# Amateur Photographer Review of the EF 11-24 f/4



## mackguyver (Mar 19, 2015)

This one has measurements:
http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/reviews/lenses/canon-ef-11-24mm-f4l-usm-review


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## Eldar (Mar 19, 2015)

it is still not available here, so we´re still waiting ...


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## mackguyver (Mar 19, 2015)

Eldar said:


> it is still not available here, so we´re still waiting ...


Sorry to hear that - I'm sure they're on the way. For an expensive lens, it's surprising how quickly they are selling. I'm hoping to get out with mine again tonight but it looks like it may rain.


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 19, 2015)

Was just heading to bed and then I remembered about the northern lights and although they were very modest I did get a few shots. Unfortunately, my tripod was in my "observatory" and I in sock feet and it was around 0 C. So I just sat the camera on my planter with a banana under the lens! 

Take it for what it is, a goofing off shot. :-[

Now, what's up with all the hot pixels!! What can I do? Is this normal for a 2 year old camera and 25k shots?

Jack

Jack


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## Sporgon (Mar 19, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> Was just heading to bed and then I remembered about the northern lights and although they were very modest I did get a few shots. Unfortunately, my tripod was in my "observatory" and I in sock feet and it was around 0 C. So I just sat the camera on my planter with a banana under the lens!
> 
> Take it for what it is, a goofing off shot. :-[
> 
> ...



That's a lovely picture. Hot pixels are quite normal and seen in this type of shot. You can either PP them out or pretend that you are a DR Drone and take pictures with your lens cap on. Or with body cap on go to 'manual sensor clean and leave it on for about 30 seconds. Personally I don't bother.


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## mackguyver (Mar 19, 2015)

Jack, for a goofing off shot (love the creative banana use), that turned out pretty well! I'd love to see the aurora someday but needless to say my current latitude is too far south and way too humid even if it wasn't. There are some definite advantages to your northern locale!

Also, DxO automatically removes hot pixels...but I wouldn't buy it just for that


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 19, 2015)

Sporgon, do I shoot a 30 sec exposure with the cap on and then use the dust delete in DPP or whatever it's called. I'm quite unfamiliar with this - any reference come to mind?

Ian, I think you'd quickly forget about auroras, especially if you were experiencing -30 C, which is when they tend to be best!

Picture the 11-24 at Haida Gwaii based on this never ending sample of shots: 

https://www.facebook.com/haidagwaiitourism?sk=photos_stream

Jack


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## mackguyver (Mar 19, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> Sporgon, do I shoot a 30 sec exposure with the cap on and then use the dust delete in DPP or whatever it's called. I'm quite unfamiliar with this - any reference come to mind?
> 
> Ian, I think you'd quickly forget about auroras, especially if you were experiencing -30 C, which is when they tend to be best!
> 
> ...


That sounds pretty cold! I grew up in Boston, but used to travel to Milwaukee and Minneapolis. I remember the Milwaukee people telling me that the Minnesota people were crazy to live there. I laughed it off considering their reputation as a cold place. Then I spent a couple of weeks there in January and February including some trips to International Falls. Now I have a better idea what real cold is like!

Also, you are going to get a million killer shots on your trip!


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## AcutancePhotography (Mar 19, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> So I just sat the camera on my planter with a banana under the lens!



Something you don't normally expect to read on photography blog. ;D


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 19, 2015)

WELL, you can sit the 11-24 @ 11 anywhere and know you'll at least get something of what's out there. I guess I'm the equivalent of a heretic in the world of photography.  

Of course the banana wasn't my first choice, it just happened to be sitting near by awaiting breakfast in the morning. Like I said before, I read CR for the humour or is it humor.

Jack


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## Sporgon (Mar 20, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> Sporgon, do I shoot a 30 sec exposure with the cap on and then use the dust delete in DPP or whatever it's called. I'm quite unfamiliar with this - any reference come to mind?
> Jack



Just take a 30 second or so exposure with your lens cap on, and then publish the resulting picture along with complains about Canon sensor IQ. Or do a 'manual sensor clean' for about 30 seconds with the lens cap on. Should get rid of most of the hot pixels.


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 20, 2015)

Sporgon, thanks, I like the first suggestion the best. Fits my style, although I'm growing much less fond of complaining the more I shoot! Must drive some folk mad when they see others don't want to join in the complaining. 

Jack


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## WorkonSunday (Mar 23, 2015)

hi all, 

more of a general question, any one read any article/reviews that compare the 17mm TSE to 11-24mm ? at full swing the 17mm gives 11mm coverage too, so it will be interesting to see if 11-24mm at 11mm can match the 17mm. 

Cheers,


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## mackguyver (Mar 23, 2015)

WorkonSunday said:


> hi all,
> 
> more of a general question, any one read any article/reviews that compare the 17mm TSE to 11-24mm ? at full swing the 17mm gives 11mm coverage too, so it will be interesting to see if 11-24mm at 11mm can match the 17mm.
> 
> Cheers,


Keith at Northlight did a quick test of this and found the stitched 17mm shots to provide a slightly wider FOV (CTRL-F "10mm" to find it on the page):
http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/cameras/lenses/ef_11-24_f4l.html


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 23, 2015)

mackguyver, thanks for the update. Seeing a ton of photos helps a novice see what seems to work and what doesn't. One thing stands out for me - the number of comments about the weight when many pack around the 70-200 without complaint and this is lighter. The weight doesn't phase me a bit but I sure feel somewhat uneasy about the glass! So far so good.

Jack


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## mb66energy (Mar 23, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> Was just heading to bed and then I remembered about the northern lights and although they were very modest I did get a few shots. Unfortunately, my tripod was in my "observatory" and I in sock feet and it was around 0 C. So I just sat the camera on my planter with a banana under the lens!
> 
> Take it for what it is, a goofing off shot. :-[
> 
> ...



Shure that all thes hot pixels aren't stars? There should also be some colored pixels depending on the defect size.

Do you have noise reduction turned on? There should be some setting which makes a dark frame of e.g. 30 sec after a 30 sec exposure and subtracts the picture. Has been very effective for 5 min exposures with my 40D ...


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 23, 2015)

mb66energy, thanks for that. I'll be trying some of these tricks. Yes there were lots of stars and I didn't think much of it until I noticed "stars" in the side of my garage! 

I'm looking forward to some astro landscape and getting out to where it is really dark but there is just so much to learn!!

Jack


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## StudentOfLight (Mar 23, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> mb66energy, thanks for that. I'll be trying some of these tricks. Yes there were lots of stars and I didn't think much of it until I noticed "stars" in the side of my garage!
> 
> I'm looking forward to some astro landscape and getting out to where it is really dark but there is just so much to learn!!
> 
> Jack


On my 6D it is found under one of the shoot function menus and the setting is called "Long exp. noise reduction". I think by default it is off but you can turn it on or set it to auto. If you take an exposure longer than 1s with the setting active then the camera will automatically take a dark frame of the same duration as the exposure and subtracts any hot pixels. I'm not sure what this setting is called on other bodies or if it is even available on most Canon bodies. I don't seem to recall it on the 60D. Anyway best regards. If I'm only shooting a small number of exposures then its okay, but if I want to work quickly and adjust various things then take test shots I find the waiting to be annoying.


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 23, 2015)

Thanks StudentOfLight, I shoot with the 6D so that's just what I needed to hear.

Jack


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## privatebydesign (Mar 23, 2015)

mackguyver said:


> WorkonSunday said:
> 
> 
> > hi all,
> ...



I think that illustrated the difference in aspect ratio as much as anything. The 17 stitched has a wider horizontal fov but narrower vertical fov than the zoom. The new zoom also seems to have much better projection distortion characteristics in those corners particularly when the subject is closer to the camera.


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## privatebydesign (Mar 23, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> Thanks StudentOfLight, I shoot with the 6D so that's just what I needed to hear.
> 
> Jack



Yes all Canon bodies call it long exposure noise reduction, bare in mind that if you take a 2 minute exposure the camera locks up for two minutes after that while it takes the dark frame. Any exposure over 1 second means the camera will loc up for that same exposure time again after the initial exposure.


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 23, 2015)

Great info, thanks.

Jack


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## WorkonSunday (Mar 24, 2015)

mackguyver said:


> WorkonSunday said:
> 
> 
> > hi all,
> ...


Thanks for the info! back to decision time!!


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 24, 2015)

WorkonSunday said:


> mackguyver said:
> 
> 
> > WorkonSunday said:
> ...



For what it's worth regarding decisions, assuming a purchase would not create serious stresses within the family, I'd go for it. How often in life do you get to have the fun of being first with something this unique and what is $3 - 4K these days, really. There are few purchases I've made of top quality products (usually tools) where I regretted buying high quality. Of course there are caveats such as not being prone to buy on whims, FWIW.

Jack


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## privatebydesign (Mar 24, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> WorkonSunday said:
> 
> 
> > mackguyver said:
> ...



I understand what you are saying Jack, and you know from my history I agree, but I think WorkOnSunday's point was he had to make a choice between the 11-24 or the 17TS-E, and that is a much more difficult decision.

But, if that is the case it isn't too difficult to narrow down priorities. First off, fov, if you need 11mm (actually if you need much more than 14mm or so, get the zoom. If you are shooting subjects where the movements add more than the fov then get the TS-E. So what is WorkOnSunday shooting? If we know that it is very easy to give sound advice on which lens would serve them best.

I have had the 17TS-E for years now and it is a serious workhorse, the shift allows ultra wide angle shots that no other lens does, it also allows effortless and fast stitching that effectively gives you a larger sensor, the 11-24 doesn't. A full understanding of equivalence implies the 17 can give you amazing flexibility and genuine medium format image quality from a two shot shift stitch, but do you need that? The 11-24 has AF, a different aspect ratio from shift stitches and ultimately narrower fov in either horizontal or vertical angles than a 17 shift stitch, but wider diagonal fov out of the box.

These lenses are both superb lenses, how each of us need to use them is the determining factor in which is best for each of us. There are lots of nuances that actual use open up and end output is key to making a choice, one is certainly not 'better' than the other, they are just different.


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 24, 2015)

privatebydesign, sorry I missed the context. Lots of good advice there and yes for me now, the easy part is done, but that's meaningless unless it gets lots of use as a _learning_ tool. I will now be cooling it as far as lenses go.

One of my bad habits is rolling out of bed in a stupor and opening CR! :-[

Jack


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## mb66energy (Mar 25, 2015)

Jack Douglas said:


> mb66energy, thanks for that. I'll be trying some of these tricks. Yes there were lots of stars and I didn't think much of it until I noticed "stars" in the side of my garage!
> 
> I'm looking forward to some astro landscape and getting out to where it is really dark but there is just so much to learn!!
> 
> Jack



Hi Jack, two ideas to check for hot pixels:
(1) Make a 30 sec exp. with a lens cap installed in a dim room with and without dark frame
(2) Make a 30 sec exposure of a night sky with a ~100mm lens: Stars will show as short lines, hot pixels as dots!

Good luck - Michael


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 25, 2015)

Thanks for that. Have a new problem, DPP hung up when I was transferring some files from SDHC to my computer and now CF and SD no longer get recognized in my Win 7 system. Files are still viewable via camera thankfully. DPP seems to have various bugs but this is a first that caused a major problem for me. 

Jack


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 25, 2015)

Full power off solved the problem. Any idea when Canon will have the lens profile for DPP, anyone?

Jack


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## weixing (Mar 25, 2015)

mb66energy said:


> Jack Douglas said:
> 
> 
> > mb66energy, thanks for that. I'll be trying some of these tricks. Yes there were lots of stars and I didn't think much of it until I noticed "stars" in the side of my garage!
> ...


Hi,
IMHO, not a good way... normal noise will show up as dot as well. I usually check by shooting with lens cap on at ISO 100 at the fastest shutter speed... no noise will show up and only dead pixels and ultra sensitive pixels will show up.

Have a nice day.


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## Jack Douglas (Mar 25, 2015)

weixing, thanks, that seems to make sense so I'll do a little more digging to find a resource that deals thoroughly with this. Just haven't had the time so far, not even for more 11-24 shots, and that's pretty bad. To boot I've also hardly used the 1D4 I purchased just prior, or the angle finder or ..... Think I'm stuck in cold Alberta hibernation mode and very inefficient. It was spring last week and then a foot of snow dumped, so it's winter again.

My bird shooting "observatory" has a one way mirror that I look through with the camera mounted left of it and there is a food tray right in front - here's a photo - so I'm going to try for a beak shot of the bluejay inches away at 11mm, although it's like shooting through tinted glass. Should be good for a laugh.

Jack


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## Pixel (Mar 26, 2015)

I could really use a lens profile for this lens from Canon instead of fixing the distortions manually.


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## mackguyver (Mar 26, 2015)

Cool observatory Jack! I see you put it in a nice strategic spot for the woodpeckers as well.



Pixel said:


> I could really use a lens profile for this lens from Canon instead of fixing the distortions manually.


Agreed and having been through the early-lens adopter thing a few times around, it seems to take Adobe, DxO, and even Canon forever to produce a profile. I keep checking EOS Utility to see if they have a profile so I can at least do an in-camera JPEG conversion, but still nothing. The next ACR update is probably 3 months away as well, but hopefully DxO will have something soon. We could build our own ACR profiles (as PrivatebyDesign has done), but it seems somewhat tedious to me for a zoom and the 11mm setting would be difficult.


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## privatebydesign (Mar 26, 2015)

Pixel said:


> I could really use a lens profile for this lens from Canon instead of fixing the distortions manually.



http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5489

It is free too........


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## ERHP (Mar 29, 2015)

Thanks PBD! I waited long enough on several lists and finally found a copy at the local store in San Diego, George's, yesterday. Took my first shots with it this evening and very impressed. Still, much wider aspect than I'm used to having at my disposal and going to be a learning curve to make the most of it.


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