Wide Angle lenses and Tripods to shoot interior

Hi! Im shooting pictures of cafes, restaurants and fashion stores for a map

company on monday,so i figured i need a wide angle lense. Ive got the Canon

30D and Im contemplating whether i should get a Sigma 10-22mm ($600) or the

Canon 10-22mm ($1200), whether the Canon lense is worth double the money? and

whether this zoomlense would allow me to take close up shots of say coffees,

otherwise i would have to bring my 50mm,1.8 and keep changing lenses! And then

i need a tripod, im a girl so not very strong, i got recommended the Manfrotto

190X ($275), im willing to spend up to $300 as long as it is a good tripod

because i have a cheap tripod and its crap, so just wanted to make sure that

this is a good one,its pretty light so im worried that its not stable

enough,your feedback would be great, thanks heaps

You can't go wrong with the Canon 10-22. It will focus down to 10" and because of the wide angles you will rarely need a tripod to hold the camera steady. It is more expensive but in my view worth it for the quality.

I have both these lenses. Both are very good. The Canon is *very slightly* better, but you'd have to be looking at a very large version of the photo to notice the difference, and (in my opinion) the Canon is NOT worth twice as much money as the Sigma. I presume you are not in the USA -- the Canon is "only" around 30-40% more here.

 

By the way, note that the Sigma covers 10-20mm, not 10-22mm as you stated. The extra 2mm makes a difference on wide-angle lenses. They both focus equally close (around 9.5 inches / 240mm), so they should be fine for a close-up of a coffee cup. But why not take your 50mm with you anyway, just in case?

 

I've used the Manfrotto 190MF (which I assume is similar to the 190X). It's a good tripod: solid and lightweight. I also liked it because the legs can open until they are horizontal, which is good for low work, although that probably will not be important for you.

 

Which tripod head are you thinking of getting? You *might* be able to get away without a tripod if the light is good (what are your plans for lighting?). If you get a tripod, you might want to think about a remote release too.

 

Good luck with your assignment!

I have shot some real estate (home interiors), and hope to do more to make some $. I have a 20D and purchased a Tokina 12-24 for $500 US from BH. I really like the lens, and like the savings over the Canon alternative. The reviews I read indicate that this is the best third party wide angle. I know it is 12 instead of 10 mm - the difference between 16 and 19mm field of view on your (and my) camera. I opted to save a few dollars as photography is not my main source of income. I suggest you consider this as an option. It is well built and comes with a hood.

It's worth adding a double axis shoe mount bubble level to your kit - they are cheap. Level shots will avoid strange perspectives and save you a lot of post-processing work.

I agree with Mark, add the bubble level it is cheap and money well spent. As for the lens, I shoot lots of interiors and houses and have found the 10-22 mm for my 20d a necessity. The extra mm on the wide end coupled with the sharpness is definitely worth the extra $$. <P><a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/5863605">Interior shot with the 10-22mm</a> (Taken at 10mm -f/8) Incidently, the 10-22mm lens can be had for $669 at Amazon.

 

<P>Amazon:

<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FCanon-EF-S-10-22mm-3-5-4-5-Digital%2Fdp%2FB0002Y5WXE%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Delectronics%26qid%3D1176865226%26sr%3D8-1&tag=tutorialweb-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Canon 10-22mm</a><img src="http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=tutorialweb-20&l=ur2&o=1" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" />

Incidently, the 10-22 mm has a close focusing distance that would focus on a close cup of coffee, but the perspective may be off. It depends on what you want it to look like. If you are going for something like this: <a href="http://www.photo.net/photo/5863598">Room with Vase</a> to get close to an item while expanding to include the rest of the room it would work great. Otherwise I recommend the 50 f/2.5 CM lens for closeups. Additionally, I have found that the best bet to keep your perspectives right in inside architectural shots (in rooms with 7-9 ft ceilings) is to shoot at about waist level or slightly above. Otherwise you will be looking down and all your lines will be slanted too much.

If in your country the difference indeed that big then go with the Sigma. The Canon is better but not that much better. In USA prices I'd go for the Canon.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.

Thanks Guys! Im from Melbourne Australia! All the camera gear here is extremely expensive! My teacher told me in terms of the tripod to spend more money on the head than on the tripod itself and recommended the handle grip one....what do u guys think?

I have the 322RC2 and like it a lot.

 

Happy shooting, Yakim.

I don't think you should spend more money on the head than the tripod. To get started, I would buy a good tripod, and a good (but inexpensive) 3-way head. I used to use an old Bogen 3029 3-way head that cost me $40 (in the US). I used it on a Manfrotto 190 similar to the tripod you are considering, and also on a larger and heavier (and more expensive) Gitzo tripod. It provided very good support.

 

With longer lenses, I found the 3029 on the Gitzo tripod to be more stable (less vibration) than on the Manfrotto 190. Therefore, the limiting factor must have been the tripod, NOT the head. This proves that an inexpensive head (as long as it is a good one) can be a good choice that does not compromise stability. With the lenses you are considering (wide zoom, and your 50mm), the Manfrotto 190 and any good-quality 3-way head will be fine.

 

The handle-grip that your teacher is referring to is for a ballhead. Ballheads are much more expensive than 3-way heads. Ballheads make it quicker to set up a shot, but for what you are doing, a 3-way head will be great.

 

By the way, have you considered renting the gear for your shoot on Monday? It would be a cheap way to find out what works best for you. It's easy and very cheap to rent a tripod, and depending where you live, you might be able to rent the lens too.

Here's a <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005tRx">thread from 2003</a> that talks about where to rent gear in Melbourne.

Manfrotto 190 Series tripods are OK, but you have to replace the feet with rubber feet, as some places like libraries and museums will not appreciate hard feet on tripods, and that is if they let you use tripods anyway, I normally have to either seek permission forst ot use a monopod instead, again with rubber feet.

 

As for heads, I love the Manfrotto 222 head, really quick to persition and quite cheap.

 

As for lenses the 10-22 is about the best out there for this type of stuff, shame it is not a EF model instead of the EF-S that it is, I just worry what I will do when I get the 5D.

For interior work it is important to have a high degree of flexibility of leg positioning in a tripod so that you can set up in awkward corners to maximise you view of a room - perhaps with one short leg angled out against a wall, rather than having all three legs on the floor. As you aren't trying to support the weight of a large telephoto lens, and shouldn't be having to contend with wind induced vibration, you don't need the ultimate in stability and weight. Vibration is more likely to come through the floor from e.g. traffic, so damping that with something that acts as a shock absorber under the tripod feet may be useful.

 

Levelling the camera requires close adjustment: any head that makes it difficult to micro adjust should be avoided. That means using either a good friction ballhead (not a small cheap one), or a head with 3 axis geared adjustment. Remember too that you may want to have some shots with the camera in portrait orientation: this is best done with something like a Kirk L plate that provides a tripod bush on a side of the camera as well as under the base.

you can hire equipment in melbourne from the camera exchange in lonsdale st in the centre. You can try BORGE ANDERSON in port melbourne as well.

So what did you decide to do in the end, Neiyo? And how did the shoot go?