Wider-angle lens advice

[Migroo]

Hi guys

I've recently returned from a trip to France and had great fun taking some pictures. I took: My 450D, EF 50mm f1.8, EF-S 18-55mm (kit lens) and EF 75-300.

I found that most of the time, I was using the kit lens and it was always on the 18mm end. I wanted more angle!

From all you landscape guys, what is your advice? Should I get a dedicated wide angle lens (I've seen something like a 10-20mm) or should I just get a slightly wider lens like a 16-35mm?

In the back of my head I'm concious that my next upgrade should be to my kit lens as its my most used lens therefore the one that will give me most improvement... but what is out there? And is there a good all-in-one wide angle and walkaround lens, or am I wasting my time?

 

[Moreorless]

Hi guys

I've recently returned from a trip to France and had great fun taking some pictures. I took: My 450D, EF 50mm f1.8, EF-S 18-55mm (kit lens) and EF 75-300.

I found that most of the time, I was using the kit lens and it was always on the 18mm end. I wanted more angle!

From all you landscape guys, what is your advice? Should I get a dedicated wide angle lens (I've seen something like a 10-20mm) or should I just get a slightly wider lens like a 16-35mm?

In the back of my head I'm concious that my next upgrade should be to my kit lens as its my most used lens therefore the one that will give me most improvement... but what is out there? And is there a good all-in-one wide angle and walkaround lens, or am I wasting my time?

The 16-35mm 2.8 L is over £1000 new so thats not really a very cheap option and I'd personally only consider it if you wanted the 2.8 appature and the exellent build quality. It wouldnt be very balanced on a 450D either.

The two obvious options to me seems to be either get a deadicated crop UWA lens or the 15-85 IS.

With the UWA it depends how much you want to spend and what you want, going from expereince and what I'v read....

Sigma 10-20mm 4-4.5 - Good image quality and a pretty good range at a reasonable low price(around £350 new).

Canon 10-22mm 3.5-4.5 - Slight better image quality, appature and range, very expensive new at the moment(£600-700) but alot cheaper(around £450) used.

Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 - Sharper and a larger appature but more limated range and not as resistant to flare, inbetween the other two for price at around £500 new.

Sigma 8-16mm 4.5-5.6 - Again sharp and wider than anything else but less appature and cannot take filters and quite expensive at around £600.

Bare in mind though that UWA isnt really about "getting a bit more in", the kinds of pictures you take and the way you take them are often fundamentally different from anything you use the kit lens for. There not generally IMHO lenses for snapshots and reward extra effort put in more than anything else I'v used.

If you wanted to replace you kit lens with something better but still take roughly the same kind of shots with a bit more width the 15-85 IS is a very good general purpose landscape lens IMHO. The difference between 18mm and 15mm is significant, it would give you coverage all the way up to your 75-300 and allow you to use a polarizer easily. Only downisde is of course that its not cheap at around £600 although you can save a bit buying it unboxed as ex kit lens.

 

[odd jim]

For excellent iq and f/2.8, Tamron 17-50 non VC. only £260 new at amazon at the mo which is a bargain! If I had the pennies right now I'd get one in a flash.

 

[LongLensPhotography]

Tokina 12-24mm is excellent UWA

 

[hollis_f]

Get the Canon 10-22 and enjoy the width and quality.

 

[skiwhiz]

paid the extra and got a canon 10-22 and no regrets but it is a specialist lens when shooting at the 10mm end, if its general landscape may be worth popping in to a shop and try the 15-85 then you will know if its for you. same really for the uwa as well, until you try them you won't know. Most shops are good and will let you have a play.

 

[vrapan]

The Tamron 17-50 is an excellent lens no doubt but it is not really wider than the kit lens. If you need to go wide I somehow doubt the 15mm will be wide enough - although it starts getting interesting at that focal length.

Go and try a 15-85 and see if it is wide enough for you as this is a do it all lens, all your other options are very wide so you will need at least two lenses for most cases.

8-16 Sigma and 11-16 Tokina, 10-20 Sigma, 10-24 Tamron, 10-22 Canon.

The first two are pretty much exclusively wide angle, I can't see them being used as a single lens on a camera for a days shooting unless you know that wide angle s all you are going to do. The last two and especially the Tamron (which gets a beating around here though I liked mine) could at a push and a bit of cropping be used as your only lens for a day.

I wouldn't go for a 12-xx if you decide to go for that you might as well be getting the 15-85.

Currently I have a 10-20 on my Pentax but that is because I can carry a tiny 40mm pancake for those cases where 10-20 is too wide. I would suggest you do the same get a 10-20 or the 10-22 if cash allows and a 50mm prime.