Was just discussing with Chai about wide-angle lenses. Just realized I have the need for a wider-angle lens as the widest lens I have is the Nikkor AF-S 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 DX lens. So far, I think my choices seem to be... a) Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (but may not be available yet over here) b) Tokina 12-24mm f/4 c) Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 IMHO, it's nice to have a wider aperture (f/2.8) that the Tokina 11-16mm has. Works better indoors too. But the limited zoom range (11-16mm) may be a real limiting factor. Also, it may not be available over here yet... The Tokina 12-24mm has a nice working range but the smaller aperture will be a problem indoors. Or maybe I can just "cure" this by using higher ISOs. The Sigma 10-20mm is the WIDEST lens of the bunch but is said to have poor build quality and reliability problems. Of course, it also has the smallest aperture of the bunch. So, what do you guys think? Or should I just settle for something mid-range like the 17-55mm? I'm looking to shoot buildings (architecture) and scenery with this lens.
Adrian, I think Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 available already la. Anyway, I'm using the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 and I liked it very much. So far I like it very much, comes with HSM. From what I know, the Sigma 10-20mm has more distortion than other UWA lens. So it really depends whether you like such distortions. I'll show you some Sigma 10-20 samples in a short while......brb.....
Hey, that's cool!! Where did you get your Sigma and how much? BTW, where is the Tokina 11-16mm available?? Everywhere I checked online, they claim coming soon. LOL!
Thanks! IMHO, 11-16mm or 10-20mm would probably be best since that would give me a pretty complete line-up : a) 11-16mm / 10-20mm b) 18-70mm c) 50mm d) 80-200mm Just that I'm not sure whether the 11-16mm is available and whether the 10-20mm QC and smaller aperture will be a problem.
Sigma's distortion is not too bad, only at the corners. It will not be very visible unless you take a lot of architectural shots. Haha...you must have been reading from Ken Rockwell about the built quality. Despite my rather heavy usage, mine still looks quite OK.
Actually, no, I saw a few user reviews, with one guy returning it after the aperture locked up twice. Anyway, will drop by later to test your lens.
ooops sorry forgot to post samples. I got mine at J-one PJ. The Gallery Is Here 10-20 and 24-70 combo. oh as to the price, ehh around RM 1.7k i think. i can't remember. bought it in March. The thing is I have a few lenses around that price range. i choose the sigma because it's 10mm. Canon (i understand this is not an option for non-C user) 10-22 has wider range and probably less distortion but costs nearly 50% more. another option was the Sigma 12-24, being a DG model BUT since i'm not on FF body i decided to go for something that gives me the widest angle.
Very nice shots! I will be giving Chai's Sigma 10-20mm a try in Taipei. See how that works out. Did you use fill-flash for your indoor shots?
Not so sharp in the corners of course. But if you shoot indoor, the corner will distort most objects, sharpness is not really an issue anymore.
nice. the HSM is a nice feature on this lens. my only wish was that it was FF capable. not all. the make-up room and the guy on the phone, no fill-in. in the car, yes. cos outside too bright already. same goes to carpark shots, need to or else you know la. end up silhouette shots only. lambency diffuser is used with the flash.
IMHO, go for the Sigma. Being a 10-20 user as well, it rocks. You'd probably worry more about getting more light than worrying about it being soft at f4. Use it along with your SB800 and you won't go wrong
Wah Sigma 10-20 family here leh. AFAIK a lot of people are eye-ing on Tokina 11-16 f2.8 - but seriously la, being UWA lens - you want DOF to be at f2.8 meh? Well i didn't quite like the Sigma 10-20 for being f5.6 at 20mm but hey, i rarely use it at 20mm in the first place so it's not that great of a setback. just that would be nice to have 20mm range to have a little wider aperture.
For me, I would love to have Tokina at 2.8, not because of thin DOF, but because more light can come in, especially when you take a lot of indoors. You have to use bounced flash on Sigma. I think I would rather get 14-24.
Hmm.. Yeah, I think the Tokina 11-16mm's main advantage is its f/2.8 aperture. Then again, if you have to stop down for better sharpness and/or deeper DoF, then is there still a point for f/2.8?
Sharpness is good with Tokina, and DoF is not really a big issue at wide angle. As long as you can still see something. That's why you need D3, ISO25600!
