Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

[Claudius]

All,

I have up to £400 to spend on a wide angle lens for my EOS450D, the wider the better, for taking landscape and architectural photos. I've been looking around and have currently narrowed the field done to:

• Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens
• Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM - Canon fit lens
• Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens

I'm tempted to go for the first, the 17-85mm, as it to me sounds a bit more useful than the Sigma. The 18-55mm is a bit of a wild card, as I know it's the lens that comes with the newer digital cameras and is cheaper than the other lenses.

I would really welcome any advice from the forum on what lens I should go for, especially from anybody who has faced the same dilemma. Also, I would welcome comments on any lenses that I've missed.

[Woolley]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

For the budget you've got I think you've covered them all. The only other one that's close is the Tokina 12-24mm f4 AT-X DX @ approx £430.

If you want 'as wide as possible' then it has to be the 10-20, which also covers the 17mm end of the others. The Sigma gets good reviews and was one I strongly considered when looking at that range.

The decision then is whether you need to go longer sometimes and if you have that range covered. I have no knowledge of either lens, so can't advise on quality.

[briansquibb]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

You should be able to get a secondhand 17-40 F4 L for under £400. An excellent lens

[Canon-Fodder!]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

Hello Claudius, and welcome to the forum...

The only lens in your suggested line-up that will truly give you 'wide-angle' on a 450D, for the budget you've specified, is the Sigma 10-20.

There's a few discussion threads already on the forum about these lenses, so rather than repeat everything, I suggest you do a forum search for 'wide angle' or '10-20' or 'landscape lens' etc. That should give you the low down on opinions...

Cheers...

[Muscat]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

Hi Claudius,

I have both the Canon 10 -22 (not Sigma) and 17-85 lenses and use them on a 50D which has a similar 1.6 crop sensore to your camera.

I find that I use both lense quite a lot and for slightly different reason. If I want a typical landscape I can normally get away with the 17 - 85 and get very little distortion even at the wide end, yes this is not a true wide angle lens but it is quite handy at the 17mm end. If I want something that is just too wide for the 17mm end I have on a number of occassions turned the camera view into portrait format and taken a number of overlapping images and stiched them together to form a panorama which covered the bits that I could not get into the single image (for this I use Elements 8). I have also found that on some occaisions I want to zoom in a little on a landscape or part of the vista which I can do with the 17-85.

The 10 - 22 I use for areas where I can not get back far enough to get a reasonable amount into the shot or want to impose some form of wide angle perspective / distortion in the shot. The wide lens is great for getting a wide landscape or being close to a building and having everything in the single image. However you may need to do some correction of verticals etc.

From my usage I find the 17-85 lens to be more versatile as it will go from a semi-wide angle lens to short telephoto lens and makes, for me, a great walkabout lens. As I do not have many of the L series glass at the moment the 17-85 is the lens that tends to stay on my camera most.

I don't know what other lenses you have and if Landscape is your main desire but certainly either lens will do what you need for teking great landscapes.

Sorry if you find this confusing and not helpful but the intent was to provide as much information of how I use the lenses to assist with you decission making.

[djguk47]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

Claudius,
My answer is going to be much the same as Muscat. The only difference being that I went for the Sigma 10-20, we both have a 50D and both have the 17-85.
Before you ask the question as to why I bought the Sigma rather than the Canon, I bought it as when I looked at shots taken by others that I liked and saw that most were taken with a Sigma, I decided to opt for the Sigma. In hindsight I may have gone for the Canon L but I am happy with the Sigma and will save for other L glass which I will use more often than a wide L lens.
The 17-85 I use for a walkabout lens like Muscat and on a recent break in Cornwall found that I used it more than any other lens as it gave me the width for a vista of the Cornish coast or the zoom if I wanted to "pick out" a highlight on the coast. I have posted some of the shots I took in Cornwall using the 17-85 on the forum.
My aim is for the 24-105 L to give me that little bit extra reach plus quality.

Hope this is of some help in your decision process.

David

[Canon-Fodder!]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

My aim is for the 24-105 L to give me that little bit extra reach plus quality and I can fit a 1.4TC should I want more reach.

Hi Dave;

I'm unsure of third-party extenders, but, for the record, you certainly can't fit a Canon 1.4x to a 24-105...

Apart from that, I can only speak very highly of that lens; it's my walkabout, and most used lens by far...

Cheers...

[djguk47]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

Hi Dave;

I'm unsure of third-party extenders, but, for the record, you certainly can't fit a Canon 1.4x to a 24-105...

Apart from that, I can only speak very highly of that lens; it's my walkabout, and most used lens by far...

Cheers...

oops... I thought you could.... thanks for correcting me.... will go edit the post now

[briansquibb]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

1.4 fits on the 135 ......

[djguk47]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

1.4 fits on the 135 ......

ENOUGH Mr Squibb !!!!!
I have the twitches thanks to you and your 24-105 L and the 135 L and the worrying thing is I am sure the twitching will not stop until these two lens are in my bag and wife and child are barefoot and penniless on the streets....

[briansquibb]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

Wait till the 200F2 turns up then ....

[DrJon]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

I hadn't realised they still sold the 17-85 (I had one and wasn't all that happy with it) as well as the newer 15-85 (which seems much better thought of but, alas, is more expensive).

[Claudius]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

Thanks for all the advice. I've decided to go for the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM Lens. I'll write back when it arrives and I have a go.

[colin C]

Re: Sub-£400 wide angle lens for EOS 450D

Good for you ........... enjoy!

I always like new toys.

Colin