| Year | 1984 |
| Lens Groups | 11 |
| Lens Element | 11 |
| Aperature Blades | 6 |
| Minimum Aperture | f/22 |
| Closest Focusing | 0.5 m |
| Max. Magnifcation | 1:12 (0.083x) |
| Filter Size | 72 mm |
| Diameter x Length | 76.5 x 84.2 mm |
| Weight | 470 gr (1.04 lb) |
| Hood | BW-72 |
For an "L", this lens is a great versatile, modest speed optic that will provide great wide angle Landscapes and interiors. It is sharp even wide open but with a bit of visible vignetting but stopped down it becomes less noticeable. 98% of the time, this lens is going to be stopped down to at least F5.6+ anyway. Expect very little bokeh and less than ideal close-ups as this lens minimum focusing distance isn't the greatest. Due to it's odd numbered 5 bladed aperture, sunstars are nice 10 point sunstars unlike the ugly 6 bladed sunstars of the older 24-35L. Distortion is pretty much unavoidable in wide zoom lenses so this one is no surprise. The aspherical lens does help with controlling the amount of barrel and pincushion distortion but it can all go away with a click of button if using on digital mirrorless. Chromatic aberrations are also present. Don't expect prime levels of correction overall but for a zoom, it's not that bad.
Some copies of this lens has seem to get used quite a bit and so the zoom bushings can get worn out over time. The front barrel and zoom ring can develop a rough or loose resistance so look for a copy that doesn't rattle as this is a good sign of the plastic bushings still intact. If it's shaken and something's really loose, then the bushings will have to be replaced. If you don't, the front group will not align allowing proper focus and the lens image quality will be very soft and useless.
For an "L" this one is pricey and it's worth depends on the lens condition ultimately.
This is a surprisingly great zoom for its price.
The 20-35 is pretty fast considering it's age. 3.5 is only almost half a stop slower than 2.8 and challenges the 20 2.8 for sharpness. It also covers a pretty large range from the longer Ultra Wide Angle at 20mms to the longest wide at 35mm. It is also quite an affordable L lens for those who care about the red ring. Expect it somewhere between 350-450 buy it now or starting bid.
It does have noticeable distortion below 24mm, even in practical use. Wall-ceiling edges can have a noticeable moustache curve near the top and bottom.
This is a great L Zoom that is on par with the 80-200 F4L and greatly compliments it.
This is an excellent lens -- well worth what it costs these days. I use it on a Sony A7, where it shines. I use it mostly when I need a 20mm lens, but it's handy to have the other wide angle choices. I have not compared it directly to the Canon FDn 20mm prime, but people who have usually say the Canon FDn 20-35mm f/3.5 L is better; I can believe it.rnrnThe lens is compact, sturdy, and well balanced on the camera. The lens hood is very shallow (which it has to be). rnrnAt 20mm it suffers from a noticeable "moustache" distortion, which eases up at 24mm through 35mm. Correcting for this distortion on film may well be impossible. However, I created some custom profiles in Lightroom 5, and they work great. rnrnIf you need something wider on a full frame digital camera, I highly recommend this lens.
Excellent manual wide angle lens. Gives very detailed images. rnFlare can be a problem. Distortion and CA can be corrected in software. rnParticularly useful for landscape shooters.
The best supper wide L zoom made. A1 IQ and handling. never a problem!
This lens was part of my travel kit, great for wide angle and ultra wide angle shooting. The colors produced by this lens were great, but found CA at the wider focal lengths, infinity focus was off and images were not sharp until F8, but not a problem as I normally used this lens for landscape at shot at F11.
This lens was expensive when I bought it seven years ago. € 1300 in a local photo shop.
I took it out to get a look through it, and the viewfinder image was so rich in colour and contrasty that I bought the lens without a second thought.
This is one of my absolute favourite lenses and I always take it with me when I travel. The 20 - 35 mm range may not seem much, but in fact it's nice.
On a zoom you don't get hyperfocal setting marks. I looked them up on a DOF calculator and memorized them.
The closest setting of this lens is 60 cm, and on a 20mm prime it is about 30cm. This is a drawback, as I like to do wide angle close ups. However, at F22 the DOF set at 60 cm is 30cm from the back of the camera to infinity.
Before this lens I had an FD 20mm F2.8. At night, I had a lot of ghost images (flare). This zoom seems to have no flare at all.
Dirk Dom.