Best fast UWA lens ~$500?

there is also the new sigma 10-20 with constant 3.5 aperture. i had canon 10-22 and sigma 10-20 and a sigma 20 1.8. for low light you cant beat the prime of course, you cant really use the 10-22 for low light, unless its on a tripod, and even shooting inside a room even if its well lit at higher iso, the corners are dark and will be very noisy.

i liked the 10-20 form sigma more then the canon 10-22, go figure most people prefer otherwise i think. and the price of the 10-20 makes it especially more attractive then the canon version. and now there is the sigma 10-20 f3.5

the tokina 11-16 looks like a great lens, if you are afraid that its too special of a use since of its low range, dont be i dont think the 10-20 versions offer much more versatility as they are all specialty glass. so i dont think the 16+ range is going to be missed much.

hope that helps

The jump from 10mm to 11mm is 10%.
Keep that in mind.

Great comments everyone...helps a lot...now it's time to settle down and figure out what exactly I want...

It's evident that I'll have to go pretty low to get a wide angle view on my crop--Another question for you all...If I go with a fisheye lens on my crop, can I avoid being too *fishy* with my pics and be more *wide angle?*

Depends...
FE @ 10

DutchOven wrote in post #8527466
+1 on the Tokina 11-16. It's sharp wide open and its fast enough for low lighting conditions. The distortion isn't as bad as the Sigma 10-20mm that I used to have.

Only thing about this lens is that it's hard to find. It's on a nationwide backorder since the last time i checked.

I saw a new one in a store in Bellevue, WA (Omega photo - maybe they ship) recently. I almost bought it but couldn't justify the cost given the focal range.

_aravena wrote in post #8535166
Not really as I've had a 10 and 11 UWA and notice no difference...even when I showed 10, 11, 12, etc. Did notice a difference from 10 to 12 but not 11. Yes, slow shutter speeds but F3.5 is a big difference at F2.8 where' I've had to set it and set the shutter to 1/10.

cccc wrote in post #8535449
The jump from 10mm to 11mm is 10%.
Keep that in mind.

10 and 11 only makes a difference if it makes a difference for you. The 1mm is a lot more apparent in the wide side compared to normal or tele focal lengths. Of course you can always step back a step, but when the time comes where you can't step back, you'll be glad the 10mm is there.

I agree with your 2nd point that 3.5 is a big difference compared to 2.8 when you need it. It's exactly the same point I said in my original post.

_aravena, which camera and lens were your pics taken with?

Looks just like what I'm looking for...hopefully that was taken with a crop?

k.lee wrote in post #8536859
10 and 11 only makes a difference if it makes a difference for you. .

And generally everyone else. Sorry...

Those photos were with the Tokina 10-17 Fisheye.