Product Description

20mm wide angle lens for Canon cameras

Product Details

• Brand: Canon
• Model: 2509A003
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .25 pounds

Features

• EF mount; wide-angle lens
• Floating system; inner focusing; full-time manual focus
• 20mm focal length
• f/2.8 maximum aperture
• Ring-type UltraSonic Motor (USM)

Amazon.com Product Description
Wide-angle lenses let you capture more of the image by broadening the angle of view and increasing the depth of field, thereby bringing more of the area into focus. The lenses also provide a unique perspective by expanding the apparent distance between the foreground and the background. This Canon 20mm f/2.8 is no exception, with such additional features as a floating rear focusing system with an Ultra Sonic Motor (USM), a 0.8-foot close focusing distance, and a 94-degree diagonal angle of view. As with all Canon lenses, the 20mm lens carries a one-year warranty.

Specifications

• Focal length: 20mm
• Maximum aperture: f/2.8
• Lens construction: 11 elements in 9 groups
• Angle of view: 94 degrees
• Focus adjustment: Rear focusing system with USM
• Close focusing distance: 0.8 feet
• Filter size: 72mm
• Corresponding mounts: Canon
• Dimensions: 3.1 inches in diameter and 2.8 inches long
• Weight: 14.3 ounces
• Warranty: 1 year

From the Manufacturer
Ultra-wide-angle lens for serious applications. Easy to hold and carry at 14.3 oz. (405g). Floating rear focusing system. Sharp images are obtained at all subject distances.

The optical performance, fast f/2.8 speed and ultra-wide-angle coverage make this a great choice for many applications, like interiors, scenics, travel and photojournalism. It uses a "floating" optical system for excellent sharpness even at its minimum focusing distance of under 10 inches (0.25m), and with a ring-type USM and full-time manual focusing capability, offers the speed and handling pros expect.

Wide and Fast
If you need an ultra-wide angle and a large aperture, one of the following lenses will fit the bill. Ultra-wide-angle lenses can capture scenes beyond your natural field of vision. The EF 15mm f/2.8 Fisheye, the widest of them all, has a 180° angle of view. For more normal-looking wide-angle shots, there are longer wide-angle lenses up to 35mm with the maximum aperture you need.

Customer Reviews

could be sharper on full-frame
I've used this lens both on 1.6x crop (Digital Rebel XT) and full frame (5D and EOS 3) cameras.

On the 1.6x crop, the 20mm focal length looks like 32mm. I personally find that to be a wonderful focal length for general purpose use, and the f2.8 is acceptably fast for some indoor / low-light situations.

On full-frame, the lens is amazingly wide, and can be challenging to frame an interesting picture. Nevertheless, sometimes you need the lens to be that wide, so it's great to have. On the downside, the lens loses sharpness toward the edges, and is more evident on full-frame cameras than on 1.6 crop cameras.

This lack of sharpness is not always a big deal, as the edges of a photo are usually not the focal point.

I'm overall happy with it, and when I want wide, I usually grab my 20mm over my 17-40mm zoom.

It's better than it's made out to be!
If there is one thing in this universe that is more rare than gold, it is a positive review of this particular lens. Now I don't know if I just got lucky and got a good sample. But this has been a GREAT lens for me. Sharpness is actually REALLY good. Now one of the BIG complaints of this lens is poor edge sharpness. But I have not found this to be a severe problem - especially when stopped down somewhat. And, since a lens of this focal length is more likely to be used for scenics or arcitectural use than action shots, this isn't the end of the world.

But there is more going for this lens than sharpness. Distortions are VERY low for a lens of this focal length. You are NOT going to get anything nearly as good from a zoom. Also, color saturation and contrast are EXCELLENT - FAR better than, say, an EF-S 17-85mm lens. Colors REALLY come alive with this lens compared to most zooms. And chromatic aberrations are all but non-existant.

Construction also seems to be solid on my lens. The materials seem to be of good quality. The focus ring doesn't wobble much. And nothing external actually extends during focusing. This last fact is a REAL plus in outdoor environments, since an extending element creates low pressure in the lens (which can suck in dusty air).

I really have only two complaints about this lens. One it the price, which is somewhat on the high side. I personally got mine used for less. But $400+ is kind of alot to pay for a consumer grade lens. On the other hand, price is maybe not too bad, given the good overall quality of this lens. My other complaint is vignetting at large apertures. Simply put, vignetting is VERY noticeable at f/2.8 - even on an APS-C camera. I can only imagine how it might look on a full-frame camera. In fact, the vignetting makes this lens virtually unusable at f/2.8 in many situations. Of course, this gets better when you stop the lens down. At f/4, vignetting is no longer a problem. But the fact that f/2.8 is not nearly as usable as it could be is somewhat of a downer.

Of course, much like the edge sharpness issue, this is not the end of the world. And at the end of the day, you can still take some REALLY good pictures with this lens.

Not recommended
The lens is okay on a 1.6 crop factor digital camera, but it isn't particularly wide-angle then (32mm field of view). I hear that it is okay on a film camera, but I have no experience. On a full-frame digital camera, it stinks....Digital cameras can be affected by the angle a lens causes light to hit the sensor, and it seems to make a difference here. The lens produces smudged, blurry images on my full-frame camera. It is okay on my Rebel XTi, but not wide enough to be impressive. It stinks on my 1Ds.

Build quality is okay, but nothing special. If you buy this despite my recommendation, spend a bit of money to get the lens hood (which doesn't come with the lens). It will help keep glare off the front element.

If you can afford it, buy one of the wide-angle L zooms instead of this lens. If you can't afford those, get a Sigma zoom (preferably the 12-24, but alternately the 15-30) instead of this lens.