So with Christmas and the new year just around the corner, I was thinking about some of the new gear that Im either hoping for or possibly looking at getting within the new year.
There are only a couple of things that im looking at for myself …
1. Canon 5D Mark II
Yeah i know the 5D Mark III is out but I honestly would just like to have a full frame camera, and the 5D Mark II seems to be selling for a fairly reasonable price. I would like to try the 6D as well just to see which one would fit my needs better.
2. 70-200mm F/2.8
I Currently have a Canon 70-200mm F/4.0 but would like a 2.8 lens. Have been looking at both the Canon and the Sigma lenses and because of price the Sigma has definitely sparked my interest.
3. Carbon Fiber Tripod
This one is hopefully to be ordered very soon. Not sure which one I will buy but im definitely on the lookout. Just want a nice light tripod for travel.
4. PacSafe
With more and more stuff going into my camera bag I would like the actual bag to be safe and I really like the idea of the PacSafe. Hopefully this will be something that I also pick up fairly soon as I will be doing some travel in the coming months. Looks like a great way to secure the camera bag that you already own.
So recently I have been really looking at wide angle lenses. And Im on a budget, so yes there are some really nice wides on the market. I was really interested in the Tokina 12-24 or their 11-16 but at this point in time I really didn’t have the 6-800 dollars to buy one of these lenses. And honestly I would probably use it more for video then I would for photo. As I can always use a program like photoshop or many other stitching programs to give me extreme wide if I really need that. But you just can’t do that with video.
So what do I do…
So im searching around on good ole Ebay and come across this Zeikos .45x 72mm lens thats less then $40 dollars with taxes and shipping. Now this has sparked my curiosity. I do a bit of searching on the net and really can’t find much in regards to this little lens. There are some reviews for the smaller ring diameter (37mm) but not for the 72mm. But for 40 bucks Im willing to take a chance.
So about 3 days pass and it arrives at my door.
So i grab my T2i, equip it with the Sigma lens and mount this add on lens to it.
So is this a direct substitute for a true wide angle lens. No way, but for the price I really can’t complain. There is a fair bit of lens distortion on the edges which is to be expected as well as a fair bit of vignetting when shooting at full wide. But there is always cropping so not to worried about that.
Here is a shot without the lens …
Here is a shot with …
Here is a second example …
Without lens …
With lens …
So you can definitely see the vignetting and a bit of distortion around the edges, but again I can’t stress. This is a sub $40 lens. So Im fairly pleased.
Now the lens actually consists of two pieces. The wide portion of the lens which actually screws into a macro section. If you put just the macro section on your lens you can get sooo close to your subject while still being able to focus. And for some this may be a fantastic entry into the whole macro photography world. Im definitely going to try this later on this year. Again here are some quick examples.
and another …
So would i buy this little lens again? Without question. For the money I don’t think you can grab a better little lens. Now if money wasn’t a concern then I would probably look at something like the Tokina 11-16mm.
Ive also done a small video review below. Which will show some video clips as well. Since video is at a different aspect ratio there is less vignetting, which is always good.
Anyways keep watching, leave a comment, subscribe or just do what you do.
