Hi,

so i had on my shopping list for some stage in the near future a Canon 10-22 or a Tokina 11-16mm as they have good reports from most around here.

But..

Its crossed my mind that a wide angle will only be used by me for quite specific shots, only on a tripod so Im wondering isnt there some old manual equivalent i could pick up that could do the same job (even if its fixed length) for a fifth of the price?

Or were old lenses not that wide as they didnt have the crop factor to deal with?

Thanks for any thoughts on this! Im guessing theres a simple answer that says i'll have to invest in one of the above two but no harm in asking!

ok.. so far my research has turned up a Nikon 13mm, quite a bargain with 2nd hand prices around 10-20,000$

(maybe ive answered my own question!)

This one might be a good choice: Samyang.pl Samyang 14mm f/2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical (http://www.samyang.pl/product,76,category,5,samyang_14mm_f28_if_ed_mc_aspherical)

You will be able to find it for about 300-400$ in a few weeks I thnik.

The Canon EF-S 17-85mm at B&H is $449. That might not be as wide as you are wanting...

That Samyang is a fisheye, isn't it? If not, it should be good.

There's a Sigma 20mm, which would give you about the area of a 32mm lens in the full frame world. I think it's an f1.8. That Canon 17-85 only opens up to around a 3.5, doesn't it? Overall the best bang for the buck seems to be the Tokina 11-16. I have a Tokina 16-50 for my wide angle, because that 16mm is wider than my widest angle on my XH A1, and that's been OK for me. The Tokina is a 2.8.

The Tokina 11-16mm is amazing for the price. Used it a lot for a shoot this weekend and it helped a lot in tight places. No fisheye distortion either, all nice angles

That Samyang is a fisheye, isn't it? If not, it should be good.

There's a Sigma 20mm, which would give you about the area of a 32mm lens in the full frame world. I think it's an f1.8. That Canon 17-85 only opens up to around a 3.5, doesn't it? Overall the best bang for the buck seems to be the Tokina 11-16. I have a Tokina 16-50 for my wide angle, because that 16mm is wider than my widest angle on my XH A1, and that's been OK for me. The Tokina is a 2.8.

Bill, the Samyang 14mm is a new lens to be released in march if I am not mistaken. The 8mm is the fisheye. This one is a true wide angle that can also be used on full frame.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/0909/09091801samyung14mm.asp

http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10020307samyang14mm.asp

Just ordered the Tokina 11-16 and look forward to trying on the 7d for time laps I have planned this week.

Zenitar 16/2.8 fisheye... with the 1.6x crop, the fishiness is mostly gone. Due to the fisheye design, the angle of coverage is more like 10-12mm on a 1.6x crop.

You could go with a Raynox or Century Optics add-on that screws on to the front of your 18-55 or whatever.

Just ordered the Tokina 11-16 and look forward to trying on the 7d for time laps I have planned this week.

Did you find a place that has these in stock? I've been looking for one..

You could go with a Raynox or Century Optics add-on that screws on to the front of your 18-55 or whatever.

sounds interesting.. do these exist for photo lenses though? i can only seem to find them for video cameras?

Bill, the Samyang 14mm is a new lens to be released in march if I am not mistaken. The 8mm is the fisheye. This one is a true wide angle that can also be used on full frame.

Samyang offers 14mm F/2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical lens: Digital Photography Review (http://www.dpreview.com/news/0909/09091801samyung14mm.asp)

Samyang announces 14mm f/2.8 lens availability: Digital Photography Review (http://www.dpreview.com/news/1002/10020307samyang14mm.asp)

also sounds interesting! i'm actually trying to imagine just how does a 14mm look, compared to 17mm, or with the canon/tokina, just how much will that extra 1mm give (at 10mm?)..

i think a trip to my local camera store is needed..

sounds interesting.. do these exist for photo lenses though? i can only seem to find them for video cameras?

There are models for digicams, but mostly, they're for video. Check the Raynox site.

thanks.. i can only find these though Raynox conversion lenses for Digital SLR camera (http://raynox.co.jp/english/digital/d_slr/index.html) i dont think theyre wide angle converters are they?

edit: found this page http://raynox.co.jp/english/video/egwidehdxl.htm#hd6600pro49 they look really interesting, the price seems good (by googling model numbers) but i cant find anything with a filter size that im looking for.. the website is pretty hard to get around!

has anybody used wide angle converters with DSLR lenses? pros/cons/thoughts?

The HD-6600PRO58 is probably what you're looking for if you're using the kit 18-55.

You will get what you pay for. The 18-55 isn't bad, but not stellar, now you're adding on several layers of glass. Chromatic aberations and fringing will be a problem in some shots.

So there will be 2 factors in the equation, the lens on the camera, and then the add-on.

i'd probably use it with the 17-55 or as a last resort with the 18-135.. (77mm or 67mm threads)

Well my Tokina 11-16 showed up today and it was for a Nikon. Frustrating to be told one thing and have the other show up.

I keep thinking of selling my 7d and going for a 5d to have all the great wide lens options. For me wide is key for my time laps.

The Zenitar 16mm is pretty affordable.

true enough but personally im covered pretty close with the 17-55 and wouldnt buy a new lens for only a millimeter of extra coverage :)

At the wide end, 1mm means a lot! going from 18 (29mm equivalent) to 15mm (24mm equivalent) is about as obvious in your framing as going from 200mm to 300mm.

Agree I would like to have a 8-10mm that is decent quality.

Since I can not find a Tokina 11-16 anywhere for sale. Did they stop making this?

Has anyone tried this lens?
Sigma | 10mm f/2.8 EX DC HSM Fisheye Lens for Can | 477-101 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=NavBar&A=getItemDetail&Q=&sku=535763&is=USA&si=rev#specifications)

Don't know about that Sigma, but the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 is still made (as far as I know) but is in such demand that every time a shipment arrives they all seem to be pre-sold/fly off the shelves...

As it happens, I bought a Canon 10-22mm (instead of the Tokina) for my 7D and I'm absolutely delighted with it's performance - see my objective personal comparison between the two for video use on the link below and judge for yourself if it's a worthy choice for your wide specific angle needs. Today, I've just returned from the Arctic - where it produced some stunning images! There are advantages and disadvantages between these two wide angle lenses (for both stills and video). Both get very highly rated on photography review sites but I hope this helps you narrow the choice.

CanonWideAngle (http://www.shootingimage.co.uk/CanonWideAngle/CanonWideAngle.html)

Thanks Andy,

I had a Canon 10-22 on my Birger mount with the Red One and it was nice. Would go for it in a second if it was faster. That is what had me looking at the Sigma 10mm.

Should be going to NYC in a few weeks maybe I will wait and test a few options.

There are rumours that Canon will eventually bring out a F2.0 wide angle - I think I read it somewhere on here that they have a patent for this - no idea how many months or years away that might be though!

Thanks Andy if I can't wait I will go for the 10-22. Agree who know when Canon would bring out a 2.0 wide.

Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens Review (http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-S-10-22mm-f-3.5-4.5-USM-Lens-Review.aspx)

The above is a link to a review of the 10-22 Canon.

The site is very good for all Canon information. Mostly from a still photo viewpoint, but I find it very useful and full of information

Yes that is an excellent site. And another useful link for this discussion...

Canon 10-22 F3.5-4.5 USM v Tokina 11-16 F2.8 ATX DX PRO Photo Gallery by lightrules at pbase.com (http://www.pbase.com/lightrules/1022v1116)

Olof, Andy, great links thanks. I think this will do it for me I ordering a 10-22.

Olof do you have this lens on your new 7d?

Paul,

I don't have that lens. I have not tried it yet. I have the 16-40L f4. It is a very nice lens, both on the 7 but on the 5DmkII it is really nice. One I often use on interior shots.

If you are still thinking of the 5DmkII, you may want to hold off. The 16-35l f2.8 is also a great lens and usable on FF cams later, but 2x the price. Though I am sure the 10-22 would be easy to sell with the 7D.

Olof thanks for the quick response. I thought I was going to hold off but I have booked a shoot that needs wide on the 7d as the C camera. Agree if I make the change to the 5d or something else it will all sell easily.

Ordered the 10-22 today since I have a deadline.

Looks like snow late next week for you?

Are you going to NAB? I am there for a few days.

Paul,

I think you will love the lens. And it will retain its value. I love the 7D, very impressive. I have played with it for a few days now. I really like the way my old 50mm 1.4 looks wide open for mid shots, 10' or so, I will use this combo a lot.

We are all doing snow dances up here. One of the clients for the shoot will be here tomorrow, just back from Florida. She can't believe we have no snow here.

I have to go on a shoot in South Carolina and Tennessee for one of my best clients the week of NAB. Just think of all the money I will save.

Agree Olof the lens will fill a nice gap in the 7d. Also looking for a long lens with IS.

I have the Canon 17x with Optical Stabilizer for the 350 the week starting Thursday. Would be nice to do the shoot with that setup. If the setup works the way I expect I will be buying the gear mid March.

We also need to plan a ground shoot in April? Maybe Tuckermans?

NAB is cheap for me this year.
Flight on miles
Tuesday night and Wed night hotel $200
Food and entertainment $200
Not bad.

Paul, I have the 70-200L 2.8 IS and the 100-400L 4-5.6 IS. They are both fantastic on the 5&7.

The 100-400 is like a 640 on the 7D, good outdoor tele and very portable for the length, if I need longer faster I rent them or sometimes you can get them for a while through CPS (Canon Professional Services), and they are beasts.

The 70-200 is my favorite lens on the 5D, perfect portrait lens and pretty fast, great indoor lens. I am sure it is great on the 7 as well.

My favorite walk around lens is the 24-105L 4 IS.

April is probably when we will get 6' of snow up here. Looks like snow on Wed-Thurs, but then cloudy for a few days. Knock on wood the R word is being tossed around.

Nice to hear you think the 100-400L is a decent daylight choice for the 7d. There is a used 70-200 locally I will check it out. The 100-400 is a lot less money and a lot slower. I do have a 400 and 500 I can borrow.

Too bad I owned all of these lens when I had my Red with Birger mount. Should have kept the glass. But I'm sure the money went somewhere important I just can't remember where. Probably my boat.

NO "R" just snow!!!

I just got my Tokina 11-16/2.8 used off Ebay, it's a very nice lens, surprisingly big, I like the hood. This lens is currently out of stock at every dealer I've checked.

I also have the Sigma 15-30 and 20-40/2.8 on my 1Ds and 1Dm2. The 1Dm2 + 15-30, 1Ds + 20-40 and 7D + 11-16/2.8 are about the same FOV for anyone who wants a comparison.

I collected my Tokina 11-16mm last week and I LOVE this lens.
I do a lot of photography in low situation (concerts) and this lens is just awesome.
Almost no fish-eye kind of distortion, fixed f/2.8 and great results.
Here's a picture I took this saturday (did some CC and small bit of cropping)
Picasa-webalbums - Jeremy - AedO - 10 jaar (http://picasaweb.google.be/jeremy.naus/AedO10Jaar#5440640821218036978)

I was standing very close to these guys.
Love the lens :-)

nice.. i think i'll end up going for this one aswell

Canon EFS 10-22 arrived and first test I am very pleased. This is how wide I have been looking to get.

The fact that it is slow 3.5/4.5 is not a problem for most of my shooting.

Also pleased which how straight the edges are at full wide. Not perfect but better then I expected.

Yes, it's a cracking lens. The Tokina 11-16 F2.8 gets all the glory (because it's F2.8 of course - which is fair enough) but this Canon wide angle gets somewhat overlooked. The Canon at 10, 11 and 12mm area is only half a stop slower (at F3.5) and suffers much less from horrid lens flare, less barrel distortion etc....and it'll go wider and near focus closer (which is GREAT!) and the zoom range is much more usable. Enjoy it!

Agree Andy, you were the one in this thread who opened my eyes again to the Canon. Glad you did. Thanks!

You're welcome! :-)

Also, here's another thread on DVinfo that has some good info about wide angles for the 7D, new 550D etc. - linking it just so anyone looking at all this stuff can easily and quickly get as many views as possible.

http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/canon-eos-7d-hd/470245-recieved-my-7d-today-wide-angle-lens-advice-have-2-mind.html

I had the same question as you did, and after searching extensively I concluded that out that the Tokina is the best option, not only because of how wide can it go, still being a zoom, but especially because of it's speed (2.8 constant).

I have a couple of sigma lenses, which are of good quality, BUT BEWARE! if you happen to travel outside the country of purchase and it malfunctions, even when they say they have an international warranty, you might not be able to get it repaired unless you pay (this is just happening to me as we speak)

Canon as always is a sure bet, but as usual, you pay more for a similar lens.

If you use lens adapters (eg: 0.4x), you will stop the light down, and that might become a problem in certain situations.

The problem with the tokina's is to get hold of one. I finally managed to buy mine today after being in a 4 month waiting list at B&H, and apparently they just ran out of them again.

Mauricio