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Flare
Flare is a serious issue with the 14/2.8L II, more so than with many modern prime lenses. That is almost certainly due in part to the design, which uses fourteen elements in eleven groups, an unusually large number for a prime (fixed focal length) lens. More elements allows more correction for distortion, coma, etc, but flare is one undesirable result.
On less than full-frame cameras, flare is especially problematic because the sun might actually be in the frame (it’s a very wide lens), yet not be seen in the frame. Even if the sun (or other bright point source) is not in the frame, bright light striking any part of the front element is captured and turned into veiling flare or internal reflections. Which begs the question—
Why no lens shade for smaller sensors?
Canon makes sensors that are full-frame, 1.3X crop, and 1.6X crop. The 14/2.8L II ought to be shipped with additional lens shades that would clip onto the built-in shade. At the least, Canon could offer such shades as an option, since users of sub-full-frame cameras will look to the 14/2.8L II as a very interesting true wide-angle option.
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Diglloyd DAP is DSLR-oriented, but also contains workflow and other topics. Much of the focus is on Canon and Nikon but also Pentax and Pentax medium format.
Special emphasis is placed on lens evaluation, focusing on Canon and Nikon and Sigma lenses, but with a few others like Rokinon/Samyang.
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- Aperture series from wide open through stopped down, showing the full range of lens performance and bokeh.
- Optical quality analysis of field curvature, focus shift, sharpness, flare, distortion, and performance in the field.
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EOS 1D Mark III handheld, 1/40 @ f/11, ISO 200