conejas Loc: Miami Florida

I have a Canon 7d and would like to buy a wide angle lens and was wondering if this lens is worth it. I like shooting waterfalls, wildlife and landscape. I am going to Antelope Canyon and horseshoe bend in December. I have the chance to buy the lens for 200.00 and not sure if is something I can use. I read lots of reviews and some are over my head. I am still learning to use the 7d.

Any recommendations will be grateful.

BudsOwl Loc: Upstate NY and New England

I don’t know of any 10-28. You may have meant the 10-18 or the 10-22, both of which are EF-S lenses. In the review I saw, the 10-18 was rated a little better than the 10-22 and cost less than half the price. If you want more info send me a PM.
Bud

conejas Loc: Miami Florida

Sorry 10-18

TonyBot

Good deal! If it is in good shape, jump!

Well rated lens.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

As noted in an earlier response, there's no 10-28mm being made by anyone. But there are a number of ultrawides to choose among.

Canon themselves make two:

EF-S 10-20mm f/3.5-4.5 USM costs about $600 new and is one of the best made by anyone. It's got excellent image quality... is sharp, well corrected, has little chromatic aberration and is highly flare resistant. It's also pretty well built (not a premium L, more of "mid grade" build) with a moderately large, though variable aperture. This lens has been in production for some time, so is pretty easy to find used. I bought mine used for around $425 with the lens hood. It uses 77mm filters and it's (optional but highly recommended) lens hood is the size of a small Frisbee.

EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM is the least expensive ultrawide on the market, selling for under $300 new ($200 for a used one is a bargain, too). It's actually got just as good image quality as the more expensive model and is one of the few ultrawides with Image Stabilization (not really necessary on an UWA, but nice to have none-the-less). It is "kit lens" build quality... lightly built with lots of plastic... and has a relatively small, variable aperture... but to be fair this allows it to be one of the smallest and lightest lens of this type, and large apertures are actually not needed by most UWA users. It's fairly compact, using 67mm filters. It also uses a more reasonably sized lens hood. (BOTH these Canon lenses' hoods are sold separately and are recommended, if not included with a used lens. Only Canon L-series lenses are sold with their respective lens hoods.)

Tamron makes a 10-24mm. The latest version of it has VC image stabilization and an upgraded form of autofocus. The current VC version sells for about $500 (incl. hood).

Tokina makes an 11-20mm that until recently was the fastest of all the UWA, with an f/2.8 aperture (non-variatble). This makes for a rather large, heavy lens (it uses 82mm filters) that sells for a little under $500 (incl. hood). This lens solved two key problems with an earlier 11-16mm f/2.8 that Tokina offered... the 11-20mm focal length range is much better than the very narrow 11-16mm. The new model also deals with flare much better... the 11-16mm was highly susceptible to it.

Tokina also makes a less extreme 12-28mm f/4 (non-variable) lens that's a little smaller, lighter and less expensive. It uses 77mm filters and is on sale for about $300. It superseded and improved upon an earlier, 12-24mm f/4 model they offered. All four of these Tokina lenses feel quite well made. I have the earlier 12-24mm and it's build reminds me of an older L-series lens I had some years ago.

Tokina now also offers a 14-2omm f/2 lens that's not quite as wide, but with what is now the largest non-variable aperture of any of these lenses. This makes it pretty large, heavy, with a fairly limited range of focal lengths and one of the more expensive at $600 (hood incl., 82mm filters). This is a fairly new lens, but most reviews have been quite positive.

All the Tokina are a little "different". They use a "focus clutch" mechanism where you slide the focus ring forward or backward to engage or disengage autofocus. When set to AF, manual focus is fully disengaged, probably to protect the lens' micro motor AF system from damage. It's not like Canon USM (ultrasonic) and STM (stepper motor) lenses, which have "full time manual" where you can override the AF manually any time without having to turn AF off and without concern of damaging it. Some people find the focus clutch a problem. I never minded it. The Tokina lenses also rotate their focus and zoom rings the opposite direction of Canon (the same direction as Nikon lenses)... though I have to say I hardly noticed this in real world use.

Sigma also makes several UWA zooms. Their 10-20mm f/3.5 used to be one of the most expensive, but has come way down in price recent years and now sells for $400 (with lens hood). It's got a non-variable aperture and is relatively large and heavy, using 82mm filters. Sigma used to offer a smaller, lighter 10-20mm f/4-5.6 too, at a lower price. That lens has been discontinued but can still often be found used.

Sigma's 8-16mm is the widest of the ultrawides. Aside from fisheye lenses, there's simply nothing wider available. It has fairly strong wide angle exaggerations (though nowhere near as much as a fisheye), is fairly expensive at $700 and cannot use standard filters (due to a protruding, convex front lens element).

There also have been a couple Sigma 12-24mm... but they are actually full frame lenses and as a result are large, heavy and expensive. The current "Art" version sells for $1600! These have a built in lens hood and cannot use standard filters. Might be interesting to use on a full frame camera, but these lenses would be largely a waste of money to use on APS-C camera like 7D. There are as wide or wider "crop only" lenses available for considerably lower cost.

Finally, there's also a Tokina 10-17mm that's actually a Fisheye zoom... not recommended for general wide angle purposes, more of a specialty lens which strongly curves straight lines, but can capture 150 to 180 degree angle of view (a non-fisheye 10mm lens captures around 105 degrees).

Wherever you end up purchasing them, this is a pretty good summary of what's currently available for use on Canon APS-C DSLRs like your 7D:

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=274&fct=fct_lens-mount_3316%7ccanon-eos%2bfct_lens-types-for-aps-c-cameras_3326%7cwide-zoom%2bfct_lens-format-coverage_3332%7caps-c-lenses&N=4288584247&

There are reviews of a lot of those lenses there too, which you might find helpful.

But, as you can see, the price of the EF-S 10-18mm.... especially what you've been offered for a used one (I assume)... is pretty hard to beat! It's not the best built UWA by any means, but can take good shots and might be fine for your purposes. You wouldn't be "risking" very much money buying it. Some folks say to not use them on ultrawides, but I disagree and for scenic photography would recommend getting a quality Circular Polarizing filter for use on it (for $70 in 67mm size, the B+W F-Pro Kaesemann High Transmissive C-Pol is pretty hard to beat). If the lens you are buying doesn't include the hood, Canon's EW-73C to fit the 10-18mm costs $25. There's a Vello clone of it for $12.50 that probably works just as well.

conejas Loc: Miami Florida

Thank you so much, I think I am going to purchase the 10-18 (includes polarized filter. The only thing the I worry about is the plastic on the lens. Maybe I should save a little more and get the 12-28 Tokina. Decisions

miked46 Loc: Winter Springs, Florida

I believe you are thinking of the 10-18mm, and this is an awesome little lens, at a very good price for the 7D

tims.ak Loc: Butte, Alaska

Pull the trigger. You won't regret it and for $200 you can sell it in a flash if you don't like it. And don't worry about plastic, super tough. Have you ever seen a demo of safety lenses stopping a bullet? It's not going to break. It'll give you time to experiment before your vacation trip.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

I have a 7D and got the 10-18. Wonderful lens, lightweight and easy to use.
Tack sharp in my experience.
If you get it make sure you get the hood for it as it does not come with it and well worth getting.
I have no regrets getting this lens as a replacement for a WA lens that was stolen at work.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Most all lenses are plastic now. If you drop it and it breaks the mount that is better than breaking the 7D.
I have had mine for a long time now and no problems as the lens is so light there is not stress on the mount or the barrel.

Richard Engelmann Loc: Boulder, Colorado

I love my Canon 10-18. This photo, looking toward the mountains West of Boulder, Colorado, was taken hand-held. Note the orange light reflected back off the snow on the distant peaks. I also like the lens for close-quarters candid shots of grandkids at play.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

The Canon 10-22 has the reputation of being one of the best. Canon does not label EF-s lenses as "L" glass, but supposedly this is "L-quality".

Some photos posted specifically using this lens:

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-221396-1.html

Mr. B Loc: eastern Connecticut

I have a Canon EF-S 10-22 that I use extensively on my Canon 7D. It's my only non-L lens and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I use for not only landscapes but inside museums as well.

conejas Loc: Miami Florida

Thank you