Landscape lens: Being mostly interested in wildlife photography I have left the occasional landscape to the bottom end of my Tamron 17-270 but I am now thinking of buying a good wide...

kondwani Loc: Norfolk, England

Being mostly interested in wildlife photography I have left the occasional landscape to the bottom end of my Tamron 17-270 but I am now thinking of buying a good wide angle lens.
I would be interested in forum members views/recommendations to suit a Canon 50D.
I am favouring the Sigma 10-20 f3.5 at the moment but it's a little pricy for my budget.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

kondwani wrote:

Being mostly interested in wildlife photography I have left the occasional landscape to the bottom end of my Tamron 17-270 but I am now thinking of buying a good wide angle lens.
I would be interested in forum members views/recommendations to suit a Canon 50D.
I am favouring the Sigma 10-20 f3.5 at the moment but it's a little pricy for my budget.

Tokina makes a good wide angle DX and FX. Look on ebay and KEH

kondwani Loc: Norfolk, England

Thanks Jerry.
I looked at the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 but it was coming out more expensive than the Sigma. However it has got some good reviews.
The thing is do I need f2.8 for general landscapes ?

dachs

if you work off a tripod you can manage 3,4 or f4. Wouldn't go much smaller as your composition view and maybe the camera autofocus (if you use it) will struggle.

if you manual focus (should really) then 2,8 will help.

gets what you pays for!

For landscape I'd consider a fixed prime lens - 24mm equivalent on full frame (you do the crop factors!). Quality will go up and the lines will generally be drawn straighter, probably less secondary vignetting, less flare too. Then use feet to zoom....... Reason is, quality of foreground sharpness hits the viewer no end on a lot of landscapes, and zooms won't compete with fixed into the corners.

kondwani Loc: Norfolk, England

Thanks Dachs for the suggestion I will do some research on primes.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

kondwani wrote:

Being mostly interested in wildlife photography I have left the occasional landscape to the bottom end of my Tamron 17-270 but I am now thinking of buying a good wide angle lens.
I would be interested in forum members views/recommendations to suit a Canon 50D.
I am favouring the Sigma 10-20 f3.5 at the moment but it's a little pricy for my budget.

Sigma 10-20mm 1:4-5.6 EX DC HSM is a great lens and should be $200 cheaper brand new and moreso secondhand.
Also it takes 77mm filters instead of the 82mm more expensive ones required on the F/3.5 version.
You don't need F/3.5 for wide angle landscape work. Most of your shots will be at F/8 to F/16.
Don't let anyone kid you that a 24mm is the one you need.
It is not a wide angle lens on your camera. It is the equivalent of 38mm
10mm is the equivalent of 16mm.

dachs

lighthouse wrote:

You don't need F/3.5 for wide angle landscape work. Most of your shots will be at F/8 to F/16.
Don't let anyone kid you that a 24mm is the one you need.
It is not a wide angle lens on your camera. It is the equivalent of 38mm
10mm is the equivalent of 16mm.

I did say 35mm equivalent - he has to do his own factors, and get 17 or whatever. Wouldn't go wider except occasionally, distortion may become your enemy and it has all been overdone.

f8 to f16 yes but very hard to see the framing and focus at anything smaller than f4; granted you stop down for the shot very likely (though with the wider wide lenses you may not have to so much)

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

dachs wrote:

quote=lighthouse br You don't need F/3.5 for wid... (show quote)

He also said price was an issue which means that there isn't a lens that you allude to in his price range.
The closest is the 14mm rectilinear and the old version of that is probably $1000 second hand.
Or a fisheye and I doubt that is the lens he wants.
I would definitely go wider than 17 on an APSC camera, and more than occasionally. When I was on reduced frame my Sigma used to live in the 10-12mm range.
Now I am on fullframe my 17-40 lives between 17 & 20mm.
And if I was enjoying what I was taking I wouldn't let anyone else tell me what has "all been overdone".
Landscape shots at 10-12mm on your camera can have stunning perspective without having obvious overdone distortion. It's all about how you use the tools.
Go with your original thinking.
Get one of the Sigma10-20mm, or the Tokina 11-16mm.
They are brilliant landscape lenses.
You won't look back.
When you get it - read Ken Rockwell's article about how to use ultrawides - he tells it like it is.

Regarding "f8 to f16 yes but very hard to see the framing and focus at anything smaller than f4" - that is just not true. I have never had a problem in this area.

BigBear Loc: Northern CT

lighthouse wrote:

br He also said price was an issue which means th... (show quote)

I have to agree with Lighthouse regarding the 17-40.
My 17-40 lives on my 50D unless my 70-200 is on it.
You can't beat it and it's worth every bit. It comes so close to filling the gap to my 70-200 with the quality.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/how-to-use-ultra-wide-lenses.htm

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

here is my 2 cents,on a crop or ff camera i would consider 16-28mm as a good choice.on mid format 45mm works for me.now if my scene is far away and i want detail. iwould use a 100mm for one and a 200mm for the other and make a panarama. one last thing,i use as small an f stop as i can. gives me more grace when focusing.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

I use the Sigma 10-20 mm on my Canon 50D. It's a great lens. Crisp, clear pictures, and worth every cent. It may be a bit pricey but you truly do get what you pay for.

dandai Loc: SE VA

i use a Tokina 11-16 f2.8, and love it.

beinbalance Loc: Catskill, NY, US

the images speaks for it's self. Canon XSi, 14mm Pro Optic lens ( 21mm on a cropped camera ). It's the old saying,... not the equipment that makes a good photographic image.... you know the rest.

results using a cheap wide angle lens

ole sarg Loc: south florida

It ain't the glass and it ain't the equipment. It is the photographer. Ever notice how the great photos are shot by great photographers and great symphonies are composed by great composers and great paintings are painted by great painters.

Master the craft and you will do very well with what you have. Improving equipment will not make you a better photographer.