looking for a wide angle zoom

[tom_schillaci_jr.]

I'm looking for a good wide angle zoom- anywhere between 10-30mm. It would be used inside cities and villages as

well as an assortment of other situations but I do not like the "fish-eye" effect and would like it to be as true

to form as possible. My price range is up to about $900 and it doesn't have to be a Canon lens. Please help.

Thanks

Tom

[Stock-Photos]

Which camera will it go on? That is a factor in what is available, as some lenses are for cropped sensor DSLR only.

 

Although I have not used one, and reviews are mixed, I'm looking at buying the Sigma 12-24MM for my 5D.

 

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/302698-REG/Sigma_200101_12_24mm_f_4_5_5_6_AF_Lens.html

[Stock-Photos]

BTW, I believe a rectilinear lens like the Sigma does not create the same type of distortion as a fisheye lens (straight lines stay straight) but there is plenty of other distortions, perspective distortion (tilt) for example.

[scherbi]

I have Canon's EF-S 10-22mm. It's a great lens in your price range. Sigma has a lens with a similar range (10-20?) that's allegedly almost as good, but it's much cheaper than the Canon. I'm very happy with my EF-S 10-22.

[RobertChura]

17-40 on my 5D was my choice

[mendel_leisk]

Just to echo J. Harrington: it's really hard to respond without knowing the crop factor. Please let everyone know what body you're using.

[w_t1]

17-40 on 5d as others have said. It stinks for 10d/40d though. So I run with a ff or film body and 1.6

[yakim_peled1]

I tried two copies of the Sigma 10-20 and was quite impressed with it. However, for myself I bought the Canon 10-22. It's such a good lens that I cant recommend it highly enough. Sharp wide open, fast to focus, low distortion, minimal CA and best of all, completely flare resistant. My country (Israel) is unfortunately a very sunny one so the latter issue is extremely important. If your country is not that sunny then I'd recommend checking the Tokina 11-16/2.8 which is also very good.

 

Happy shooting,

Yakim.

[manuel barrera houston,]

A sigma will work well, so will a canon, so will a nikon, or a tamron, they will do just fine, as will the tokina. they all have lens under $1,000, soon as you tell us what type of camera the answer could be answered:>)

[JDMvW]

"Fish-eye" is a special type of wide angle on which the apparent "distortion" is not corrected. Such lenses will

almost always be marketed with "fish-eye" in the name somewhere. Relatively few of them are made these days.

 

Ultra-wide lenses (e.g., 10-22mm) for 15x22mm sensor cameras, however, are rectilinear, as J H has said. The

equivalents on full-frame cameras (24x36mm sensor like the 5D) are the 16-35 and the 17-40mm lenses. There are

some third party lenses in the ca 12mm low end that will fit on FF bodies. However, you can't avoid certain kinds

of "distortion" in the results from very wide angle lenses, since what you are seeing is not really distortion,

but has to do with the perspective of a given "viewing distance" that is represented in the picture. Even a fish

eye can look pretty rectilinear if you center the horizon, and a "rectilinear" wide angle can exaggerate features

such as noses that are closer to the lens.

 

To avoid distortion is really not just a matter of the lens, but also of how you compose your picture.

[alan_myers]

Tom hasn't gotten back to us yet, to let us know whether he wants the lens for full frame or crop sensor camera.

 

So, a short list for each:

 

 

Full Frame (5D, 35mm film, etc.) -

 

- Canon EF 17-40/4L (Used, a Canon EF 17-35/2.8L from a few years ago would be within your budget... I suspect

either of the Canon 16-35/2.8L in decent shape would typically be over your budget, even used.)

 

- Sigma or Tamron 17-35/2.8 equivalents. I've heard good reports on the Tammy, but haven't used either.

 

- Sigma 12-24 (This is an extremely wide on full frame, widest possible on a full frame camera and even quite

wide on a crop sensor camera, will work on both but users seem to agree it compromises a little on image quality,

although still impressive considering it's extreme... Slower aperture than some other lenses, not cheap but

within your budget I believe.)

 

 

Crop sensor (Rebels/xxxD, 20/30/40/50D) -

 

- Canon EF-S 10-22 (cannot fit to 10D & earlier)

 

- Sigma, Tamron 10-20, 11-22

 

- Tokina 12-24/4 or 11-16/2.8

 

For my money, on crop sensor cameras the Tokina 12-24 is pretty hard to beat, provided it's wide enough (equal to

about 19mm on full frame). It has as good IQ as the Canon 10-22, but offers better build quality, includes the

lens hood (an extra cost with the Canon) and is about $200 US cheaper than the Canon. It's not quite as wide as

the Canon, though... and 2mm difference is notable at this wide focal length. The Toki 11-16 is a full stop

faster, a silly mm wider, also very good IQ, but more expensive and has a very narrow zoom range.

 

None of the above are fisheye lenses. Nearly all fisheye lenses are primes, not zooms. The only fisheye zoom I'm

aware of is the Tokina 10 to something.

[tom_schillaci_jr.]

Thanks for all the replies everyone, I'm sorry I didn't get back to this sooner. I became very busy and didn't have time. I do have the Canon 5d and based on the help so far, it looks like the Canon 17-40 might be my best bet unless I missed one. The "fish eye effect" I mentioned simply meant that I wanted straight lines to be straight lines and did not want the scene to be distorted at all or as little as possible. If anyone can be of anymore help, please let me know.

Thanks

Tom