Widest Lens for the 10D

[gyelland]

I am buying a 10D when it arrives, April I think in the UK.
I am interested in taking indoor room shots 4mx4m or smaller,
I am used to an EOS 5 with 24mm lens,

I know with the 10D sensor there is a 1.6 factor is involved.
So can someone out their tell me the widest lens without major distortion (7mm fisheye) that will work full automatic on the EOS 10D at a reasonable price. Fixed or Zoom, new or second hand.

Or do you think in this case it would be better to take several shots and stich them together ?

Any ideas ?

[Ken Fong]

The Sigma 15-30mm is a pretty good deal and will get you 24mm after the 1.6x factor. There is some distortion on the edges, but nothing like a fisheye. Stiching is easier to do as long as you can keep the exposure values locked through the different shots, but remember that when you are comparing a wide-angle to a pano, you are talking about 2 completely different perspectives.

[Photo-4N6]

Ken,

Do you have the Sigma lens? I do tight work and currently shoot a wide angle zoom (24-70) with my Elan 7e. I'm looking at the 15-30 but can't find anyone who has shot the lens.

Seen any reviews posted?

Thanks,

Ken B.

[gyelland]

I just recieved the latest copy of Digital Photographer in the UK, a semi pro digital magazine. Not sure if its out in the US.

They have a review of the following
Tokina AT-X AF193 19-35mm
Tamron AF 19-35mm
Sigma 15-30mm EX Aspherical
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor IF-ED 18-35mm
Canon EF 16-35mm USM

They rated the sigma as their best buy, retail price of £399 GBP, the test images look really good. They did say the canon had the best optics but at £1399 GBP is it really worth the extra for home users ?

They did say a new lens is coming out for the Nikon its 12-20mm and the rear lens is dedicated for the smaller size sensors (dedicated digital lens) as soon as this happens it shouldn;t be long before Canon release a similar model, but at what cost I would not like to guess.

[Photo-4N6]

Thanks for the update. I'll look for a review here. This lens will be a "dirty" work lens for me, and I don't need a fast lens. $500-$600 is a lot to pay for an "acceptable" lens, but it is much less expensive than the Canon alternative -- and wider also.

Ken

[taob]

Photo-4N6 wrote:
Do you have the Sigma lens? I do tight work and currently shoot a wide angle zoom (24-70) with my Elan 7e. I'm looking at the 15-30 but can't find anyone who has shot the lens.
I have this Sigma lens, and I love it. I started off with the Sigma 17-35mm, but the quality was horrible (soft images wide open, "ghosting" on the right side of the frame, etc.). The 15-30 is bigger, more expensive and not as fast (max f/3.5 vs f/2.8), but it is a superior lens. 1Ds shooters report that corners are well lit even on full-frame sensors. Definitely an excellent buy, IMHO.

[hurry]

I found

Tokina AT-X AF193 19-35mm ..... ~ Euro 230.-
Tamron AF 19-35mm .................. ~ Euro 270.-

Sigma 15-30mm EX Aspherical .... ~ Euro 700.-

I am sure, Sigma 15-30 is better (5% ? 10% ? ...) and larger :-( - but it is worth +200% ?

I know, a similar Nikon lense for Euro 1.600 is beyond from good & bad ... and NOT 600% better.

You always can find people they pay for the reason to have the "most expensive"


PS: how is quality for Tokina 24-200 (price ~ Euro 270.-)


Don't say it makes no sense to buy an € 200 lens for an € 2000 body.
It's the same like buying a Sigma 15-30 (€ 700) for a Canon 1Ds (€ 7000)


"I want acceptable quality ... not to make my dealer rich"

[gyelland]

You are right there are some good deals out there, not with everything but with lenses its usually 'you pay for what you get' I am considering these lenses also at the moment but there are some trade offs,

The angle of view for the Tokina is 98% degrees and the Tamron is 97 degrees (I know they are both 19mm). The Sigma angle of view is 110.5 degrees.

From the feel the build quality is much lower on the Tokina than the Tamron, but is not in the same group as the Canon or Sigma. This may not be so important but it does have an effect on the focusing.

The Tokina pictures are a little soft the Tamron are better but again not as sharp as the Sigma or Canon.

It depends what you want them for, if I was buying for landscape or architecture I would propably go for the Tamron, but for my requirement of indoor rooms quite small, they just dont do the job I need (unfortunately).

I am also thinking about a manual 15mm lens for the canon 10D, here you can find some great optics at low price, I do not need speed of use so therefore maybe this is the best option.

I haven't used a manual lens on a Canon before so I am not sure if its easy or not ?

[Ken Fong]

Photo-4N6 wrote:
Ken,

Do you have the Sigma lens? I do tight work and currently shoot a wide angle zoom (24-70) with my Elan 7e. I'm looking at the 15-30 but can't find anyone who has shot the lens.

Seen any reviews posted?

Thanks,

Ken B.


I have the Sigma lens but have not used it yet. My purchase decision was based on reviews at photozone.de and camerareview.com...although I had a hard time finding it on those sites recently. I considered the faster Canon 16-35, but the amount of wide angle photography that I do could not justify the expense. If you haven't seen any yet, I'd be happy to post some test shots (vs 28mm on the Canon 28-135) But because I am a D60 owner, this would only show you (15x1.6) 24mm vs (28x1.6) 45mm, all the edges will be cropped off. However, I heard there were no problems with light dropout on the edges even with a full frame SLR.
I think there would only be a problem if you use the 'adapter' ring to hold any filters on a full-frame camera, but should not be a problem with the 10D.

(According to the instructions, the adapter ring is only to be used to hold the lens cap; otherwise, it should be removed, which reveals no way to mount a filter in front. The only 'official' method of using filters is through the rear gelatin holder, which has limitations. This problem is not so much a limitation for DSLRs with the 1.6x factor. There was a whole separate discussion thread on topic...see http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6915)

[elm54]

I have a Canon 24-70 and like it . But am thinking of getting a sigma 14mm f/2.8 for wide landscape and other general wide stuff. Does anyone use it ? All I hear is wide zooms, the 14mm looks good but I would like to hear from someone who uses it.
Peace