Browsing PBASE, now want WA zoom, which one?

OK, this guy (Eric Cote's) gallery impressed me. Up until now I've been content with 24mm as my widest. Now I'm thinking there's a whole drama below 24mm that I need to explore.

I think I'd like a zoom, rather than prime. Less expensive, plenty of quality, and better to explore the different WA lengths. I also want to take advantage of a Digital-Only lens, where engineering sacrafices weren't made to cover an image circle I don't need.

So;

1. Canon EF-S 10-20 f3.5-4.5 USM $675 (1 yr warr)
2. Sigma 10-20 f4.5-5.6 EX DC HSM $500 (4 yr w/ extended warr)
3. Tokina 12-24 f4 AT-X 124AF Pro DX $500 (3 yr warr)
4. Tamron 11-18 f4.5-5.6 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) $520 (6 yr warr)

My thoughts:
1. I've gotten the best IQ reports on the Canon, yet build is not great and it doesn't come with a hood.

2. I've not liked the cheap Sigmas I've had for poor focus motors and resolution ability, but HSM may be entirely different. I love the IQ in above gallery shows.

3. I don't like the way the Tokina creates giant stars from any night-lights, but otherwise it seems great.

4. Never heard about this Tamron. Is it new? I like my Tamron 28-75.


SUGGESTIONS?

I'd say satisfy your gut feeling. That's what I did when I bought the Canon 10-22. Everything about it is superb (for my needs). The build could be better, but it is not bad. Plus, I baby my gear.

With that said, I could get great images with any of the above. YMMV.

Yes, Canon 10-22.

gasrocks wrote in post #2372739
Yes, Canon 10-22.

Same here: 10-22

NBEast wrote in post #2372505
1. I've gotten the best IQ reports on the Canon, yet build is not great and it doesn't come with a hood.

There's nothing wrong with the build quality in this lens ...

Me too...I love my 10-22MM EF-S and coupled with my 17-55MM EF-S IS it makes for a killer combo

Personally, I'd go for the Tokina.
I don't own any of them, but since I'll be getting one soon I've read dozens of reviews and tried them out in the store. The build quality is EXCELLENT, it feels solid and "good" in your hand and balances neatly with the camera.

Photozone says:

Naturally it makes sense to compare the lens to a serious competitor like the Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX. All in all the resolution figures are very similar. The Canon has less CAs and a better contra light performance whereas the Tokina shows less vignetting. The build quality of the Tokina is also a little better (the Canon is good enough though) and finally the Tokina is substantially cheaper (420 EUR vs 670 EUR locally).
So which one to choose ? Well ... that's still up to you.

Bluedog_XT wrote in post #2373105
There's nothing wrong with the build quality in this lens ...

I exaggerated. It's hardly a kit-lens build, rather a basic medium grade Canon. So I've heard since I've never handled one . If it's up to, say, 50 f1.4 build standards, that would be enough. Good feel, just OK focusing, USM.

I've heard the Tokina feels more solid than the Canon.

Anyone use or have something to say on the Tamron? Tamron vs. Sigma?

My gut tell me the order of consideration should be:

1. Canon
   
2. Sigma
   
3. Tamron
   
4. Tokina

I'm more than satisfied with my Sigma 10-20. Focus is quite fast actually..and beautifully silent. Resolution is very nice, contrast is well-done, the focus and zoom rings are both very smooth, it comes with a hood, and is $200 cheaper than the Canon variant

BrewsterPilot wrote in post #2373135
Personally, I'd go for the Tokina.
I don't own any of them, but since I'll be getting one soon I've read dozens of reviews and tried them out in the store. The build quality is EXCELLENT, it feels solid and "good" in your hand and balances neatly with the camera.

Photozone says:

This photo (pulled from a PBASE search) is the one (and only) thing that's holding me back on the Tokina.

Notice how the stars come out from any brightly contrasted light source.

Sigma 10-20 in similar circumstance.
Sigma 12-24
Canon 10-22

For this one aspect, the Canon seems most subtle and desirable (to my taste).

NBEast wrote in post #2373151
I exaggerated. It's hardly a kit-lens build, rather a basic medium grade Canon. So I've heard since I've never handled one . If it's up to, say, 50 f1.4 build standards, that would be enough. Good feel, just OK focusing, USM.

I've heard the Tokina feels more solid than the Canon.

Anyone use or have something to say on the Tamron? Tamron vs. Sigma?

My gut tell me the order of consideration should be:

1. Canon
   
2. Sigma
   
3. Tamron
   
4. Tokina

Pretty much following the price.

Just thought I'd gather some input before jumping. Thanks for the input so far.

the 10-22 has ring usm and the 50 1.4 doesn't . the 10-22 also has a better build.

i find the 50 1.4 to be marginal in build and in AF speed and accuracy but the price is fair as it it an f1.4 lens.

the canon consumer lenses are built well. the ones i don't care for are the ones that extend a distance. but if you look at lenses like the 10-22, 85 1.8, 28 1.8 ....etc. they are actually built very well and i prefer the lighter weight to the third party offerings that are heavier.

also, if your widest lens now is 24mm and you are somewhat happy with that you may find 10-22 to be too wide.

10-22 is actually super wide angle on a 1.6 crop camera. you might also look at the 17-40 or 17-55 in making your decision.

ed rader

I've been more than pleased with the Canon EF-S WA.

both of these @ 10mm and more in my PBase galleries.

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Bluedog_XT wrote in post #2373280
I've been more than pleased with the Canon EF-S WA.

both of these @ 10mm and more in my PBase galleries.

Thanks Toney. No doubt, your stuff is a poster for "Buy the Canon"!

Shooting Ultra Wide like that, I'm mainly looking for the dramatic foreground and clear DOF all the way through. I'm not looking forward to inward-leaning tall objects and other shape distortions - guess Photoshop CS2 can un-bend things well enough.

Given the choices; I think the Canon's a pretty safe bet. Its a question of whether it really gains enough over the Sigma to warrant the 1/3 extra $$.

I hadn't noticed there was 2 Sigma choices. Then I'd have to select which of those to get (sigh).

Thinking I'll just wear down on searching and get the sure bet (Canon). Cheers.

a friend of mine just bought the sigma 10-20 last week, exchanged for another 1 as it was way to soft, exact same thing with the new copy.
really surprised at that. dont get me wrong, some of the shots looked amazing but most of them were too soft. cant be having that. i dont think ths sort of thing should happen. whatever happened to quiality control.
i think he's been put off with it now and is just going to get his money back

I just picked up the tokina recently for $430 new and I'm loving it. The build quality is solid, the iq is tack sharp and the af is quick and accurate. I'd consider it almost a steal for the price.