cant decide between Canon 17-40 or Sigma 12-24

so like many of you I picked up a 5D, I love using the sigma 10-20 on my 40D but obviously its not working on the 5D

so now the problem !! something wide for the 5D, there doesnt seem to be to many options either

the canon 16-35 is definitely what I would want minus the money issue but no luck there the money tree was blown over in a recent storm lol

so right now I am considering the sigma 12-24 ~610 bucks from amazon, or the canon 17-40L which is around 650 dollars

I will primarily be using this for landscapes, I am pretty sure that 17mm is wide enough since the 10mm on the 40D is 16mm so 1mm is not going to be that much difference. But what am I missing from 12 to 17 mm, obviously quite a bit but is it really necessary.

My guess is the optic quality of the 17-40 is better than the sigma. I have a 24-105 and 24mm on the 5D is plenty wide for pretty much everything except landscapes for me.

anyone have both? what do you recommend?

I'd personally probably go with the 17-40. The 12-24 can be used for landscapes but from what I've seen distorts visibly even on natural landscapes (would be even more obvious on things like architecture). 12mm rectilinear on a FF seems to me more like a special situation lens, not one I'd use every day.

Just yesterday I got to play with my friends 12-24 on his D3 and it's definitely an interesting lens that gives you a unique perspective. He doesn't really use it a lot, but when he pulls it out he takes some wild/crazy stuff.

The 17-40 is a fine lens. I'm well pleased with mine.

I see no benefit in the 16-35; yes you get an extra f stop but ultra wide angle is for depth of field so 2.8 would be of no use in most applications.

Save a grand and go 17-40.

I absolutely love my 17-40L. It is one of the best purchases I have made so far.

you know what sucks, I had the 17-40 lens in my amazon goldbox for weeks, now it looks like amazon is all out of them crap

Theres a used one here. Mifsuds are good, speak to Matt and you'll get an honest apprecaition of the lens. I use this firm regularly.

http://www.mifsuds.com​/usedpriceindex.htm

£399.00

yeah but I am in the US

B&H has some used ones as well at least

sweet the 17-40 is back in stock at amazon now, 617 in the goldbox and I have 75 bucks in gift certs from my 5D

so it will be here tomorrow I love amazon prime, 4 bucks for overnight shipping

you'll will love it. it's my walk around lense on the old 1D classic. had the tokina 12-24 and find i didn't use it all that much. but i did need it last week though.

Bill 1

yeah I am looking forward to picking it up and having a sharp landscape pic, the sigma 10-20 is a nice wide lens but not so sharp

personally, i don't shoot a lot of w-i-d-e and i would take the 17-40L unless i really really really needed the 12-16mm!

but then again, it could depend on what you want. like you said, you already find the 24mm quite fine on a 5d. so do you want an overlapping lens that is a bit wider, or a non-overlapping lens that is a whole lot wider. plus, if you are really just going to use it for landscape, who cares about USM and faster apertures? its all about tripods and stopping down, no?