Love it!

I recently purchased the ED AS IF UMC and am very happy with the resolution and contrast of this lens. I haven't done any astro-photography with it yet but I'm certain it will perform well. The great thing about this lens is the price. $285 as apposed to the Canon 14mm at $2000! This is a manual focus lens but at 14 mm there is virtually no focus anyway. Everything is sharp unless you're shooting extreme close-ups. The old style manual aperture ring takes a little getting used to. Your camera controls will not adjust f-stops as with a dedicated electronically controlled lens. Good Luck!

Nice image but looks more like studio light from above with black background.

Surprised nobody has mentioned the focal length rule here. The minimum hand held shutter speed for still subjects should be equal to or greater than the focal length of the lens. Start here, then employ solid holding practices.

You must be in SERVO MODE. Change to ONE SHOT or AI SERVO and locking will be enabled.

I see no need to setup. BBF works with default settings.

Lens hoods won't make much difference unless the sun strikes your lens directly. But some of the best lighting available has the sun back-lighting your subject. So without it you're just limiting your potential for great pictures. I would never go out without one. Also as was stated earlier, they protect your lens from bumps and falls. The darker the front element is, including a polarizer, the greater the potential contrast will be. I don't see a polarizer taking the place of a good lens shade. Because the surface is flat it would seem to be more susceptible to flare than a straight lens without one. As a side note, one of the benefits of prime lenses is the shade is maximized for the specific focal length. Zoom lenses only have shades optimized for the shortest zoom. Otherwise they would cause vignetting as you zoom wide. Keep you shades on, they are worth it!

Thanks for this really eye opening experiment. I tried it myself and got a similar result. But on critical examination of a small object magnified in post I see more noise in the underexposed image. I encourage you to photograph your statue from across the room to see if you get a similar result.

I own both the 5Dlll and the VI. The 5Dlll is excellent for sports although the VI has a slightly faster frame rate. It also seems to have greater dynamic range. Highlights from sports jerseys will hold detail with shadows not going too dark. The 1DXll is insanely fast and extremly rugged but at 6K it's really not worth it for me. If you can get a 5Dlll in the $1500 range, go for it. You won't be sorry.

Kit lenses are usually sold as a package with a DSLR camera. In the old days the kit lens was almost always a straight 50mm. Inexpensive "kit" zooms usually have a rather small variable aperture such as the 18-55 3.5-5.6 you describe. They are plenty sharp in most cases until they get used allot or get dropped. Their plastic components are inexpensive to produce and tend to wear out with rigorous use. Excellent images are possible with any lens though. Give kit lenses light use and they will last many years.

Years ago when I was a Hasselblad user I remember reading that looking through the viewer was equivalent to focusing your eyes at 4 feet. This is without the corrective diopter found on cameras today. Most people (either near or far sighted) can easily focus at 4 feet. When you look through the camera it doesn't matter if you're focused at 1 inch or infinity, your eyes are always looking at a 4 foot equivalent distance. For me the problem is seeing the controls on the camera and reviewing images. Unfortunately, I have to look like the old man I am and wear readers lowered on my nose while I shoot. SUCKS GETTING OLD!

B&H has an incredible deal on a Canon 6D full frame for $999. I'd take it if I were you. However, excellent pictures can be taken with any camera including cropped sensor cameras. In my view as a portrait/wedding photographer the greatest advantage to full frame is getting soft backgrounds (bokeh) with shorter lenses. And getting those results at a closer distance. Landscape photographers like the wider view as well.

Bokeh

Nice! The ladies are so well camouflaged at first I didn't even see them.

Think of the cell phone as the proverbial mouse trap. Build a better one and the world will lead a path to your door. This explains why Apple and Google are two of the biggest companies in America. The cell phone eliminates more jobs every day. Remember when we needed alarm clocks, paper maps, calculators, record players, note books, stop watches, video cameras and yes consumer level still cameras? These multi-use devices are simply amazing. Our lives are all better and more efficient because of them. Technology and innovation will ultimately make the DSLR unnecessary for all but the most critical applications. As a professional I will use the camera that delivers the best image quality at the lowest possible cost. Right now it's the DSLR. Soon it will be mirrorless. And sadly the cell phone will most likely be in my bag (or pocket). Fortunately, SKILL will always be needed. No matter how well auto functions work the human mind and creativity will will always separate the good from the great. So rest assured, the cell phone will never destroy the joy of photography!