Struggling to find lens . . .
Discussion
I need a lens for use in very dark places, caves, ex cold war bunkers, deserted underground works etc with no lighting. Flash can usually be used and there is occasionally temporary lighting but light levels are always poor/low and the areas are quite large.
I've got a 5d mk ii so it needs to be a full frame EF lens. I currently have a 50mm f1.8 II but I need a wider lens. I don't really need a zoom and given the result of photography in places like this, spending a lot on a fancy lens doesn't seem a great idea.
Looked at the Canon 20mm f2.8 but it gets very poor reviews and is still only 2.8. Can't afford the 24mm f1.4 II USM - £1300 for a single non-zoom lens is a bit much for me.
Are there any reasonable alternatives in the 18mm-24mm area with f1.8 or better ? Budget is up to about £350.
I have a 17-40 but f4 isn't very helpful.
I've got a 5d mk ii so it needs to be a full frame EF lens. I currently have a 50mm f1.8 II but I need a wider lens. I don't really need a zoom and given the result of photography in places like this, spending a lot on a fancy lens doesn't seem a great idea.
Looked at the Canon 20mm f2.8 but it gets very poor reviews and is still only 2.8. Can't afford the 24mm f1.4 II USM - £1300 for a single non-zoom lens is a bit much for me.
Are there any reasonable alternatives in the 18mm-24mm area with f1.8 or better ? Budget is up to about £350.
I have a 17-40 but f4 isn't very helpful.
Honestly how much of the room/cave do you think you will get in DOF at f1.4 ?
Tripod and multiple flashes would be better, you only need the one speedlight.
Otherwise theres a samyang 14mm2.8 or a 35f1.4 but thats likely over budget..
Tripod and multiple flashes would be better, you only need the one speedlight.
Otherwise theres a samyang 14mm2.8 or a 35f1.4 but thats likely over budget..
Edited by RobDickinson on Tuesday 2nd November 05:33
RobDickinson said:
Honestly how much of the room/cave do you think you will get in DOF at f1.4 ?
Tripod and multiple flashes would be better, you only need the one speedlight.
Otherwise theres a samyang 14mm2.8 or a 35f1.4 but thats likely over budget..
I realise that but with such lenses the whole lens is larger so even when stopped down you get more light entering the front of the lens than you would with an f4 17-40 for example. Or is this too marginal to make any difference ?Tripod and multiple flashes would be better, you only need the one speedlight.
Otherwise theres a samyang 14mm2.8 or a 35f1.4 but thats likely over budget..
Edited by RobDickinson on Tuesday 2nd November 05:33
Busa_Rush said:
I realise that but with such lenses the whole lens is larger so even when stopped down you get more light entering the front of the lens than you would with an f4 17-40 for example. Or is this too marginal to make any difference ?
Sadly f/x is f/x regardless of the size of the front element.have a look at this chaps work,
hes a nikon geek but maybe worth messaging him
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urb_edd/
hes a nikon geek but maybe worth messaging him
http://www.flickr.com/photos/urb_edd/
Thanks, getting into these places myself is hard enough without getting a tripod down there too. Flash is difficult to use and if you go firing off a decent flash at people who's eyes have accustomed to a dark environment, you end up either having to give them 5 mins for the dots to disappear or dodge the rocks as they sling them at you for making them blind 
I need a wider lens anyway, will look at Sigma, thanks.
I need a wider lens anyway, will look at Sigma, thanks.
Bit of a long shot, but might some kind of IR lamp and a lens coated for this kind of thing be useful? (if it even exists?!) Then you can flood the scene with IR light!?
Or maybe even a less bright 'constant' light will be less anti-social, and give you many factors more light to work with than you have with just ambient lighting?
Dave
Or maybe even a less bright 'constant' light will be less anti-social, and give you many factors more light to work with than you have with just ambient lighting?
Dave
I really doubt that this is a lens issue.
You need light - off camera flash for example. You can warn people that you are about to use it so that they don't stare are the things.
Alternatively, but probably well outside budget, a Pro photographer I was talking to recently said a friend of his, also a pro, was delighted with a shot taken in near darkness with a Canon 1D Mk4 at ISO 102,000 or what ever the exact number is. As described the shot must have been akin to the apocryphal good illumination of a black cat in a coal cellar so there may be some poetic licence involved but nevertheless it may be worth considering. You could light the places with torches.
In fact using torches you may be able to lightpaint them with what you have and use an aperture that will put something into focus, though this is less of an issue with a wide lens unless focused close up.
Plan G would be something like this
http://www.spheron.com/en/sceneworks/portfolio/sce...
though I grant you that getting the kit in and out would be a tad more challenging than a 5D plus a lens.
ETA: Probably should have mentioned this as well.
http://www.spheron.com/en/sceneworks/downloads/new...
And that the kit does not come cheap ....
You need light - off camera flash for example. You can warn people that you are about to use it so that they don't stare are the things.
Alternatively, but probably well outside budget, a Pro photographer I was talking to recently said a friend of his, also a pro, was delighted with a shot taken in near darkness with a Canon 1D Mk4 at ISO 102,000 or what ever the exact number is. As described the shot must have been akin to the apocryphal good illumination of a black cat in a coal cellar so there may be some poetic licence involved but nevertheless it may be worth considering. You could light the places with torches.
In fact using torches you may be able to lightpaint them with what you have and use an aperture that will put something into focus, though this is less of an issue with a wide lens unless focused close up.
Plan G would be something like this
http://www.spheron.com/en/sceneworks/portfolio/sce...
though I grant you that getting the kit in and out would be a tad more challenging than a 5D plus a lens.
ETA: Probably should have mentioned this as well.
http://www.spheron.com/en/sceneworks/downloads/new...
And that the kit does not come cheap ....
Edited by LongQ on Tuesday 2nd November 17:19
Busa_Rush said:
I realise that but with such lenses the whole lens is larger so even when stopped down you get more light entering the front of the lens than you would with an f4 17-40 for example. Or is this too marginal to make any difference ?
F/4 is F/4, no matter how big the lens is. F/4 on a 14mm lens will let in exactly the same amount of light as F/4 on a 400mm lens, thats how it all works. Busa_Rush said:
Thanks, getting into these places myself is hard enough without getting a tripod down there too. Flash is difficult to use and if you go firing off a decent flash at people who's eyes have accustomed to a dark environment, you end up either having to give them 5 mins for the dots to disappear or dodge the rocks as they sling them at you for making them blind
I need a wider lens anyway, will look at Sigma, thanks.
I have the Sigma 20mm f1.8, it's a little soft wide open, and over budget if you want a new one. There are two on fleabay at the moment, second hand should be well inside budget.I need a wider lens anyway, will look at Sigma, thanks.
The DOF issue isn't so bad due to the wide angle, set at hyperfocal distance will give a near point of about 12 feet, so pretty usable in large spaces if you take some care.
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