly wide. If you like ultra-wide angles and plan not to upgrade to full-frame, I'd recommend something like the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM. It is quite a good performer and will give you the equivalent framing to what the 16-36 delivers on a 5D/1Ds.

[LEIGHTON]

Thanks!

[stevo]

I owned a 16-35 f/2.8 mk1 and wouldn't recomend it for a cropped sensor camera.

It was very usefull on the 1Ds but not so much on the 40D.

I found it very prone to flare and not as sharp as a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 on my cropped sensor cameras.

I sold it when I sold the 1Ds and wouldn't buy another unless I was going full frame again and then I would go for the mk11, just to get the width with f/2.8.

I usually carry two cropped bodies around with me. One with a 70-200 f/2.8 IS on it and one with a Tokina 12-24 f/4, which gives me a similar field of view on the cropped as the 16-35 on the full frame. I used to carry the 1Ds with the 16-35 as my close in camera.

[natogden]

great lens, use it all the time