Okay, enough detailing about the 20mm lens' specifications and its abilities. Now is the time to know how well it performs in the field. Since it is a 20mm focal length Super wide-angle lens, most of its frequently photographed subject matters comprise landscapes and nature as well as large forms of still-life objects where narrower angle viewpoints are not wide enough to include all of them within the confines of the standard 24 x 36mm film frame. Trees from a garden Close-up of bamboo plants     Still-life art form Another design of still-life The above are examples of what the EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Super wide-angle lens is capable of capturing when you let your imagination takes centerstage. Of course, for the close-up shot of the bamboos, I could have gone in even closer to take advantage of its 0.25m focusing distance but being a Super wide-angle lens, it was much better to show some sign of wider view which it was capable of. Anyway, the bamboos' distance from the lens was just a mere 0.3m away. As for the two still-life photos, if they were to be photographed with either a 24mm or 28mm lens, I would have to go back further in order to include most of the scenes recorded here rather than being two feet away. Perspective distortion is one of the benefits of any Super wide-angle and wide-angle lenses and the EF 20mm f/2.8 USM is no exception; in this aspect, it is about exaggerating it altogether, which result in the foreground subject to be larger than those in the background. These four photos below show the amount of exaggerated perspective distortion that are used creatively with the EF 20mm f/2.8 USM Super wide-angle lens. Foreground plant is larger than the rest Lady at right is larger than anyone else     Foreground objects look larger than building The same objective been produced here Well, is the EF 20mm f/2.8 USM lens a better investment than any of the three EF zoom lenses that incorporate the same focal length within their zooming range? If your photography is confined to strictly landscapes and nature, including wide-angle viewpoint of close-ups, it may be worthwhile to consider buying this lens. If your specialty is either news feature or travel photography, I will recommend users to go for any of the three EF zoom lenses. Text and photos by Philip Chong. Copyright 2000 by Canon Marketing (M) Sdn Bhd << Back to Main . 1 . 2 . 3 .