Advice on a wide lens for the EOS-M

[ricardopt]

Hi everyone!

I need some advice on some wide lens for my eos-m, i wanted to try the 2.5k mode but a wide lens is needed since it crops the image, i have 2 lens in mind, the CANON EF-M 15-45mm with IS and the 7artisans 12mm EF-M, Zeek has said good things about the 7artisans lens in his videos but i managed to find teh CANON EF-M 15-45mm with image stabilization in 2nd hand for half the price, from what i see online the 7artisans has a sharper image but no stabilization, the 15-45mm has IS although not as smooth as OIS. Whenever i try to use 2.5k mode (even in 1080prewire) i see a lot of micro jitters that warp stabilizer most of times cant handle, it kind of stabilizes it but looks like the video has been split into layers and those some layers kind of move while other parts dont...its hard to explay but those micro jitters are a pain and prevent me to use the EOS-M more often as i get frustrated.

On one hand the 7 artisans looks good but no IS and the 15-45 has IS but the sharpness/image quality is not as good at the 7artisans.

Can anyone give me some advice? Does anyone have the 15-45 efm lens and can comment on its quality?
Thanks.

[Danne]

Samyang 12mm f2 is good and low priced.

[ricardopt]

Hi Danne, thanks for the advice, the Samyang 12mm is too expensive here in Europe between 250 and 300 euros new and 2nd hand, the 7artisans is 150 new, the 15-45mm is between 70 and 130 euros 2nd hand, at the moment with the pandemic and lay-offs my budget can only go up to 150 maximum.

Thanks

[Luther]

+1 for Rokinon/Samyang.
If I had the money I would get the 24 mm f/1.4 with a Viltrox speedbooster.

[ZEEK]

The 15-45mm sucked the last time I had it. Would never touch it again. I remember using it and feeling like that lens was the worst in my entire kit.

With 2.5K, I love using the Canon 10-18mm and 18-135mm. 4 Stops of Stabilisation, no issues, except low light. But during the day they're absolutely fine. 7Artisans 12mm f2.8 is my favourite and don't really need the IS on that one.

Other options could be Sigma or Tamron 17-50mm F2.8 OS/VC.

[whitelight]

Thumbs up for the Canon 10-18

[sm105]

It might be a good time to revive the conversation about c-mount lenses. There are some older threads on the topic, but there isn't much info on which lenses are (1) reasonably sharp, (2) compatible without modification, and (3) wide enough to use in 2.5k crop mode. If the lens is wide enough, the lack of IS will be less of an issue.

Otherwise, I'd recommend a Tokina 11-16 f2.8 (occasionally found used for around $200) with a speedbooster. This combo is heavy, but the higher inertia should help with handheld stability.