Review of the Canon Wide Angle Lens – The EF-S 10-22mm F three.5-4.5 USM
I have just received my new Canon EF-S 10-22 ultra-wide angle lens. This is 1 of Canon’s most well-known lens and is created for the “crop sensor” series of DSLR. Much more on what a crop sensor is later. My very first thought after a couple of frames is “Wow, this is definitely wide, it wraps around my block.”
The question of the day is why do I require a 10-22mm wide angle lens. I already have an EF-S 18-55 zoom that came with Canon X1i camera. So what am I going to do with that additional 8mm of width for a wide angle shot. That 8mm is like a football field when I am shooting a landscape inside the distance (well perhaps not fairly a football field, but close).
There’s a wonderful want for those of us that shoot landscapes for a wide angle lens. As you may possibly notice in my landscapes I tend to shoot incredibly wide shots with mountains or red rocks within the foreground and also the horizon within the distance. I have been shooting most of my landscapes at 18mm with my kit lens on the T1i. That means that I am shooting at 28.8mm in film 35mm size. This is for the reason that the T1i is really a crop sensor camera with a factor 1.6x.
Now I need to explain the crop sensor stuff. Suffice to say that you can find 3 ratios of crop sensors inside the Canon line of cameras; full sensor, 1.3x, and 1.6x. This refers to the ratio of the sensor (the pc chip that sees the image and translates it to digital). The full sensor is the exact same size as the 35mm camera of years past. The two other ratios are, in effect, a subset of the full sensor and also the 35mm film size. For practical purposes this means that the full sensor would see the whole football field, the 1.3x sensor would see inside the 20 yard lines along with the 1.6 factor would capture inside the 30 yard lines. Now, you math majors out there don’t hold me to the exact proportions, I am just attempting to illustrate the concept.
Here is really a list showing what Canon cameras have which sensor:
Canon EOS 1Ds, Mark II and II (Full Frame)
Canon EOS 5D and 5D, Mark II (Full Frame)
Canon EOS 1D, Mark III,IV (1.3x Crop Frame)
Canon Digital Rebel, T1i,XSi,XS (1.6x Crop Frame)
Canon EOS 20D,30D,40D,50D,7D (1.6x Crop Frame)
Now what does all this need to do with me wanting, needing, lusting after a 10-22mm wide angle? Now you know that this lens will fit on my camera (whew, that took a lengthy time). You’ll also know that the 10mm, the widest of the wide angle, is definitely a 16mm on my camera compared to how it looks on a full frame camera. That’s still incredibly great and will capture truly ranging views of those red rocks that I am so fond of.
What about the other characteristics of the lens? All of the reviews I have read show it to be a pretty top quality “glass.” Canon designates their top-of-the-line lenses with the letter “L” inside the description. Even though the EF-S 10-22 f/3.5-4.5 doesn’t carry the “L” designation, the use of 3 aspheric elements and 1 SD element is really a widespread characteristic of a top quality lens. My 1st very first shots with the lens left me with the impression of how clear and sharp it’s.
This has top quality optical parts and just isn’t a “low-end, consumer sort lens”. Some pundits have suggested that if it had not been an EF-S sort lens, it may well have received the “L” designation, but since it’ll not fit on a pro level DSLR (EOS 5D,1Ds series), Canon did not give it a “professional” L designation. Actually, no EF-S lenses have the “L” designation to date.
EF-S lenses, of course, are created for use only with APS-C (1.6x) sensor Canon DSLRs and will presently only physically mount on the Digital Rebel series, and EOS 20D,30D,40D,50D 7D. The EF-S design enables the rear element to be closer to the sensor then with EF lenses, improving image high quality, specifically at the shortest focal lengths. The “S” in EF-S means “short back focus” and now you know why.
There are lots of technical reasons that this lens is very good for wide shots and landscapes. The reviews have shown that it’s incredibly sharp and incredibly quick when auto focusing. On the negative side I will note that, should you use this lens when looking at an individual up close it’ll make them look like they’re standing inside the circus exhibit with the distorted mirrors. It’s clearly created for those shots which are as wide as all outdoors.
To find out more about this topic, visit Canon Ef S Lenses
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