Which wide angle lens?

Rezen

Hi all,

Long time no post! Been a crazy year since getting transferred to Scotland

Anyway, as the title suggests, I'm in the market for a new wide angle lens, as my wife & I have been doing quite a bit of traveling while we're here and that's one area we're lacking. The widest we have is 24-70 (longest = 70-200) with a few primes/medium zooms inbetween.

Current bodies: Canon 7D & Canon 60D (not sure what the model # is in the US... maybe T3I or something? not sure)... e.g. both crop cameras. If even one of us used a FF camera it wouldn't be a question at all really... 16-35 would be ordered.

However since we both have crop cameras, and can take advantage of the 10-22, the question is.... do we surrender the superior optics & superior environmental protection of the 16-35 for the wider angle? Cost isn't a factor, however bag space is (so getting both isn't really a practical option).

My main concern for environmental protection is well, we live in the UK (Aberdeen to be precise), so it rains a LOT. I've got 5 business trips booked already this year - 1 to Anchorage, 1 to Abu Dhabi, 1 to London, 1 to Dublin, and 1 to Houston (my home town). So my shooting conditions will range from super cold / wet to super hot / sandy and lots inbetween.

Anyway bottom line I guess: what's more important (on a crop camera in said conditions)... the wider angle, or better optics/environmental protection?

Sigh. Why couldn't Canon make the 10-22 an L lens with f/2.8?

cheers,

-Rezen

ziggy53

Rezen wrote: »

... bottom line I guess: what's more important (on a crop camera in said conditions)... the wider angle, or better optics/environmental protection?

Sigh. Why couldn't Canon make the 10-22 an L lens with f/2.8? ...

If weather seals are that much of a concern, I doubt that anything less than a fully sealed "system" will suffice. Unfortunately that generally also means using a front sealed filter, on a sealed lens, with a fully sealed camera body too (Canon 1D/1Ds series, in this case.) You really should not shortcut the system of seals in the worst weather.

The good news is that weather conditions are rarely bad for your equipment, but good scenic opportunities. (Usually bad weather also means poor photographic opportunities.)

I do recommend some sort of watershed for your equipment, and often that just means using an umbrella and a plastic garbage bag with a hole large enough to poke the lens through. You can get more durable and commercial watersheds, if this is a constant problem.

Don't shoot in the worst weather unless you need to, and then consider rental opportunities for those situations.

Maybe also consider an all-weather P&S for those times when the weather "is" bad and you just need some snaps.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q311waterproofcompactgrouptest/
http://www.steves-digicams.com/knowledge-center/best-lifeproof-cameras.html

Matthew Saville

I certainly wouldn't hesitate to get a lens like the 10-22 or the Tokina 11-16. I've been all over with un-sealed lenses and as long as you don't do anything *really* dumb, you'll be fine.

Even if you get sealed lensess, you'll still want to follow the usual guidelines- Don't go from a freezing outdoors to a warm indoors quickly with gear exposed. When entering a hot or humid place, put your camera away in your bag, possibly in a ziploc if you're paranoid, and leave it for 10-30 mins while it warms up, w/o moisture overload.

Indoor humidity will actually be a far greater danger than a little rain here and there. As far as rain goes, just keep your camera wiped down and if it really starts to pour, seek cover.

Use UV filters so you can more easily wipe down your lenses if dew or raindrops get on them. I've lost count of how many times I've had to wipe off my lens in between every single shot because of rain; without any worry regarding actual damage to the lens of course.

Maybe if full-frame is in your very near future, consider something like the 17-40 L. But personally I love the 7D, and would prefer it any day for "adventure" type photography.

=Matt=