Thanks Rich. Glad you like it
Thanks Rich. Glad you like it
i've debated this a lot, between the Sigma 8-16, the Canon 10-22, and the Tokina 11-16, and my conclusions generally come down to what you're going to use it for.
(there's also others, like sigma 10-20 in fixed 3.5 or vari-aperture, and tamron 10-24. they're all cheaper, but IQ isn't worth it imho, these are the 3 from which to choose).
- Sigma is the widest (on any system, its FF-equivalence is 12.8-25.6, the only thing wider is a Sigma 12-24 on FF, unless you put a TS-E 17 on a Hartblei HCam with an IQ 180. It'll get you wider, but mortgage your house first). It's also the slowest. Keep it outdoors, even keep it on a tripod for landscapes, don't even bother with insides.
- Tokina is fastest, constant f/2.8, but not even a 2x zoom ratio, more like 1.45x (that's the price you pay for f/2.8). It's not as wide (17.6mm FF-equiv), nor as long. Best for indoors and group shots, handheld in lower light than the other two.
- Canon is the all-rounder, but more expensive. It's also the only of the 3 that takes filters (but damn, they're going to be expensive filters that wide). Variable aperture (although at its slowest it's still faster than the Sigma). Bigger zoom range, pairs up better with a 24-70 or 24-105 zoom (the other two go better with a 15-85 or 17-55 though). You can potentially use it indoors, not as well as the tokina, better than the sigma, or handheld.
IQ between the 3 are very similar. afaicr the sigma has the least CA (which is the biggest problem with ultrawides). The Tokina is getting updated (soon?) with Tokina even saying they're trying to fix the CA in mk2. The sigma barrels a fair bit on the wide end, more than the Canon at 10mm, about the same as the Tokina at 11mm
The canon will hold up its value pretty well, $6-700 is a good second hand price, the other 2 go for around $5-600 (i've been watching almost every ebay auction on these 3 for the last year, my 'get a bargain' point is $500 for the tokina/sigma, $600 for the canon).
So: Indoors - Tokina. Outdoors - Sigma. Bit of both (or with filters) - Canon.
<edit> meanwhile, i've just realised that the Tokina also takes filters. So add that in too. Maybe once the mk2 comes out it will be the one to get...
And meanwhile, I just got one! The Sigma 8-16mm, that is. I'm primarily going for outdoorsy landscapes, so it was the best choice for me. I don't have any filters (I would love to have some huge-ass Lee 4x6"ers, but at that point if i'm spending that much money, i'm probably better off going FF with a 16-35 L II), so i probably won't mind this one over the canon, CPLs don't look very good at 15mm so I don't think I'd want to use them wider anyway. And the best part is that it was only $475, well below my 'bargain point'. I hope it's in good nick, i'll add opinions in a few weeks once i've got it.
Last edited by Dr Croubie; 07-09-2012 at 04:36 AM.
An awful lot of electrons were terribly inconvenienced in the making of this post.
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also, just on the Tokina, I'd also set my 'bargain point' for this lens at $500, that and the sigma 8-16 both tend to go for about the same prices. Ever since the "i'm selling to buy a 5D3/D800" rush on ebay, I haven't seen either go for much less than $500 depending on shipping.
And just now that i've bought the 8-16 an hour ago, I see a Tokina 11-16 go for $435 (nikon mount, they can tend to go a bit lower than the canons). For the price of a Nikon G-EF adapter, that could have been an even better bargain than the Sigma 8-16. Oh well, just bought a house last week, if not I might have bought both to compare and then sold one...
An awful lot of electrons were terribly inconvenienced in the making of this post.
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Dr.....Congrats on the house and lens. I'll be interested to see your thoughts on the Sigma.
Enjoy the new glass. I really liked that lens for the brief time I owned it. I just couldn't find enough uses for it here in Wisconsin, but I suspect that will be different for you!
even after reading a lot of reviews am stil not able to decide among tokina and canon 10-22. not pretty sure if canon will be fast enough for night/low light/interior photography. and not sure if tokina's focal length will fall short.
its been said that canon has superior image quality than tokina's. also tokina being a 3rd party, i feel a bit insecure. Also canon's price and not including a hood makes it more expensive lens.any comments to help me decide?
How/what do you currently shoot when you use your widest focal length? I assume that you currently have something in the 17 or 18 to something range.Originally Posted by DJ 86
I have the Sigma 10-20mm and found that I don't shoot wide open very often. I usually use this lens when I want an interesting perspective on a very close object within the context of the background, or want to take in an entire scene. In both cases I will stop down a bit to increase depth of field, negating the primary benefit of a faster lens.
wow, i'd forgotten about this thread, I'm sure i promised samples.
How wide is 8mm? It's wide. It's 12mm on FF, which is also the widest you can get on FF (coincidentally, also by Sigma).
I took these shots a while ago, but I do remember having to try to get my shadow out of it, took a bit.
So firstly 8mm:
And the next shot at 16mm:
Who was saying that going wide was useful to get in different perspectives?
And lastly, seeing as I mentioned the new house and new lens in one sentence, here's one shot with the other:
(rule 1 for architecture with ultra-wide lenses, make sure the camera is pointing level. This one obviously wasn't. I think I was squatting behind the fence so as to not get my shadow in, whereas I should have been standing on a chair instead.)
Anyway, they were just shrunken QnD jpegs, i've got better shots that need processing at some point...
An awful lot of electrons were terribly inconvenienced in the making of this post.
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