which WIDE ANGLE LENS to buy?

[jcanon701]

I'm looking to get a wide angle lens.

I would be using it to shoot landscapes (i'm not huge on shooting landscapes, but but the ability to shoot landscapes would be nice once in a while when i have the time)

I would also be using it for some general photography simply because I like the distorted look.

budget is around $500

This will be for a canon rebel xti body

Posting some useful links/threads to direct me the right direction would help also, thanks

thanks

[DonSchap]

Up the budget just a little and pop for the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM lens. Your problems should be settled with that one.

Simple, huh? :)

[jcanon701]

oh yeah forgot to mention one thing.

i often shoot in low light conditions - is there a wide angle lens that is good for these conditions? ..... if not then it's okay... flashes required then

[DonSchap]

Well ... when you talk about low light imaging ... FORGET THE BUDGET. That's a whole new ballgame and it's not cheap.

The Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L USM (which provides an effective 22mm-wide-angle-shot on an APS-C sensor camera -> XTi, due to the cropping factor) is a pricey piece of work, at ~$1800. That's the going price of wide-light, these days.

The nearest alternative is the larger EF 20mm f/2.8 USM (which provides an effective 32mm-wide-angle-shot on an APS-C sensor camera -> XTi, due to the cropping factor) is a more conservative $420.

Those are the choices when you consider levels of light.

Now, you could go the Frankenstein-route and get your hands on a very cost-effective EF 28mm f/1.8 (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/102851-USA/Canon_2510A003_Wide_Angle_EF_28mm.html) ($400) and a 58mm filter-type screw-on Raynox DCR-7900ZD (http://digitaletc.stores.yahoo.net/6922.html) High Definition Wideangle Conversion lens (0.79x) $250 (which only adds an addition 0.3-stops to your light admission). This would get you around a 34mm f/2.2 shot, even after throwing on that XTi. That's serious low-light!

Then, of course, a little narrower with a EF 24mm f/1.4L lens ... or effectively 37mm f/1.4 on the XTi camera body ... for the reasonable price of $1100 ... low light galore ... but again, a narrower shot. The filter ring on this bad boy is 77mm, so there really isn't a lot more you could stack on the front of it to widen it out. It'd be cool if you could though. Probably would be 100mm across ... and not very cheap.

A good rule for effective wide-angle ... dump the XTi and get your hands on an EOS 5D body. You will get a lot more bang for your buck. The EOS 5D will give you precisely the focal length printed on the lens, none of this "effective" crap. With the XTi and low light ... you're just using the wrong tool for the job, because you're fighting the "cropping factor" of the smaller sensor ... so you're increasing every lens' focal length by 1.6x with it. What sense does that make?

[coldrain]

There are 3 kinds of wide angle lenses.

uncorrected ones (fish eye lenses) that make the world look very distorted, circular fish eyes that do not even fill the while frame but just a circle inside the frame, and corrected wide angle lenses.

You asked my in a private message about the Tokina 10-17mm zoom. It is not a normal (corrected) wide angle lens, but rather a fish eye zoom lens, which may or may not suit what you are after.
For what it is, a fisheye zoom it really is quite a good and impressive lens.

The corrected wide angle zooms you can consider are the Tokina 12-24mm f4 and the Sigma 10-20mm. Both will fit your budget, I think.

The Canon 10-22mm will be above your stated budget, especially when you factor in that you have to buy the sun hood separate.

[jcanon701]

yea i'm looking for the corrected wide angle lens

the tokina and the sigma definitely fall into my budget much better

tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.6
tokina 12-24mm f/4
sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6

These 3 are all relatively the same in price.

Which one to get? These seem to be made more for good lighting + landscape shooting (since low light wide lens are really expensive). I was just wondering whether an aperture of f/4 will create shallow focus when shooting landscapes? I'm assuming no since the lens is already so wide correct?

(I already have a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens)

Recommend a lens! thanks

[SpecialK]

yea i'm looking for the corrected wide angle lens

the tokina and the sigma definitely fall into my budget much better

tokina 10-17mm f/3.5-4.6
tokina 12-24mm f/4
sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6

I was just wondering whether an aperture of f/4 will create shallow focus when shooting landscapes? I'm assuming no since the lens is already so wide correct?

(I already have a Sigma 18-50mm f/2.8 lens)

Recommend a lens! thanks

I would go with the 10-17 first choice. At 17mm the fisheye distortion is there, but not much. The 10mm end will provide some distinctive possibilities.

Next would be the 10-20. Many people love it, possibly because it is not fisheye, though very wide.

The 12-24 duplicates much of the wider end of the 18-50 you already have.

Landscape is probably the one subject where the speed of the lens is not so important. Typically, the land is not moving, and you have time to set up a tripod if you are so inclined. Also, the camera to subject distance is normally more than 10 feet away, so the depth of focus at the further distances should be fine. Stopping down one or two stops is normally the sweet spot of a lens, though.