faulknerwn 36 #1 February 25, 2009 Are they any good? I'd like to get a wider-angle lens on my XTI but can't justify the $700 on many of the recommended lenses when my 18-55 works for me well. Want versus need ya know. I saw these - http://cgi.ebay.com/Wide-Angle-Lens-For-Canon-EOS-Rebel-XSI-XTI-XS-450D_W0QQitemZ130289235072QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCamera_Lenses?hash=item130289235072&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50 on ebay, but saw an old thread that said they weren't any good. Opinions? In that thread it also mentioned Zenitar lenses but only in passing. Looking at the Zenitar lenses on ebay, they are considerably cheaper, but don't appear to have autofocus. So would I have to be taking my helmet off to take photos of the landings after using a different focus on freefall? Cuz that would kind of suck... Thoughts? W Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PhreeZone 15 #2 February 25, 2009 The Zenitar lenses do not have autofocus and you have to go manual on the camera settings. If you are not comfortable with manually setting the focus, aperture and shutter then you will want to stay away from the Zentar lenses. Those thread on lenses just distort the photos and run subpar light though mediocre lenses leaving you with a really crappy photo. The chroma-shift on those screw on pieces tends to be pretty bad and then there are all the ugly distortions they create also.With camera gear you get what you pay for. That said you can pick a used Canon 10-22 EF-s up for $500 anymore. Stay away from ebay, that place is a rip off for camera gear. Yesterday is history And tomorrow is a mystery Parachutemanuals.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #3 February 25, 2009 I had a zenitar 16mm for my Canon D30/300D, I was quite happy with it. Manual focussing is not hard with a wideangle lens and for skydiving, so not a problem, most camerapeople I know jump or have jumped MF anyway. And most cameras will handle the exposure themselves, the Nikon D70/D80 which I got later do not which is why I sold my Zenitar to a Canon jumper. Sigma 15mm, Canon 15mm, Nikon 16mm are all better lenses for sure but if you buy the Zenitar straight from Russia you get a good deal and it is a usable lens. If you don't like it you can always sell it without much of a loss ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SStewart 13 #4 February 25, 2009 Hi Wendy, I have one and I have used it on and off for several years. You can take good pictures with this lens but I would not recommend it for freefall. The focus is not that big of deal because you can just set it to infinity. The problem is the F stop is also manual and you can't change that during a jump. If you don't have it set just right the shot will either be too dark or washed out. You really need to know what you are doing and make adjustments to the light, not something you can do when it is strapped to your head. I still use mine for ground shots and fun jumps but I won't use it with paying tandems. If you look around on Ebay you can sometimes find good deals on fully auto wide angle lenses that are better suited for jumping. The best deals are to look at film cameras that have an EF mount. Sometimes these cameras have good lenses on them but sell cheap because the camera body is not digital. I recently picked up a Canon 20mm lens that was on a Canon film camera. I got the whole thing for under $150 which is about what I paid for the Zenitar. The lens alone sells for $500 and up.Onward and Upward! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
faulknerwn 36 #5 February 25, 2009 that's a great idea. How do I know which cameras have a compatible mount? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
billvon 2,405 #6 February 25, 2009 > How do I know which cameras have a compatible mount? If you have an XTi then you take a Canon EF-S lens. An EF lens will fit as well using the usual conversion factors for sensor size. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gadget 0 #7 February 25, 2009 And to dragon2 for that matter. Did you actually opened the link Wendy posted?If you did you would have seen that the lens she is asking about is a screw one piece of sh*t that is not even worth the 39,95 they are asking on ebay. It is NOT about a normal photolens with canonmount. with that said: carry on If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes??? My logbook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #8 February 25, 2009 Any off-brand AF lens made for Canon will work on a XTi, all AF (= EF or EF-S) Canon lenses will work, MF Canon lenses will not work, some off-brand MF lenses for Canon will work some will not so you want to stay clear of MF lenses if you're not 100% sure. ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #9 February 25, 2009 Yeah the screw-on lenses are crappy, plus i'd be worried about the size in skydiving with that one, but their crappy-ness was already covered in another post The rest of the post plus the thread title is about Zenitar lenses, which ARE decent photolenses, are cheap and come with or without a Canon mount ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gadget 0 #10 February 25, 2009 Me bad. it is a few days after Carnaval and all is a little bit fussy yet. If people from Poland are called Poles, why aren't people from Holland called Holes??? My logbook Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dragon2 0 #11 February 25, 2009 Quote Me bad. it is a few days after Carnaval and all is a little bit fussy yet. Yeah I had a interesting helpdesk call today from some people from Limburg, they kinda had the same problem ciel bleu, Saskia Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rhys 0 #12 February 25, 2009 I used to use a zenitar on my film camera before the switch over, i was using a pentax and i could change the shutter speed in freefall if we went through a cloud or similar but really in this day and age an automatic lens is the best. I really like the idea of buying a film camera with the good lens, 'll have ti have a browse. "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, then the world will see peace." - 'Jimi' Hendrix Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skykank 0 #13 February 28, 2009 Hi: I just started to take pictures a month ago and I using the 18-55 mm xti kit lens with a 0.43 wideangle lens, I know that isnt the best call for lens but if at the time you can't spend a lot with quality glass this is a cheap alternative. There s a pic attached that I took last weekend... Blue skies Baby ps- sorry for the english Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverton2 0 #14 February 28, 2009 Just a remark from a simple mechanical/aerospace engineer. Adding a conversion lense to the front of your normal lens ads weight to the front of your camera, due to the additional torque during opening. This will put a significant amount of additional stress on both the lens-body mount and the body-helmet mount during opening. The risk of damaging the camera or lens is higher due to this.Using your droque to gain stability is a bad habid. . . Also in case you jump a sport rig!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skykank 0 #15 February 28, 2009 Thanks for the advice, I use my still camera on the top of my helmet all the way to the back of it, so the body lens and conversion lens have the whole room of the top of the helmet to sitting still, I think this would minimize the strenght in the lens and the body during the opening, since they have the topsurface of the helmet underneath them. What do you think?? Blue skies Baby Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skydiverton2 0 #16 March 1, 2009 Only if you attach the lens to the plate (a velcro strap for example)Using your droque to gain stability is a bad habid. . . Also in case you jump a sport rig!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
