Wide angle

[wrxxx]

I'm taking my D60 to Hawaii soon and need a wider angle lens than any I currently have (28-135 IS & 50 1.4) for broad scenery shoots.

I'm going with Canon and the 17-40 at $800 is too much for me. I'm looking at the 20-35/3.5-4.5 USM ($370), the 20/2.8 USM ($420), the 24/2.8 ($280) & 28/1.8 USM ($400).

Does anyone have experience with any of these, esp with more than one? Thanks in advance for the feedback.

[robertwgross]

My Canon 20-35mm lens works fine on my D60.

---Bob Gross---

[justme_dc]

I have that 20-35mm canon lens it's soft around the edges wide open but the 1.6x crop will take care of most of that. Bummer is with the crop factor the lens is a 32-56mm, that isn't really all that wide. If you truly can't afford the extra money for the 17-40 f4L then the 20-35 is certianly a great second choice. I have used mine for about 8 years now it really does the trick with film. I am thinking of replacing it with the 16-35 or 17-40 to get that extra few mm on the digital side though.

bottom line it's a decent lens, you could do a lot worse. Buy it and enjoy your vacation.

Good luck to you.

[kellylipp]

I have the 20-35 as well and like the lens. However, I have a 35-135 from my old EOS days that is on the camera most of the time now. I've about reached the point where I think that's wide enough. There was a post a while back that talked about taking multiple photos of a wide scene and "stitching" them together. I've been fooling with that and like it. The concept that appealed to me is the one of many more pixels in the stitched image.

Bottom line for me is started out really worrying about the "crop factor" but it turned out to not be the problem I thought it would be.

Use you new camera with your old lenses until you determine you really "need" something else.

IMHO, obviously.

Kelly

[kellylipp]

And I should mention that I bought the 20-35 because I was going to Hawaii. My goal was to shoot photos of our condos for the website rentals we do. Again, the 35-135 was on the camera as much or more than the shorter lens.

Maybe I posted the original message and now I'm talking to myself.

Hey, it could happen.

Kelly

[brunz]

I have the 20-35 usm and love it. Its a real bargain. I shoot a lot of groups with it and its razor sharp edge to edge at f8 or smaller openings. I have had good results at all f stops. Nice lens for the money. It has about the same rating on photodo as the older L lens of the same focal length.

[Gary Gibson]

You say you're going with Canon, have ever thought about the Sigma 15-30? I use one on my D30 for real estate interiors/exteriors as well as Landscapes and other activities. This an XCLNT lens and for dollar, you can't beat it. Just giving food for thought.
Gary

[wrxxx]

As the original poster, I want to thank you all.

The consensus seems to be the Canon 20-35 or the Sigma 15-30.

Why has no one discussed or recommended the three fixed length lenses I asked about - Canons 20/2.8 USM, 24/2.8 ot 28/1.8 USM.

Are there disadvantages either with DSLR or for some other reason.

Seems like a fixed length 20 might be a good solution. No?

Comments have been made that because of the 1.6
cropping effect, the 20 isn't much of a wide angle. Wouldn't
the same be true of the Canon 20-35?

[Longwatcher]

I suspect that like me, the prime's are too limiting for most people and they don't own very many of them.

The only reason I always recommend the 50/1.8 (or better the 50/1.4) is it is a low cost lens with great quality with a large aperture; which the zooms don't provide. You need one of these lenses for indoors/low light photography.

To get this same advantage from other primes, you almost have to go with "L" glass and it runs over $1000 per lens (with two exceptions).

Just my speculation.

[Wilson]

EF 17-40f/4 is good lens and match for EOS10D

[henkbos]

Have the Sigma 15-30 and love it. Excellent results.

[Jehel]

Waiting for a 12/70 f2.8....

Why not ?

[PaulB]

Doubt Canon will go the 12mm route al la Nikon.

Canon seems to be moving in the larger sensor direction - 1D/1Ds - and this should eventually apply to the future 10D replacement.
So why produce a lens which is not suitable for the larger sensor models?
Don't forget that Nikon do not have a full-frame sensor in the pipeline as yet - or even on the horizon - and they are likely to have been even more put off by the Kodak 14n problems - which seem to have been caused largely by Kodak trying to out-do the 1Ds (rather unsuccessfully with a premature launch of the 14n).

[CyberDyneSystems]

I agree PaulB,...

...in fact I will take it even further by saying that the 10D was a whole new Camera,.. so why the same 6 MP CMOS as the D-60?

Just using the existing tooling because it is cost effective.

I will lay odds that the moment Nikon catches up with the 10D by releasing a similarly priced model,.. probably with more megapixels,.. Canon will allready have its next model ready to go. It will be the 10D with a full frame CMOS,.. I bet there allready making the sensors as we type.

[PaulB]

As I understand it the 10D sensor is produced by Canon - the D60 one was not (bad supply = cause of the unavailability of the D60) - and is more refined than the D60 one, as in less noise etc. Tighter quality control etc.
In addition the 10D uses the Digic processor first seen in the G3 which accounts for the slightly faster frame rate/write speed and again the enhanced performance of the 10D vs the D60.

So Now Canon make all their own CMOS sensors (10D, 1D, 1Ds) whilst all (?) the others have to buy theirs in from outside sources. Note also that Canon = CMOS and have lots of experience with this technology whilst the 14n struggles, Contax have dropped their offering, Pentax aren't even there yet and Nikon really can't compete (unless you already have Nikon lenses).

[CyberDyneSystems]

It's true,.. Canon was able to adapt to the Computer aged economics of rapid improvements/upgrades very quickly! Perhaps there diviersity in printers etc. helped them with this transition.

Nikon on the other hand is looking slow paced in comparison. But understandably so when you consider the history. How often does a camera company need to toss out an old model and crank out a new flavor when there was only film involved?

Canon has released 4 new Digital SLRs in less than two years!!!

Right now poor Nikon has an "affordable" model with better specs than there two "pro" models....

P.S. 1D is a plain vanilla CCD,.. not CMOS

[PaulB]

Whoops - got carried away there.
Must write out 100 times, "Engage brain before committing reply to forum"..........

[seamansroost]

Does anyone have actual samples from the 20-35mm USM to share? Sounds like a good lens.

[gudac]

I picked up a Quantary 19 - 35 last year. Was only $180 at Ritz. Does a great job with my former D30 and now my 10D.

It has become my everyday lens. It focuses faster than Canon 28-135 IS.

I realize that it may not be in the class of Canon, but for the price I have to consider it one of the best deals I have backed into.