Lens Help please

33L

33L

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Lee
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I m stuck at the moment and not sure what to do.

I have been saving for a 70-200 f2.8 IS now since prices have risen and commitments mean i have only £800 in the bank for this so far.

now the problem is that i have an oppertunity for a job which requires a wide angle lens. It is a lens that i wanted to buy after the 70-200 and since it will require several visits to different locations over a 4 week period it makes renting not cost effective.

this job could potentially be a gold mine with future work if done well. I need to think long term here not just for immediate requirements.

I am tossing the idea of buying a 10-22 or 10-20. I really cant afford to be sending forwards and backwards bad lenses and the canon looks promising in that respect but i cant justify the extra cost at this point as it just puts too much of a dent in my savings. Again this means Hong Kong Imports are out as well.

now i have also been thinking about getting the 2 sigma variants of my intended lenses so the 70-200 f/2.8 and the 10-20 which from WHE (not lookes really hard enough elsewhere) is ~ £950


Is the sigma 70-200 a dog compared to the canon. I know IS is lost with the Sigma but until prices settle down again im not sure that i can justify the L lens and either of the UWA lenses.
 
The Sigma 70-200 has been well reviewed by alot of places and generally get's pretty decent feedback on here, seems it's a fraction slower to focus but image quality is excellent I've also no heard of many quality control issues on this lens. The 10-20 is a cracker if you get a good one but seems to be the lens most effected by sigma's quality control (Personally I think it's the lens that really lets Sigma down on this), might be worth considering a shop bought example so you can easily take it back or a second hand one of proven quality.
 
Do they have to be new lenses? I'd rather have secondhand Canon (or Nikon in my case) than new Sigma....

Sounds like a cue for a "Wanted 10-22" post ;)
 
no they dont have to be new. But the canon's are like rocking horse poo second hand!
 
I bought my 10-22 2nd hand, and it's just the same as brand new, apart from a little bit of dust around the hood mount..

There are a couple bouncing about on some 2nd hand shops, you'll pay a little more than private, but it's worth it for the ease of transaction, and teh warranty.
 
Why not go for the Canon 70-200/2.8 non-IS ?....well within budget.

Bob
 
The Sigma versions are pretty damn good - I had the 70-200mm f/2.8, and still have a 10-20mm, and neither are by any means "dogs". I rate EX lenses rather highly, not from reading online reviews, or what others say, but by my own experiences with them. They look, and feel well built.
 
Canon Bob said:
Why not go for the Canon 70-200/2.8 non-IS ?....well within budget.

Bob
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I cant afford that as well as the UWA, however i might look into that afterwards its just seeing if its worth the extras over the sigma equiv.

At the moment the Priority is the UWA.
 
reddeathdrinker said:
The Sigma versions are pretty damn good - I had the 70-200mm f/2.8, and still have a 10-20mm, and neither are by any means "dogs". I rate EX lenses rather highly, not from reading online reviews, or what others say, but by my own experiences with them. They look, and feel well built.
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I dont mind Sigma Lenses - I have the 150mm EX lens and cant fault it. I am now checking to see if there is a significant advantage of the canon over the sigma.
 
I've got the 70-200mm sigma and it's a peach. I've shot the Sigma and Canon side by side and I actually prefer to use the Sigma. It's lighter (a lot lighter) and that weight advantage means that with some decent long lens technique (which I have CT to thank for) I can happily match the Canon with the IS!

3059121061_9ba16bf59b.jpg


This was hand held, 1/50 sec @135mm ISO400 and -2/3ev.

So you see, you can hand hold the Sigma quite nicely at those shutter speeds. I've shot down to 1/30 sec with it before I get the wobbles. Now if you follow the normal advice you would not even think of doing things like that. At 135mm I should be using shutter speeds well above 1/100 sec to avoid shake. Using the lighter Sigma I find it a lot easier to handle than the much heavier Canon on which I'd need the IS just to get what I can with the Sigma.

Hope that helps :)
 
thanks Ali, Care to share the techniques, i have my own but would love to know more.
 
I think i have just secured a decent priced 2nd hand copy of the 10-22 so i am happy!
Thanks CB!
 
33L said:
thanks Ali, Care to share the techniques, i have my own but would love to know more.
Click to expand...

Sure!

Get yourself as stable as possible first, look at your foot position. Ideally one foot should be further forward and pointing at your subject while the rear foot can brace by being at an angle. You can also lean against walls, lean on static objects basically brace yourself as much as possible.

The there is your grip, get one! Right hand is usually for the camera controls so your left needs to be supporting the lens. Ideally placed so there is not too much stress on you but so you take the weight of the lens without getting tangled up in the focus ring.

Next, breathing. Yes breathing. Believe it or not you have a more stable platform at the end of an exhale. Keep you breathing light and fire the shutter at the end of an exhale if you can. (not always possible and don't lose the shot trying to do it) With a bit of practice you would be amazed at how well you can control your breathing.

Last but not least, learn to squeeze the shutter, not stab at it. Nice and gentle, no snatching. Keeps the movement to a minimum.

I'm not saying that this is perfect and I'm sure that the nature togs out there could add a lot to it but that's my method and it works for me. :)
 
All top notch text book stuff there Ali. The only other one that's worth adding to that list is make sure that firing the shutter and lowering the camera are totally separate actions.

It's such a small thing but so many people fire and lower the camera in one movement and that obviously leads to unsharp images. :)
 
get on the second hand dealer listings, there are always second hand 70-200 Sigma f2.8s going around

Mike
 
why not get a 2nd hand 80-200 2.8L they're considerably cheaper aren't they and 10mm at the short end isn't a big push
 
Just a thought...

With FF getting less and less unaffordable, maybe you should consider the Sigma 12-24 rather than the 10-20. OK, it's not quite as wide but on a FF body, it's considerably wider than the 10-20 on a 1.6x crop body.
 
i need to find some good weather to try it out!
 
question with relation to the 70-200 lenses how much faster is the canon compared to the sigma when it comes to focusing?
 
AliB said:
I've got the 70-200mm sigma and it's a peach. I've shot the Sigma and Canon side by side and I actually prefer to use the Sigma.
Click to expand...

You're not the only one ;) I've actually got the Canon F2.8 IS now but if the sigma had had the weather sealing that's the one I'd have kept.
 
is that relation to just focus speed or is there more to your opinion on the lens
 
In terms of focus speed I honestly couldn't tell them apart. I know some people say the Canon is faster but I can't see any difference between the percentages in focus, which for me is the important thing.

Image quality is subjective. Some say the sigma has a yellow/greenish tinge. Personally I felt it was pretty neutral whereas the canon is slightly warm to me. In terms of sharpness I felt the sigma had the edge but again that's just down to feeling rather than any objective test.

There were two things I didn't like about the sigma, one I've already mentioned being the lack of weather proofing. (I mainly shoot at motocross and equestrian events so there's a lot of mud/dust/bad weather to contend with) The second is the coating, it's like a rubbery felt like finish. There wasn't anything wrong with the feel of it but it did start to peel on mine, probably caused by the conditions it was exposed to.
 
thanks for that! it will help when i make a decision on which i will get. I know it will come down to the actual lens that i get rather than what has been written up or user reviews.
hopefully one day i will have the chance for side by side test.
 
i have a mint 70-200 2.8 II sigma lens reserved for me. I think ihave done well this month a 10-22mm and a 70-200mm all gonig to be arriving next week so i am chuffed.

who needs an L lens anyway:shrug:
 
shut it or i will spam you inbox! you dont want me to do that now do you!!
 
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