A fast and wide zoom to compliment my 28-135

[Piotr Wozniacki]

I find my FS7 kit lense very nice actually, but - due to its weight (with my weakened arms in mind), and being not enough wide at the wide lens as well as not fast enough for indoors shooting - I'm after another zoom to compliment it. My first choice has been the Canon EF 16-35mm F4.0L IS HSM, but I must admit the 16-35 F2.8 version is tempting - to have a wide zoom like this and as fast as F1.4 (all that with Speedbooster Ultra I already have) would be a dream! It doesn't have IS (the F4.0 version does), and reviews say that it's not as sharp in the corners as the 16-35 F4.0L - but my question to those who used/tried/tested both is:

- is the IS at such wide angles important in video work at all, and even if it is - doesn't the double speed of the F2.8 outweigh the corners' lower sharpness compared to that of the F4.0 version?

- I did see in the reviews how slightly softer the 16-35 F2.8 can be in the corners compared to the 16-35 F4.0; but again: these all were super high-res photographic pictures; would such a slight sharpness difference be visible in 4K video application at all?

Please anyone with some experience with both versions of the 16-35mm Canon lenses chime in and advise; and I'd appreciate a quick advise as I must admit I'm extremely impatient to start using my Speedbooster with one of these lenses. Frankly, I'm going to buy one of them as soon as on this coming Monday; waiting longer could mean my cash could go elsewhere... Plus once more - renting both to test them myself is unfortunately impossible here so I'd appreciate your advise very, very much indeed

Piotr

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Of course I mean "complement", not "compliment" :)

[Nigel Davey]

Have you considered a Tokina 11-16mm Mk2 with a Canon mount attached to a Speedbooster?

[Piotr Wozniacki]

I just bought the 16-35mm F4 Canon, and it covers my needs in this focal range. An even wider lens would be nice; could you please provide me with a link to the 11-16mm Tokina you mentioned? I thought it wasn't an FF lense - but maybe I'm wrong.

Piotr

[Nigel Davey]

It's not full frame. But with a standard adaptor (not Speedbooster) it will obviously work fine across the whole 11-16mm range. If you use the Speedbooster then the vignetting will be completely gone by 15mm but you still get your extra stop.

I've got the Nikon mount Tokina and you can view it in action (with the Speedbooster and Tokina set to 15mm) here with the wider shoots:

Slog experiment 25p on Vimeo

[Piotr Wozniacki]

It's very nice, Nigel - but having the Canon 16-35mm and the Speed Booster, I don't think I need the Tokina only to use it with 15-16mm focal range :) Were it FF - it would be a great addition with its entire 11-16mm range!

Piotr

[Piotr Wozniacki]

Now that I made my decision and purchased the Canon 16-35mm F4 / Speed Booster combo (mainly used for hand-held shooting indoors; with bright light and for longer reach, I still tend to put my kit 28-135mm lens on but mainly use the tripod then) - may I ask you guys which other FF lenses are worth considering for future expansion of my FS7 rig that would make use of my Speed Booster? The adapter is nice, but it wasn't cheap - sort of waste if only used with a single lens...

Please share your opinions on what is available and proven (quality-wise) in both very wide end of focal lengths and for telephoto far reaching applications. Of course I did my own research and found most affordable lenses are not FF nowadays... This makes me think of adding a really wide and fast prime to my arsenal; as for the long zooms the choice is much bigger. But I would appreciate your opinion before any other investment...

Piotr

[Dave Sperling]

I didn't notice it in this thread, but I'm assuming you also have the 'standard' (non-speed-booster) adapter?
Obviously that provides you with a larger range of focal lengths by merely changing the adapter (though you obviously aren't picking up the additional exposure with the normal adapter.)

I'd recommend the older 80-200 Canon 2.8, or if you feel like spending a lot the new 70-200 2.8. The fast aperture allows you to throw the background way out of focus, and these are wonderful for close-up interviews. Highly recommend the 2.8 as opposed to the 4.0 version!

[Piotr Wozniacki]

No Dave - I never bought another adapter, after all. But I think I'm covered with my current 2 lenses and their focal ranges; perhaps some nice and fast primes in the future...

Piotr