Canon 10-22mm Zoom

No, this isn’t an accessory for my G1X but for my 7D.  Having passed on both the EOS-M and G15, I felt OK about asking Santa for the Canon 10-22mm zoom.

Above is a scene that I routinely photograph using my latest toy equipment.  The 10-22mm was set for the widest angle, 10mm (16mm equivalent on the 7D sensor).  Wow!  That’s wide! 

In comparison, the 15-85mm zoom (my usual lens with the 7D) at 15mm seems more than a bit zoomed-in (above).

At 22mm, the above view is as tight as the 10-22mm will go.

I tried the above odd combination of wide angle and close-up with the front of the lens about 8 inches from the rose.

All shots taken from the in-camera JPEG using the “Faithful” color setting and not cropped but down-rezzed.

I walked around a bit and grabbed more shots while trying to get a feeling for the lens.  Of course, care must be taken to avoid severe perspective angles but the lens itself does not appear subject to noticeable distortion.  I think I’ll like the 10-22mm zoom.

G1X: Wide Angle Conversion Lens

This is the G1X with the Canon WC-DC58B wide angle lens from with my G9 and used with my G12.  It is connected (almost) with the Lensmate G1X filter adapter.  That is, this is the way the combination would look if the G1X filter adapter (either the Canon or Lensmate version) actually connected the camera and conversion lens.  Those adapters will not make that connection.

Here’s the Lensmate adapter on top of the WC-DC58B.  Notice that the threads on the lens are still showing.  The adapter is not deep enough to accept the threads on the lens.

Here’s a closer view.  Neither the Lensmate nor the Canon filter adapter is intended to be used with the WC-DC58B wide angle conversion lens.  Well, neither was the G12 but the combination could be made to work.  If the WC-DC58B were optically matched to the G1X then there would be an incentive to make an adapter for connecting them.  For testing the optics, I used a crude but effective temporary connector:  my hand.  The combination kind of looked OK on the G1X display so I proceeded to my official wide angle test site.

 

I’ve used this location for several types of comparisons, including the wide angle adaptor on the G12 and G9.  The image above is from the G1X at its maximum wide angle setting of 28mme.  The G1X was mounted on a tripod so I simply held the WC-DC58B wide angle conversion lens up to it. 

It works!  Or does it?  Well, almost but not quite.  Perhaps a better “adapter” could eliminate the vignette.  I probably could have eliminated the lens flare with a slightly different angle, lens hood or strategically placed hat.  Canon could revise the G1X firmware to correct the distortion.  So the potential exists for a new adapter and revised lens but would I buy them?

For starters, I’m not about to hang a heavy conversion lens – wide angle or telephoto – off the end of the G1X zoom lens.  No sir, not me.  Now, if someone were to make a rigid tube type lens adapter I would consider it but, so far, that product is not available and, evidently, must be a difficult one to design.

G12: Going Wide

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Whereas my G9 was obviously designed for both wide angle and telephoto add-on converter lenses, the G12 apparently is not designed for wide angle converter lenses.  I say this simply because the G9 menu included a setting for wide angle converter but the G12 menu does not.  In addition, the G12 instruction manual includes the Canon TC-DC58D telephoto converter but not the wide angle converter and Canon does not list wide angle converters as accessories for the G12.

On the other hand, Canon does not say "Don't never, ever use a wide angle converter lens with the G12!" and I happen to already have the Canon wide angle converter lens WC-DC58B which is a 0.75x converter.  When used with my G9, the WC-DC58B produced a focal length of 26mm (in comparison to full frame 35mm film cameras).  With the G12, the same converter lens would produce a focal length of 21mm -- if it worked.

Of course, the WC-DC58B does work with the G12.  As shown in the above photo, the 21mme view is quite wider than the natural 28mme of the G12.   The inside view is from previous photos of the ski lake and the wider view is with the 21mme attached.  (Photo made by superimposing pictures and drawing an outline around the 28mme picture.)  The trick to getting the wide angle converter to work is proper mounting on the camera.

Vignetting can be a problem in mounting wide angle converters to the G12.  To mount auxiliary lenses and filters to my G12, I use the Lensmate adapter system.  In the Lensmate system, the "A" adapter is shorter than simple one piece adapters but is long enough to mount the WC-DC58B wide angle converter lens and also has the proper 58mm threads.  To get the above photo, I carefully screwed the converter lens into the adapter while continuously chanting "DO NOT ZOOM!  DO NOT ZOOM!".  It seems to me that this combination works.

To test the reports of vignetting, I next tried the WC-DC58B on the full Lensmate adapter (A+B components).  Yes, vignetting is a problem because the converter lens is not close to the camera lens.  With a little zooming, the vignetting disappears but so does the advantage of the wide angle. 

Although I've read reports of difficulty in focusing the G12 when the wide angle lens is attached, I've not found focusing to be a problem -- perhaps because I use the small Flexizone frame with my G12 just as I used it with the G9.  Of course, depth of field is really deep at 21mme!

On the other hand, reports of focus problems might actually be a result of reduced image quality.   The convenience and price is great but, just as in the days of film, these simple screw-on converters have adverse effects on image quality.

My conclusion is that I'll occasionally use the WC-DC58B with the Lensmate "A" adapter on my G12  (DO NOT ZOOM!) for convenience but my preference is to stitch multiple images when the goal is an enlarged print. 
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G9: Wide Angle Converter Outdoors

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Previously, I showed the effects of using the Canon wide angle converter lens with my G9 indoors in a small room. Here’s a outdoor shot:






Without the wide angle converter, the scene looks like this:

Both shots were taken from a tripod with the G9 set for ISO 80 and manual exposure of 1/125 second at f4.5. Focus distance was manually set at infinity. These images are from the in-camera JPEG and downsized for display.

The purpose of this post was intended to be a comparison of the angle of view but, once again, that bright white fence is difficult to capture. Pixel peeping a bit, the fence is worse with the wide angle conversion lens as shown below.

The comparison above is the 1” x 1” section that would be printed at 300 dpi. That is, each crop contains 300 pixels and is shown here at 100% scale.

In fairness, I have to admit that every picture I’ve taken of that white fence using my G9 on a bright day shows chromatic aberration. Obviously, the wide angle converter makes the result even worse.

Although glad to have it, I haven’t used the wide angle converter as much as I thought but that doesn’t stop me from wanting an easily accessible 24mme lens.

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G9: Wide Angle Converter Indoors

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In a previous post I showed my Canon wide angle conversion lens for my G9. Yes, it's an awkward thing but, given that I have the G9, can be useful both indoors and outdoors. The picture below is the widest angle view of a small bedroom that can be captured with the normal G9 lens (35mme).

The next view is with the camera (tripod mounted) in the exact same position but with the wide angle converter attached to yield a 26mm equivalent lens.

At first, the increased angle of view is not so impressive; however, it is significant. Note that the 26mme of the G9+converter is slightly wider than the 28mme of the G10/G11.

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G11 Negative Thoughts

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When I first saw the specifications and features for the G11, I was disappointed. I’d already predicted the specs and features for the G11 and my prediction was substantially wrong. After a few days, I became more interested in the G11 and, in the previous post, took a positive attitude about the G11. In this post, I get to vent my frustrations and unfulfilled wishes for the G11.

No CMOS! I had predicted a CMOS sensor for the G11 not because of my expertise in sensor design but because of my faith in Canon and because Canon has built a manufacturing plant specifically for compact camera CMOS sensors. Canon uses CMOS sensors in all its DSLR cameras and I wanted their demonstrated expertise to be applied to the G11. Now I cynically take the opposite view: Canon fully expected to make a high quality, low noise CMOS sensor for the G11 but, in fact, could not do so. As a result, Canon had to hurriedly choose a CCD sensor from an outside source (widely believed to be Sony) and to accept the compromised performance of that sensor in their new G11 camera. (Cowardly Disclaimer: This is my own, personal conclusion and viewpoint. I have no data or information whatsoever to support my belief.)

No large sensor! Along with the CMOS sensor, I also predicted a slightly larger sensor for the G11. Now I think that Canon probably planned to use the same size sensor, albeit with fewer pixels than the G10, all along. I can understand their (assumed by me) reasoning but the G10/11 is increasingly being compared to its Micro Four Thirds (MFT) competitors and MFT cameras have larger sensors than do the Canon G series cameras. I did not expect an MFT size sensor for the G11 but fully expected one that could be advertised as “larger” -- meaning in comparison to the G10.

No HD video! This is the obvious indicator of the compromised sensor. Everyone expected HD video in the G11. Granted, not all users want video but there is an obvious convergence of still and motion photography underway in the digital cameras. The G11 is even being promoted by Canon as a photojournalist’s camera. Come on! The lack of HD video will probably be the first item on anyone’s list of surprises about the G11.

No voice recorder! Apparently this feature, available on my G9, has been omitted from the G11. No voice recorder in a photojournalist’s camera?

No superwide! The 28mme focal length is a reasonable choice for the wide end of the zoom but where is the optional conversion lens? The G11 lens is (apparently) the same as the G10 lens and Canon has not offered a wide angle conversion lens for the G10.

There, now I feel better – and my list of complaints is not as long or as serious as I thought it would be.
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G9: Wide Angle Converter Lens

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The Canon G9 is not a wide angle camera. The wide end of its zoom lens has a 7.4mm focal length; this provides the equivalent view of a 35mm lens with traditional 35mm film cameras. At the same time, it must be said that, in one way, a 35mm focal length lens was indeed considered “wide angle” for 35mm cameras back in the day when 50mm was considered “normal”. For many photographers, the 35mm focal length lens was a favorite.

Even so, in a small room the G9 photographer might be wishing for a wider wide angle (shorter focal length) lens. Outdoors, a landscape photographer might also prefer a short focal length lens. Canon got around this short coming by offering an auxiliary wide angle lens for the Powershot G series cameras. The auxiliary wide angle lens attaches to the Conversion Lens Adapter. There is also a telephoto auxiliary lens. Until recently, I’ve not had, used or even seen these auxiliary lenses but I now have the wide angle lens, WC-DC58B.

As can be seen, the WC-DC58B is a large lens. This one is attached to a Lensmate adapter but, of course, it also fits the Canon adapter. The lens is threaded the same as conventional 58mm filters for attaching to the camera; however, the auxiliary lens does not include threads for attaching filters. The auxiliary lens almost completely blocks the viewfinder and the assembled camera+auxiliary lens is an awkward package; however, it does work. The lens is marked ".75X" which means that, when attached, the G9 focal length should be multiplied by .75. Therefore, the widest focal length on the G9 becomes 5.6mm (26mm equivalent for 35mm cameras). The WC-DC58B also seems to work on my old Canon G3. (Please note that the G10 includes a wider angle zoom lens and the WC-DC58B and similar products may not work very well.)

I’ve actually already reported on the WC-DC58B in a previous post but still haven’t used it very much. More later.


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