Beside the Sigma 10-20mm or the Canon 10-22mm, what is another great wide angle lens ??

Question

I'm a landscape photographer looking for the best Wide angle lens.

I don't want to spend more than $600 for my next wide angle lens.

So no, I can't afford the Canon 24mm =(

What do you recommend ??

Canon EOS 40D

Current Lens, Kit Canon (70-300mm,18-55mm,28-105), Sigma 10-20mm, and the Canon 50mm f/1.4

Answer 1

As Fhotoace points out, you have several options. Your Sigma 10-20mm can be upgraded to a Canon 10-22mm ($710) or a Sigma 12-24mm ($780). The other ultra-wide zooms are the same as your current Sigma or inferior.

You can practically buy these lenses outright with your budget of $600. If you sell your Sigma 10-20mm (and perhaps the Canon 28-105mm while you're at it) you'll have cash to spare.

What Canon 24mm are you looking at? Surely not the $1150 Canon 24mm f/1.4. (The f/2.8 version costs just $295). On your 40D, a 24mm lens effectively gives you 38mm, which doesn't strike me as the ideal lens for landscapes to begin with, and why on earth would anyone use an f/1.4 lens for landscapes - this lens is optimized for the aperture range f/1.4 to f/4, which is useful for many things but decidedly not for landscapes - the cheaper version would do just as well. You must mean something else.

If you ARE looking for something around the 24mm range, consider the Canon 17-40mm ($700). This lens, as well as the more expensive Canon 16-35mm, was designed as a landscape lense for full-frame bodies: the 5D, 1Ds etc, and 35mm film cameras. (The Canon 10-22mm is it's counterpart for EF-S bodies such as the D40.)

If you get a 17-40mm, hang onto the Sigma 10-20mm and consider selling the 28-105 if you need the money. (You won't get anything for the 18-55 - just about every new camera comes with this lens.)

Answer 2

There are in addition the Tokina 12 - 24 mm f/4, Tokina 11 - 16 mm f/2.8 and Tamron 11 - 18 mm f/4.5 - 5.6.

There is also a new fisheye zoom made by Tokina .. the 10-17 mm f/3.5 - 4.5.