Canon EF 20mm/2.8 performance vs EF 20-35f/2.8

[akdwivedi]

Hi

I would like to know if the performance of the EF20-25mm f/2.8 is as good as 20mm f/2.8 prime at 20mm wide open..

the basic reason for my interest in this lens is the fact that I am looking at f/2.8 lens and the 16-35 is very pricy..

the 20-35mm is available at a very attractive second hand prices.

regards
Andy

[Stoned]

Originally Posted by akdwivedi Hi I would like to know if the performance of the EF20-25mm f/2.8 is as good as 20mm f/2.8 prime at 20mm wide open.. the basic reason for my interest in this lens is the fact that I am looking at f/2.8 lens and the 16-35 is very pricy.. the 20-35mm is available at a very attractive second hand prices. regards Andy

You're referring to the old 20-35L i assume? IMO, the output is better than the 20/2.8 prime in terms of contrast and colour, and similar to the 20/2.8 in terms of sharpness wide open. Do note I may have tried a bad copy of the prime and a good copy of the 20-35L; I have only done this comparison once.

You might want to try the Sigma 20/1.8 as well; I've been through 2 copies of this lens and both have not failed to impress me with it's optics, which are better than the original 20/2.8 from Canon. The only downside to this lens is the bulk and 82mm filter thread.

[BraveHart]

I think stoned got it pretty spot on, having owned both the 20/2.8 and 20-35/2.8L together before as well. However I still kept the 20/2.8 over the 20-35/2.8 (sold off) mainly due to shooting style and duplication of focal lengths.

[leonsoh19]

err... i think he is refering to the 20-35mm non L.

[spartacus.ret]

Originally Posted by leonsoh19 err... i think he is refering to the 20-35mm non L.

the non-L 20-35mm is a f/3.5-4.5, so no way.

[calebk]

Have used the 20-35L before, but it was a slightly fogger version, so I can't comment on performance. AF is fast (partially because it's so wide) and it handles well.

[szekiat]

i used the 20-35L for a very long time before switching to the 16-35 when i moved from 1.3x to 1.6x body. The way i see it, the distortion control on the 20-35 is much better than the 16-35 from the range where they overlap. Compared to the 20mm prime which i also had for a while, i'd pick the 20-35L all the time as it is every bit as good and gives more flexibility. Sharpness and contrast is not an issue at all, even at 2.8