Tokina 20-35mm F3.5-4.5 Autofocus Zoom Lens

[lloydhelen123]

Hi all,





I've got a Canon Eos 400D with 18-55mm kit lens, and am looking to buy a new lens. I'm an architecture student taking a year out and as such will be travelling a lot in the coming year. That also means that I don't have much money to spend, pushing at 400 euro if something is really worth it. I'm prepared to chance used lens'.


As an architect quite a few of my shots are likely to be of buildings, particularly in quite tight urban locations. This has led me to consider a wide-angle lens. Am I right that these lenses are useful here? The Sigma 10-20mm is the most I could afford. The Canon 10-22mm is definately out cost-wise. Or what alternatives are there?


I found a very old Tokina 20-35mm F3.5-F4.5 lens on ebay for 80euro and am considering this also... My main concern is that it might need a chip to work on my 400D, and also the fact that its literally ancient.


I also am tempted just to screw everything and get one nice lens like the sigma 30mm for 'those' sunset shots!


But for a year of general travel I also think it wise that I get a more 'all-in-one' lens, with a bit more quality and zoom than my 18-55. After doing my research I've come to the conclusion that my best bet (in my price range) is probably the Canon 28-135mm....





Reading this you probably realise I'm a novice with a lot of ignorance - forgive me! I know there is no 'right' answer as such for what I should do, but any pointers at all regarding any of this would be greatly appreciated - thank you!

[lloydhelen123]

Sorry that should read Canon 18-135mm IS lens rather than 28-135mm..

[neuroanatomist]

But for a year of general travel I also think it wise that I get a more 'all-in-one' lens, with a bit more quality and zoom than my 18-55. After doing my research I've come to the conclusion that my best bet (in my price range) is probably the Canon <s>28-135mm</s>Sorry that should read Canon 18-135mm IS lens.

The EF-S 18-135mm will give you more zoom than your 18-135mm kit lens, but not significantly better image quality. In that price range, you might instead consider the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 non-VC lens - you won't get more zoom range than your kit lens, but you'll get a fast constant f/2.8 aperture and much better image quality. If you shoot mostly "buildings, particularly in quite tight urban locations" the 17-50mm range will be good.


As you say, there's no 'right answer'.


Something else to consider would be the Canon 50mm f/1.8 (aka nifty-fifty) - it's an inexpensive lens (the cheapest Canon makes), but it's got a very wide aperture (good for portraits and low light) and very good image quality for the cost (not sure what it goes for over there, but it's US$100 here).


Good luck!


--John


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[lloydhelen123]

Many thanks for the reply John, I'd just like to ask regarding the Tamron 17-50mm, is it worth spending and extra &euro;100 or so to get the VC version?


My choices seem to be:


&euro;90 for the 'nifty-fifty'


&euro;290 for the tamron non-VC


&euro;390 for the tamron VC


I'll probably give the prime lens a miss since I think I'd find it too restrictive. And I can borrow a basic zoom lens off the old man too keep me happy as well

[neuroanatomist]

By all accounts, the non-VC version of the Tamron lens offers better optical quality than the VC version. I was actually suggesting the 50mm f/1.8 in addition to the zoom lens, not instead of the zoom lens. From the pricing above, you could get the Tamron non-VC and the 50mm prime for the same cost as the Tamron VC lens.


How much benefit do you derive from IS on your kit lens? Keep in mind that the Tamron, with a constant f/2.8, will be a full 2 stops faster than the 18-55mm kit lens at the long end. Depending on how soon you need to decide, you could shoot for a day or two with your kit lens IS turned off vs. on, and see if VC on the Tamron is worth the trade-off in image quality (it might be - camera shake can ruin an image quite effectively!).

[lloydhelen123]

Ah now I understand, that makes more sense... sort of - can you briefly explain why a prime lens 50mm f/1.8 is worth having when you have an f/2.8 lens that has a maximum of 50mm?


My kit lens was simply an 18-55mm without IS, so I guess I'm not used to the advantages of this feature - I suppose that means I could quite comfortably do without it! And I just read Brian's reviews of VC and non-VC lenses so I see what you're saying about non-VC being the sharper lens.


Thanks again

[lloydhelen123]

Also if someone could give a verdict on the Canon EF-S 17-85/4-5.6 IS USM for my situation that'd be great!

[neuroanatomist]

can you briefly explain why a prime lens 50mm f/1.8 is worth having when you have an f/2.8 lens that has a maximum of 50mm?

Well, it is not as significant as the difference between that prime and your kit lens, for example. But, f/1.8 is 1.33 stops faster than f/2.8. Consider the differences in cost between other lenses with a 1-1.33 difference in aperture - 70-200mm f/4 zooms are half the cost of the f/2.8 versions, the 28mm f/1.8 is half the cost of the 28mm f/2.8, the 300mm f/4L IS is $1250, compared to the $4500 cost for the 300mm f/2.8L IS. People pay a lot of money for that extra stop of light!


Granted, here we're comparing prime vs. zoom. But there are times when f/2.8 is too slow (indoor in weak ambient light, for example), but f/1.8 brings the shutter speed up to an acceptable level to get the shot.

[Lars]

I have used the 17-50 non IS from Tamron on my 400D for a year and it is a superb combination. Since my girlfriend is studying arts history (hence the rapid identification of Neuroanatomists image sample [:P]), I have visited, and photographed quite a few buildings, especially churches in most cities we have visited. The 17-50 is not wide enough for indoor architectural pictures on a crop camera. I use the 11-18 Tamron for these shots, but if I could chose again, I would go for the Tokina 2.8 instead. I believe it has better build quality, it is faster, which is very important for indoor shots, especially since the 400D has substantial ISO noise from 400 and upwards.Moreover, my Tamron show substantial chromatic aberration in the corners.


My low-budget choice for architectural pictures in narrow locations would be the non-IS Tamron 17-55 2.8 and a wide zoom like Tokina 11-16 2.8. I don't know if this is within you budget, but if you get these, you will get two great lenses that will last for years. It would of course be nice with a prime, those are generally the best, but in narrow locations, there is often litte space to move around to fit the building into the frame. It is a balance between versatility, price and image quality.