First look -- Canon's new 11-24mm f/4 super-wide angle lens

Yes, I realize this site concentrates primarily on Nikon, Fuji, Sony, and Leica brand cameras and accessories. Once in awhile, however, something worth shouting about comes along from another manufacturer. In this case, it is the new Canon 11-24mm f/4 lens. I was able to play with one on a new Canon 5D the other day, and have to say I was extremely impressed by it.

Until now, the widest rectilinear lens available for a full frame DSLR was the variable aperture Sigma 12-24 f/4.5-5.6. Nikon has the excellent 14-24mm f/2.8, but that suffers from enough rectilinear distortion to knock its practical focal length to something closer to 15+mm once it is corrected. The Canon 11-24 did not appear to have any rectilinear distortion that I could see.

Yes, it is f/4 vs f/2.8 for the Nikon lens, but making an element for an 11mm focal length accommodate an f/2.8 aperture would have boosted the already heavy 2.6lb lens even more. I actually sold off my Nikon 14-24mm because of its weight and size.

This is the perfect lens for dramatic landscape and architectural photographs. A lens this wide is quite specialized and is not for everyone, but, if it suits your shooting style, you're going to be as excited by it as I am. Added to the newly announced 50mp Canon camera coming out later this year, this will make a perfect landscape kit.

At $2999 this lens is definitely only for photographs with a serious need for such a wide angle. When this lens is more readily available I may be tempted to run it through its paces for a hands-on blog review.

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The Canon 11-24mm f/4 lens can be ordered from:  BH-Photo   Adorama    Amazon