Wide Angle minefield.. arhh....help...plz

asd

asd

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hi guys,

I am after a wide(ish)angle lens for canon 10D....the more you research the more confusing it gets,i am going on a couple of holidays soon and i am wanting to take some landscapes and also some social events as well,so a zoom would fit the bill and would cut down on lens changes
10D cant take the new EFS lenses(bummer!) so the shortlist is...
sigma 18-50mm f2.8 EX DC
sigma 10-20mm f4.5 -6 EX DC HSM
sigma 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 DC(example photos @ pbase.com look good)
and the new Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro

or i could stretch to the canon 17-40 L

got roughly £500-550 to spend thanks to a tax rebate (is 17-40L worth the dough) would i need to use a tripod more with the f4 17-40L more than with the sigma 18-50mm f2.8 say...hate using tripods..sorry this is long winded but i need to decide before my head explodes.....going to lie down in a dark room now.............any help most grateful cheers in advance ...scott
 
I've got the 10-20mm sigma and I think thats a superb lens. :woot:

It was £312, this will leave you with room to get a 70-300mm sigma apo macro, I've got one of these too, very good lens £160 ish maybe less.
 
thanks glen
i have seen some shots take with the sig 10-20mm and they look good. not bad price as well, just dont want to be swopping lenses too often,9sensor dirt an all that) shame its not a 10-50, but am considering the 10-20 thanks
 
DP gave the sigma 18-200 a good write up, I was going to get it before I change my mind and went with the 70-300 and Pex my 55-200 canon.
 
Wive i dun thiss twyce, tym to gow tew behd....nyt nyt!!!
 
Don't rule out the Tamron range.
The 17-35 is an excellent piece of kit, which will leave you
some change to spend on something else.
 
Also worth checking out the Sigma 12-24 - I really rate mine and it fares incredibly well against much more expensive glass providing you get a good one http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/index.html

Have a look around this forum for fingerz review of the Sigma 18-50 f/2.8
 
asd said:
hi guys,


got roughly £500-550 to spend thanks to a tax rebate (is 17-40L worth the dough)
Click to expand...

The 17-40L is one of the more affordable Canon 'L' lenses, it's beautifully made, tack sharp and gives lovely colour rendition and saturation, so I'd say it's definitely worth the money. It's also one of the relatively few Canon lenses which is weather sealed, which might be a consideration in the long term if you upgraded to a weatherproof body?

That apart, you might be more attracted by the wider FOV or bigger zoom range of some of your other choices, it all depends really on your likely main uses of the lens.
 
i'm another with the sigma 10-20, it's a great lens and very sharp but i think the *slight* softening and distortion at the edges might upset some with landscapes. i dont find it a problem as the ultra wide gives such a different view.

if it were my choice i'd probably go for the canon 17-40L as it's a very highly regarded lens with a wide enough field of view for most.

the other thing to remember its although the f2.8 of the sigma does give you an extra stop it is at the expense of depth of field. you may want the whole lanscape in focus in which case you will probably need a tripod whatever lens you use. the velvon maxi/luxi range are very light and might sway you.
 
its looking like the canon 17-40L is front runner at the moment. i like the fact its weatherproof, thanks for that

a girl at college has got one, so she is letting me give it a testdrive tonight.

sigma 10-20 is really appealing to me but i would need to pair it up with another lens.
sig 18-50 apparently does not work too well with canon flashguns and hunts a bit for focus

thankyou for all the advice and the links, please keep your advice coming as im still sitting on the fence

cheers scott
 
Have the Sigma 10-20 & although a great lens, you only use it on certain shots, so end up changing leneses quite a bit........I've got sensor dust now :(. From a Nikon perspective I think a 17-55 f2/8 would be more useful, so you can convert to Canon equivalent.
 
I am a happy user of a Canon 17-40L. I shoot mainly landscapes and find that despite me now having a reasonoble choice of lenses, the 17-40 lives on one of my bodies. The only time it has given me a bad image is when I have messed up. Great colour, nice saturation and tack sharp. It is a hard lens to beat if it covers the zoom range you will be working with.
 
I must admit Steves landscapes are absolutely cracking, so if I were you i'd go the 17-40mm L route.
 
One other thing to consider too, it (the 17-40L) will also work perfectly on a full frame camera should you wish to upgrade in the future, thus its future proof ;) Some of the other lenses mentioned in this thread certainly won't.
 
Thanks Glen and steve

Think i will go for the canon 17-40. i think if i bought the cheaper sigma i might regret it in the longrun,(for sake of 200 quid extra i will stretch to canon)plus i will use it a lot i think, thanks for advice, cracking website steve, excellent work,do you still use your 10D at all now with having the 20D.

Now you have both helped me decide on the canon lens, i need help with a poloriser,(more bloody money) i am going on holiday of a lifetime in may for a week to las vegas,(helps me justify buying the 17-40, thats what i'm telling myself) and are trying to get on a photoworkshop tour to some of the surrounding areas( death valley etc). hoya have standard poloriser (abt £70) or a pro 1 range or something(£155!!!!!) please tell me the cheaper one is ok...please.......then all i need is steve to come round and take some photos for me on my flash card and i can show everyone how great i am at photography....what you doing in may, fancy a trip to las vegas? lol ...
 
i'm not really ofay with filters, I know you can get cheaper than you quoted ie Hama filters (7dayshop.com), but you'll need one of the others here to answer this 'cause I don't know if cheap is better in the long run.
 
If you're paying I am will be availible ;)

Regarding filters..I would say that you can't go wrong with the hoya but there really is no need to go any higher than their basic offering. Its always going to be a trade off but it is a sliding scale of outlay to return and for the difference in cost I would forget about the pro range.

Also Hoya filters are silly prices in the UK. The cheapest place I knew of was Dixons believe it or not. Unfortunately they have stopped selling them (or so I was told) although I would still enquire. You'll need a 77mm one and I paid just under £20 last year for mine...definately worth enquiring on the off chance!!

Your next best option will be the Hong Kong suppliers through Ebay, companies like Digital Rev should be able to supply at about £35 ish although I have not checked in a while. I am sure some of the other members will also be able to recommend other suppliers too.

Just thought of another supplier for you...Onestopdigital have it for £25 ;) http://www.onestop-digital.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=39_41&products_id=133

Hope that helps mate :)
 
Forgot to say that I use the 20D for the majority of the time but have no hesitation in using the 10D whenever. Many of the pictures on my site were taken with the 10D anyway.
 
these chaps have a kood ones for £8.50 plus £1 postage. i've used kood filters before and never had a problem with them. might be worth trying one out as it's so cheap?
 
thankyou guys will look at the standard hoya poloriser...... believe me,.if i had the money steve i'd be happy to drag you to vegas and death valley, least one of us would know what we would be doing then,..just hope i don't balls it up(photography wise), will be along time before i can afford to go back again, i want some desent pictures to come back with,but hey its all a learning curve for us beginners

thanks for the fast and detailed replies, you have all helped me out no end,

ps steve- regarding your galleries , is hoylake in merseyside area?
 
have you bought from one stop digital before steve?, are they a based in uk...cause they have the 17-40L for £475! wow, if they can do it for that price i own you a drink or two.cheapest ive seen it for is £520, and jessops want a laughable £581!

cheers again
 
ahh hong kong, it helps if you read stuff, are they safe and reliable to buy from?
 
I have not bought from them but many of our members have and they all are very happy with the service.

The goods are delivered from Hong Kong and usually arrive in 4 days, if you get caught for import duty one stop will refund it for you. As it is a lens that you are buying, Canon offer a full world wide guarantee as well so you will have no repair issues should you have any problems.

Hope that helps :)
 
If there is no issues with lens quality control on Canon L lenses then buy from onestop. I have used them as many have with no problems.
 
Thanks SammyC

could anybody advise me what filter to get to protect the new lens when i get it, Uv or skylight?, and if i have a poloriser do you use any of those 2 with it

thanks again
 
And thanks Steve for all your help, four days from Hong Kong sounds good, have just been reading the story of how you came to sell your 10D to your friend in the 10D vs 20D thread, interesting how they are different from each other even though they seem like peas on a pod
 
asd said:
could anybody advise me what filter to get to protect the new lens when i get it, Uv or skylight?, and if i have a poloriser do you use any of those 2 with it

thanks again
Click to expand...

Most people use a UV filter for lens protection. It wont actually do anything as the multi coatings on modern lenses include a UV coating anyway. I never leave protection filters on my lenses, prefering not to stick a bit of glass in front of the lens I've paid an arm and leg for, but I will always use a lens hood to protect against knocks to the front element. I would use a protection filter though in a particularly hostile environment, or in the wet because of the danger of water getting past the front element.

I don't have a polarizer yet for my 17-40L yet, but it's a 'must have' I'd say with this lens, with it's landscape capability.
 
knowing my luck ct i'll scratch the 17-40l on the first day, so i might get a hoya skylight as im hopefully heading into desert territory around nevada in may, so it might need a bit of protection from the elements.

totally get you though about putting a cheap bit of glass on the front of a good lens.would the poloriser need protection from scratches? and do you keep the hood on all the time? im new to all this filter stuff.........now where did i put my kodak easyshare compact?, it was alot easier back then
cheers
 
asd said:
knowing my luck ct i'll scratch the 17-40l on the first day, so i might get a hoya skylight as im hopefully heading into desert territory around nevada in may, so it might need a bit of protection from the elements.

totally get you though about putting a cheap bit of glass on the front of a good lens.would the poloriser need protection from scratches? and do you keep the hood on all the time? im new to all this filter stuff.........now where did i put my kodak easyshare compact?, it was alot easier back then
cheers
Click to expand...

Using one filter to protect another is a bit OTT, and using another filter on top of a polariser would probably not be a good idea as it may well reduce it's effectiveness. You have to be careful of 'stacking' filters anyway, particularly with a wide angle lens as there's a very real danger of vignetting (cutting off the corners of your pics) occuring.

I keep a lens hood on the 17-40 all the time I'm out and about with it, either that or the lens cap is firmly in place. If you look at the front element of the lens, it's hardly recessed into the lens body at all, so it's very prone to getting knocked, and you can't be too careful.

17-40L-01.jpg
 
thanks again CT.filters really are something i dont know about,cheers for clearing that up.will keep the hood on when i get it.thanks for the photo of the lens.
 
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