Buying Wide Angle Lens: Show me the way pls!!!

I need some opinion regarding wide angle lenses. I want to buy one but I'm not an expert. I appreciate all your opinion. Not too cheap but not too expensive. For hobby and recreation but atleast semi pro to pro entry level. Thanks everyone!

This is going to take some research on your part. There are A LOT of good wide angle lenses that you can use with your camera. If you are really wanting a WIDE angle, then you will need to go with an ultrawide. Make sure that you get an ultrawide for crop sensor rather than full-frame. On crop UWA is 8-12 range. On FF, it is around 16 or 17 generally.

A few options to research.

Tamron 10-24: I don't know much about this lens, but it seems like most people go for the other lenses first. It is decently priced used, so you might look into it. Does not have a USM type focus system (a little slower). Plastic but sturdy build. I like it, and it's pretty close to the Canon.

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6: This is an older lens that compares well to the Canon 10-22 at a much cheaper price. It is known to be sharp, have nice colors and handles distortion well for an ultrawide. Has HSM (Sigma's version of USM focus motor) so it focuses fast. EX build (Sigma's best build, comparable to Canon L)

Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5: This is a new rehash of the other Sigma 10-20 I mentioned. It is fairly new and I haven't heard much about it yet. Should perform slightly better with IQ and it is faster and constant aperture which could be nice if you need to shoot indoors without tripod. Has HSM focus. EX build

Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-5.6: This lens is comparable to the Sigma 10-20, but more expensive. Handles distortion well for an ultrawide and has excellent flare resistance. Probably the best lens in this class (10-20), but also more expensive and you have to decide if the slight advantage is worth the extra cost. Has USM, probably the fastest focusing out of all these. Build is decent, not quite as good as on the Tokina and Sigma, but it is very light weight.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8: Fastest lens you can get for crop (constant f/2.8) with a more limited range. Sharpest of the bunch and has great colors. Has a little more distortion @11mm than the Canon and Sigma do at 10 and isn't quite as wide. Also struggles with flare. Build quality is very good, but it does not have a USM equivalent focus motor.

Tokina 12-24mm f/4: There are two versions of this lens. I would try to find a version 1 on the used market since they are very cheap right now. Version II was mostly released because it has a focus motor for the lower end nikon bodies. Lens is comparable to the 11-16, but not as sharp. Does have more range though. Also struggles with flare, but has great colors and sharpness. Not as wide as the other choices.

thank you for your detailed assistance good sir!

Check this out: Juza Nature

In the end I went with the Tokina 11-16mm, fully aware of it's flare issues.

Good luck.

Will do! Thanks.

The flare on the Tokina is really annoying. You have to learn how to deal with it...
On the other hand it will give you ABSURD sharpness even wide open and will go till 2.8, and if you need it like I do, the extra stop can really help handholding it at night.

LOVE my tokina 11-16, fantastic lens.

Your welcome. There is also a new Sigma 8-16 lens that came out recently. It seems to perform very well, but does not take screw in type filters. A modified filter holder can be made, but it is a pain and the filters you would have to use with it are kind of expensive.

I have Canon's 10-22. It's an excellent lens, rivaling my L lens in sharpness (not surprising as it has L-quality optics). Very good build quality (it's not made of metal but it's very well-built) and it's light.

As much as I love Sigma and Tokina's UWA lenses, I would choose the Canon 10-22 because of compatibility with future bodies with the EF-S mount.

3rd parties like Sigma, Tokina and Tamron do not have access to Canon's technology so they have to reverse-engineer it. Their lenses might not work with future offerings from Canon (older 3rd-party lenses don't work with newer DSLR bodies and have to be "re-chipped").

I was in the same boat about a month ago and I did extensive research when choosing my UWA lens. It came down to the Sigma 10-20, Canon 10-22, and Tokina 11-16. Since I do a lot of indoor shooting, I needed the 2.8, so the Tokina was the clear winner. I felt like the build was better than the others as well. So far, the 11-16mm has been nothing short of amazing.

Get the Tokina 11-16, you won't regret it! If you plan on doing any indoor/lower light stuff it is the only choice. It is sharp! I couldn't be happier with it. Flare is a little annoying but can be handled with good technique!

40Driggs wrote in post #10877845
Your welcome. There is also a new Sigma 8-16 lens that came out recently. It seems to perform very well, but does not take screw in type filters. A modified filter holder can be made, but it is a pain and the filters you would have to use with it are kind of expensive.

This is what I'd look at. It's supposed to be incredibly sharp, too.

I bought a Tokina 11-16 and compared it to the Canon. I did not care for the very short range of 11-16mm focal length. I might as well just get a prime. The longer 10-22 range for the Canon makes it much more useable, and it was every bit as sharp as the Tok.

I have the Tamron 10-24, its nice plus now they have 100 rebate

Heres a shot with it

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/13637337@N05/4​961625283/

IMAGE LINK: http://www.flickr.com …/13637337@N05/4​961863964/

Our customers rent the Tokina 11-16 and the Canon 10-22 the most. You can always rent them too and see which one you like but you will be happy with either.