wide angle lens advice

[dmx005]

Hi all,

How much am I looking at for a decent wide angle lens that can give me results like those from this thread:

He used a Sigma 10-20... Is this one worth considering for this type of photography? Whats a good price for one of these?

Also, I noticed that he has used an ND grad with the lens. Is it generally advisable (or essential even) to have the camera on a tripod when using ND filters or is it possible to shoot decent shots hand-held? (ie; does the exposure generally have to be quite long when used with an ND grad..?).

so much to learn, so little time....

[stevegreen]

The Sigma is a popular wide angle lens here and I can vouch for it as I had one on my 350D, insanely wide at 10mm so there is the fun element too. I always found that 10mm was too wide for landscapes unless you got down low. Another to consider is the Tokina 12-24.

Some purists would suggest that any decent landscaper would always take shots on a tripod to ensure absolutely no camera shake, it also makes you think more about the composition of the shot as, by design, it takes longer to set up.

As for ND filters, it depends entirely what you are trying to achieve, if you want a long exposure with cloud movement then you will really need an ND8 upwards to stop the light getting through to the sensor (this would need a tripod), if it's help with blown skies you want then the ND grad filter also comes in various densities. I would suggest a ND4 grad would be a decent all purpose grad, some use ND8 to get really dark skies, both should be useable hand held in decent light.

[dmx005]

where do you guys generally buy accessories from? Just curious.. (like ND filters for example)

[dazza74]

I've had the sigma 10-20 for quite a while and it's a good lens, also worth looking into the tokina 12-24. As your a canon owner I'd probably spend the extra thoughand get the canon 10-22 personally (Ally Mac threads show what this lens can do). I think one of the best exponents of what you can do with the sigma 10-20 is "Vulkan" for me.

I always go here for my ND Filters :

www.filterdepot.co.uk

[Jas H]

I'd go for the Canon EF-S 10-22. Great lens. Pics below:

[dazza74]

Some nic pics, the E-type one in particular is a cracker

[mudstuff]

For landscape I don't know if you need to go that wide (others may disagree). I have a 15-30 Sigma which would be 24-48 on a 1.6x crop body.

Works a treat for me, lovely sharp lens.

[dmx005]

they are great pics.. The 2nd one looks just like my garage...

[dazza74]

One thing I like about the 10-20 is that it's so wide you can zoom in a bit to around 12mm or so to take your shot. With my other lenses I tend to try and cram as much in width wise as I can and in a lot of cases e.g. with the 17-50 shoot everything at 17. The other advantage I find if I'm doing a canvas wrap Is I get so much width in it makes the framing easier for the sides, top and bottom.

[Jas H]

Thanks guys

Nice garage DMX

[tps58]

I bought the Sigma 10-20mm last weekend. Certainly agree with Steve's "insane" comment above. It's great fun. Unfortunately I can only aspire to those car images, one day maybe.

[Lardinio]

I purchased the Sigam 10-20 for my honeymoon recently, it sits on a Nikon D50. Cost £319 from Park Cameras, but price has gone up recently. Also purchased with an Hoya 77mm polarising filter, great for blue'ing up the landscape skies some what and reducing haze. I can thoroughly recommend. Other to consider are Tamron or Tokina (Nikkor 12-24 is very expensive). I depends on budget and what you want to shoot, but Sigma is one of the better ones and receives high praise across the forums in general. Ever thought of a monopod to reduce camera shake other than using a tripod?

[dmx005]

Haven't thought too much about budget.
If I mention it to the mrs she will divorce me but hey, priorities eh..!

I don't want to spend £300 on this lens, I do know that! The Sigma one does seem to be popular and give decent results, might just keep my eye on the classifieds over the coming months.

thanks for all the comments & advice.

[tomson]

If you can afford it go for the Canon 10-22mm - much less distortion than the Sigma and that little bit faster.

[Jas H]

Originally Posted by dmx005

I don't want to spend £300 on this lens

The Canon 10-22 will cost more than that unfortunately

It is however a very good optic, with excellent clarity, colour and sharpness. I think my pictures above give a rough indication of what it can do, and I know that more experienced photographers can get better results from it than I can. It's also well built and has L class optical capability IMHO.

The other big plus with the lens is that it will hold its value a *lot* better than a clone brand if you come to resell it. I plan to ebay mine when I get a 5Dii for example, as I have a 17-40 lens that will meet my wide angle needs then.