Wide Angle Lens

[david_mcgillivray]

What is a good wide angle lens for a canon 20D - any suggestions?

Thanks

David

[bueh]

What is your definition/requirement of "good"?

[david_mcgillivray]

A quality lens that gives good definition

[tridakfoto]

I have been looking for a wide angle lens for my 40D for the last couple of months and narrowed it down to the 2 following zooms. Canon's 10-22mm and Tokina's 12-24mm.

 

I just placed my order with B&H for the Canon last evening. I kept going back and forth between the both but figured the extra 2mm on the wide end would be better to have "just in case". I did notice quite a bit of CA with the Tokina but I did like the look of it and heard the build was MUCH nicer but again it all came down to the extra 2mm and a few other details. Weight being one of them.

 

I don't really think I could have done wrong either way but those were the only two I considered. I didn't look at the Sigma although it had been recommended quite a bit by dealers here and some others online, I just did not feel confident in that purchase.

 

So I chose the Canon 10-22 to go along with a 17-55, 50mm and 85mm primes and the 70-200 focal lengths.

[arie_vandervelden1]

Canon 10-22.

 

I have a Sigma 10-20. Nice lens.

 

There's also Tokina 12-24.

[lester_wareham]

And what is your definition of wide.

 

The 20D is an APS-C camera. So a standard lens is around 30mm focal length, less than this will be wide, I would say a typical wide being 17-20mm. An ultra wide angle will be about 10mm. 17mm is probably wide enough for most landscape, 10mm for more exaggerated perspective is landscape, flowers in their environment, city buildings and fitting interiors in.

 

So options, and depending if you want to maintain compatibility with a film camera or plan to get a full frame sensor camera in the future will depend if you want to try and get EF lenses only or are happy to use EF-S lenses that can only be used on APS-C.

 

For ultra wide: The only Canon option is the EF-S 10-22mm, I can recommend this lens. There are a few independent options also but I would go with Canon for quality.

 

For Wide: The cheap little 18-55mm kit lens is not so bad, specially at the wide end, but better quality is available.

The EF-S 17-55 f2.8 IS is expensive but well liked.

The EF 17-40 f4L is a classic high quality lens (this will double as an ultra wide on a full frame/film)

And again there will be some independent makes.

[joe_ethridge]

David,

 

I really like my 17-40mm USM L series zoom. It is a bit pricey due to the the fact that it is

an L series lens. I use it on my 5D and 35mm bodies to take advantage of the full range of

width. I also like it on my older 10D, although with the crop factor (the same as your 20D)

it is more like a 28-80mm zoom. One problem is that when shooting at 28mm with a

17mm wide lens, it is still a very wide lens and has difficulty with flare, which is more of a

problem with the 1.6 crop factor of the APS size sensors on the 10,20,30, & 40D bodies.

Another problem is that it is a bit slow at f4. This isn't a problem for me when shooting

wide, as I can hand hold down to 1/15th with this lens. A more expensive, heavier, and

faster zoom with IS might help, but not necessary for me.

 

All of this is assuming that you are wanting a zoom lens. If not, then any of Canon's

prime lenses would work quite well. They are all high quality and give great definition.

 

Hope this helps,

Joe

[KenPapai]

The 16-35 is still wide on an APS-C, so, for a zoom, and your vague requirements "a quality lens that gives good definition" you cannot do better. Just plan to spend at least $1,400 for best quality.

[anthony_zipple]

How wide is wide? For very wide, the 10-22 is a fine lens. Not fast but great for general use, landscapes. A great, less wide option is the 16-35 L. Wonderful quality glass, quite fast but more expensive and not as wide.

[gdanmitchell]

You are probably going to get an astonishingly wide range of responses to this question if

we don't know what you mean by "wide angle," whether you are interested in primes

and/or zooms, and perhaps even how you'll use the lens.

 

Example: There are two fine L zooms that are used by many photographers, the 17-40mm

f/4 and the (two versions of the) 16-35mm f/2.8. Depending upon what you intend to do

with the lens, it would be possible to recommend either one over the other. Without

knowing, all one can say is "both are fine lenses."

 

Or maybe you want an ultrawide lens? If so, Canon does not produce any L zooms that will

be ultrawide on a crop sensor body.

 

Or maybe you are interested in primes? In this case there are quite a few choices in the

wide range, though not so many in the ultrawide range. If you want a sort of "normal wide"

for street photography, certain lenses come to mind. If you want a very wide lens for, say,

landscape others might be worth considering.

 

I guess what I'm saying is that asking "what is a good lens?" is such a general question

that it is very difficult to give you useful information. Asking, "What is a good Canon

ultrawide zoom for shooting landscape on a crop sensor body?" - or similar for some

other prospective use - can elicit more useful responses.

 

Take care,

 

Dan

[jo7hs2]

Really depends on whether you want a wide lens, or an ultra-wide lens. If you just want a wide lens, Canon's 17-55, 17-40 4L, or 16-35 2.8 L are all excellent choices. I own a 17-40 4L for use as a wide-normal zoom on my 1.6x body cameras, and a ultra-wide on my film bodies.

 

If you want an ultrawide for a 1.6x camera, then you have three choices, the Canon 10-22, the Sigma 10-22, and the Tokina 12-24. Personally, I recommend the Canon 10-22 despite some of the benefits of the third party lenses, mostly because I still don't trust the compatibility of third-party lenses with future models.

[andre_reinders]

I own the Tokina 12-24mm for my Canon 20D and I am pleased with it. The questions posed above are valid - we need to know more about what you want to shoot, etc before suggesting any specific lenses that would fit the bill for you.

[colinsouthern]

EF16-35mm F2.8L USM II

 

- Fast

 

- Wide

 

- L Quality

 

- Can be used on Full Frame should you so desire.

[zigzag]

My definition of wide is 10mm, not 12mm on a crop camera, i.e. UWA. This I use for landscapes and would be equivalent to 16mm FOV on a FF camera. A 17-40mm or a 16-35mm are probably fantastic wide lenses on a 5D but not on a 20D.

 

I have the Canon 10-22mm which is just a tiny bit wider than the Sigma 10-20mm according to tests in a UK magazine. The Sigma is a very good lens for the price - I think it works out as 'Canon if you can afford it, Sigma if you want to save a few dollars and not lose much at all.'

 

If you want just 'wide' then the 17-x zooms offer a lot. Just make sure you get one that is f/2.8. If you want 'cheap' get the Canon 18-55mm IS.

[christopher hartt dallas]

I'm beginning to wonder about the wisdom of buying any lenses other than those that will perform on a full frame body. Sure, there are a lot of the 1.6 format out there, but it seems like it will be the 8-track tape before long. If that doesn't happen because of sensor technology itself, the iterations of full frame cameras like the 5D or Nikon 3 are sure to become more numerous. And then there is the rising urge of the photographer to have a full frame body as skills develop.

 

A good lens is expensive and a tool that takes time to master. When you've arrived at a stylistic "sweet spot" using that lens (regardless of the camera body), it's hard to suddenly realize you don't have a body that will accommodate it anymore. You run that risk with an EF-S lens. I change cameras far more often than I change lenses...as I think a lot of photographers do in this digital era.

[bueh]

Dan is spot-on. I can't believe there are so many recommendations without having this basic information.

[david_mcgillivray]

Buch I am just looking for some help and I am not an expert. I want a nice wide lens for

scenic views with good quality for my 20D.

Thanks to everyone for their input

Rgds

David

[William Michael]

EF-S 10 to 22 will give great results and is the widest.

 

EF-S 17 to 55F2.8 IS is not as wide, has IS and a constant (and faster) aperture throughout the zoom range.

 

 

EF 16 to 35F2.8L is not as wide,(as the 10 to 22) and does not have the reach of the 17 to 55, is more expensive but is fast and is not limited in the bodies it will fit.

 

EF 17 to 40F4L is in the same family as the 16 to 35, but a stop slower.

 

All these lenses will give pleasure, the choice between them is dependent upon one`s priorities (and other gear).

 

 

WW

[gdanmitchell]

David wrote: "Buch I am just looking for some help and I am not an expert. I want a nice wide lens for scenic views with

good quality for my 20D"

 

David, that helps.

 

If you are new to this whole DSLR thing and mainly want to take some "good" but perhaps semi-casual photographs of

places you visit and things you see... consider the inexpensive but apparently quite decent NEW image-stabilized version of

the 18-55 EFS kit lens. It lists for less than $200 and should do quite well for what you describe.

 

There are other more expensive and more versatile options, but unless you have some specific idea of what you want and

how these other lenses will provide that for you, I recommend starting with the less expensive lens.

 

Shoot a lot of photos with that camera/lens combination. You'll learn a lot about the equipment, technique, and about your

own photographic preferences and needs. At that point - could be as soon as a few months - you will begin to zero in on

some more specific notions of what sort of equipment is right for you.

 

There is a decent chance that you'll decide that the 18-55 IS kit lens does the job nicely for you. You might decide that it

would useful to add a longer or shorter lens - but you'll know this yourself rather than buying stuff now based on our

hunches. If it turns out that you develop a more critical eye and/or become increasingly serious about your photography,

you'll start to identify other lenses that might enhance your work.

 

You don't have to get it all right now. Get a good starter lens and learn from it.

 

Take care,

 

Dan

[evgeniy_dikiy]

Buy a Canon/Sigma fisheye and you'll have no problem with the wide angle.