What Superwide Lens

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rabaroo

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Hi

I'm ready to start my savings programme for my next bit of kit- I really fancy a super-wide for landscapes and to replace the 18-55 kit lens on my 450D

Anyone give a strong recommendation? - currently looking at :

Canon EFS 10-22
Sigma 10-20

..... Are there any other options I am missing out on?
 
Tokina 11.16 f2.8

I have the siggy and i love it...
 
any major flaws with the Sigma? - ive been strongly looking at that as it seemed to fit the bill and is currently ~£150-£200 less than the Canon one (never bought outside of canon before).... I want it obvs for landscapes but would also like it to be useful inside buildings - cathedrals etc so I was a bit dubious if the Sigma was fast enough for that?
 
its not as fast as the tokina obviously but it works. I also use in at 20 in clubs or at parties it works well for that.

There are stories and rumours that some copies arnt sharp but so far ive heard very few people that have had this problem. All in all its got a good feel and is very very close in performance to the canon for a fraction of the price
 
I have the 10-20 and find it excellent (although it took me 3 copies to find a good one). For me though I'm not keen on the "effect" it produces at 10mm, a bit too much distortion...I tend to stick to 12mm where distortion is negligable

simon
 
i saw some pictures where the distortion was evident - buildings looking like banana's etc and i dont want to end up with that... but equally 18mm at my widest point currently is a bit restrictive - guess I just need to identify the sweet spot for it!

Sigma coming out quite well then - thats good as pointed out its only £300ish currently so not too high that it will lead to excessive ear-ache from the wife :lol:

I dont find reading reviews (to a level) very helpful as you just get bogged down in comparisons and counter reviews.... if anyones got any sample shots from any of the lenses in this category they can link me to I'd really appreciate seeing what they can do!
 
I considered the Sigma 10-20 but simonkit's (amongst others) experience was the reason I bought a Canon 10-22mm.
 
anything that looks wide on my flickr is the siggy :lol:

Cant really help right now im at work and i cant have flickr up
 
rabaroo said:
Does the canon manage distortion better?
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I have no experience of the Sigma 10-20 so I can't compare them.
However, I've not noticed any significant distortion with my Canon 10-22.
I've yet to give it a real test as I have only bought it recently but all shots so far have been nice and sharp.
We are going on holiday in a couple of weeks and it will be used quite a lot.
If you are in no hurry I'll drop a message when we come back so you can have a look at the results if you like?

Ouch!
Having said that, Jessops now have it listed @ £719 and WHE @ £649 and I paid £499.
 
hashcake said:
We are going on holiday in a couple of weeks and it will be used quite a lot.
If you are in no hurry I'll drop a message when we come back so you can have a look at the results if you like?
Click to expand...

Thats really kind of you and I would really appreciate that.... I'm in no rush to buy a new lens, its likely to be towards the summer when I take the plunge in time to get out to the British countryside with it!

Have a good holiday, look forward to seeing the results :-)
 
A quick test shot taken @ 22mm.
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What about the Tokina 12-24. IMO a better lens, and not as plasticy as the Sigma. Also you don't have to worry about getting a soft copy. :)
 
Sigma 12-24 EX DG, one of my favourite lenses, sold my 17-40L and kept this one!
 
I have the Tokina 11-16 and its on my camera 85% of the time (also have a 50mm) :

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Another shout for the Tokina 11-16. Rarely off my 40D at the moment. Wide and fast and feels solid enough.
 
Amp34 said:
What about the Tokina 12-24. IMO a better lens, and not as plasticy as the Sigma.
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I'm sorry Amp34, but I must disagree with that statement, I have the Siggy 10-20, excellent copy, first purchase and NOT IN ANYWAY PLASTICY, feels very solidly built.

It's also my second Sigma lens, the first one, and first copy purchased, being equally superb for the price I paid.

Like a lot of things in life, I feel it's the vociferous minority who have had an unfortunate experience with a particular manufacturer that make the most noise on forums such as this.

How often have we read about people returning their copies of Canons lenses back for front/back focussing issues.

Every manufacturer can and does produce the odd lemon, it's a fact of life.

Pete
 
Bert! what do you think of the tokina's special AF/MF push pull system? To be honest mate its going to be hard to decide which one to get without trying them all.

I ended up going to the sigma because of price and availability to try one near my...but if the tokina was there or even the canon i would have one for either one.
 
Dom_Cabarete said:
Bert! what do you think of the tokina's special AF/MF push pull system? To be honest mate its going to be hard to decide which one to get without trying them all.

I ended up going to the sigma because of price and availability to try one near my...but if the tokina was there or even the canon i would have one for either one.
Click to expand...

yeah I was gettin to that point and wondering if worth going to FoI next week to see if I can play with any of them!
 
Dom_Cabarete said:
Bert! what do you think of the tokina's special AF/MF push pull system? To be honest mate its going to be hard to decide which one to get without trying them all.

I ended up going to the sigma because of price and availability to try one near my...but if the tokina was there or even the canon i would have one for either one.
Click to expand...

I like it to be honest. makes swapping to MF in the dark, which I do a lot of, very easy and not having to fumble around for buttons is ace.
 
I have Tokina 12-24 and am very happy with - that being said I'm very new to photography so would probably be happy with anyting! It is built like a tank which I find re-assuring...I'll post a link to my holiday snaps once I've tidied them up a bit.
 
I've just got myself a Sigma 10-20 on the advice of 2 friends (they both have one and love them to bits).
Only had it a week and not had much of a chance to play with it, but so far it's very good!
 
Tokina 11-16

Far too many reports of people having bad sigma 10-20's - myself included, took 3 attempts for a good copy
 
Pete Gl said:
I'm sorry Amp34, but I must disagree with that statement, I have the Siggy 10-20, excellent copy, first purchase and NOT IN ANYWAY PLASTICY, feels very solidly built.

It's also my second Sigma lens, the first one, and first copy purchased, being equally superb for the price I paid.

Like a lot of things in life, I feel it's the vociferous minority who have had an unfortunate experience with a particular manufacturer that make the most noise on forums such as this.

How often have we read about people returning their copies of Canons lenses back for front/back focussing issues.

Every manufacturer can and does produce the odd lemon, it's a fact of life.

Pete
Click to expand...

I wasn't trying to tar the whole of the Sigma range with the same brush (I have a Sigma 24-70 which I love) but I guess it was a bit strong using the word plasticky. What i was alluding to is that after trying both and comparing them to my other lenses the Tokina is built like a Canon L lens, and feels like it could go through a nuclear holocaust and still work, whereas the Sigma felt more like the consumer canon lenses, nothing particularly wrong with it, just not a robust as the Tokina (or my Sigma 24-70). The same could be said for th Canon 10-22, neither that or the Sigma are particularly bad, just the Tokina is exceptional in comparison (have you had one in your hands to test?).

On the QC problems with Sigma there have been a few threads on here debating this, and generally there seems to be a much larger proportion of people sending Sigmas back than other manufacturers. Having said that it's not a reason IMO to not buy a Sigma lens, but it could be a deciding factor between two close competitors if you can't physically get hold of and test the lens you are going to buy.:)

EDIT: Just look at jonnypb's reply, that seems to be quite a reccuring theme with Sigma lenses, I haven't read anything like that about Canon/Nikon/Tokina/Tamron lenses.:)

Dom_Cabarete said:
Bert! what do you think of the tokina's special AF/MF push pull system?
Click to expand...

I assume the one on the 12-24 is practically the same as the 11-16, which is an excellent, far better than a small switch, and better the the Sigma variant on my 24-70 (which requires you to push the button and push/pull the focus ring:thinking:). My one comment would be the one on my 12-24 is a little stiff for my liking, but I guess that stops it being enabled/disabled by accident.
 
I have the Tokina 11-16 and have tried the 10-20, I like the 10-20 for its better range and thus versatility. The Sigma did seemed a little soft in some sample shots that I took but we're talking about 10mm here!

Build wise I don't seem much of a difference between the two except that the Sigma probably had a more rubbery feel to it and was lighter compared to the Tokina which felt weighty and solid. I wouldn't complain about the Sigma quality at all and neither would most of my Aussie mates!

I am happier with the Tokina because it is just faster and seems quite sharp for what it does. At first I wasn't convinced but I think its my aging D50 that's not doing it justice.
 
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