Which Ultra-wide for travel ?

Davidoff · June 27, 2008

I'll be travelling to France, and I wanted to go wider than 18mm in a third party lens, that I would probably sell later.

I was wondering wich one was best out of these three contenders:

Sigma 10-20
Tamron 11-18
Tokina 12-24

I'm leaning towards the tokina because it's a bit cheaper than the sigma and it's a constant f/4, but I'm not sure that the IQ is as good as the sigma ( from what I've read ). Anyone as tried them all ? :dunno

mr peas · June 27, 2008

Can you specify which camera body you wish you use on your trip?

I happen to use the Canon 10-22mm for my Rebel XT, its the most used lens in my little arsenal.

Davidoff · June 27, 2008

mr peas wrote:

Can you specify which camera body you wish you use on your trip?

I happen to use the Canon 10-22mm for my Rebel XT, its the most used lens in my little arsenal.

It's a D70s, so I can't have the 10-22. I hear it's really good though.

swintonphoto · June 27, 2008

I think they could all be good choices. About the low max aperture - it is not nearly as important on a wide angle lens in my opinion. Most situations where I want a wide angle I am using f8.
But, a lot will depend on your budget. I just ordered the Sigma 10-20mm. It is the most affordable option currently for the 4/3 mount, so that was why I chose that one.

wholenewlight · June 27, 2008

Davidoff wrote:

It's a D70s, so I can't have the 10-22. I hear it's really good though.

I've got a D70s and the Sigma 10-20mm and they love each other. I've only had the lens for a few months but I really, really like it!

Examples:

Tee Why · June 27, 2008

I've owned both the sigma and the toke for a Canon mount and prefer the sigma.

Constant f4 is nice but sigma has better CA control, less distortion at the wide end, quiet HSM AF motor, is a bit more compact, and does not require a thin polarizer (toke vignettes with a regular thickness CPL till about 13mm).

The tokina has a nicer color cast which is cooler and maybe a touch more contrast and sharpness though. If you are into landscape/cityscape, you'll often stop down anyway so the slight difference in the speed may not be a big factor.

Having said that, I think both are good lenses and should serve you well.

The Tamron is not very popular b/c it's the most expensive, not the widest, has a short zoom range, and worst build quality of the three. For those reasons and also b/c they are working on a 10-24mm lens, I'd skip it.

Good luck.

Davidoff · June 27, 2008

Sweet shots

what do you think about the iq wide open and low light focusing ? What's the slowest shutter speed you can hand-hold at 10mm ?

Davidoff · June 27, 2008

Tee Why: Really ? Where I'm looking the tamron is the cheapest. I think for me, quality wide open is still important, because when walking around the city I don't have time to set up tripods and stick around for a while.

ziggy53 · June 27, 2008

I do like my Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM.

The purchase decision points for me were:

Sharpness, especially at the apertures I would be using the lens at.

HSM, while the HSM is reasonably quick, it is very accurate and that was a major point and I am very pleased with this aspect of the lens.

The 10mm specification seem to authentic. While Sigma often "fibs" about rated focal length (especially with their long telephoto zooms at the long end) the 10mm on this lens seems to be the real deal. The 10mm dimension was important to my application and I use the wide end a fair amount with very good results.

Davidoff · June 27, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

I do like my Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM.

The purchase decision points for me were:

Sharpness, especially at the apertures I would be using the lens at.

HSM, while the HSM is reasonably quick, it is very accurate and that was a major point and I am very pleased with this aspect of the lens.

The 10mm specification seem to authentic. While Sigma often "fibs" about rated focal length (especially with their long telephoto zooms at the long end) the 10mm on this lens seems to be the real deal. The 10mm dimension was important to my application and I use the wide end a fair amount with very good results.

What are those appertures Ziggy ? HSM is interesting, altough I have to agree, at this focal lenghts I think accuracy is more important than speed. Both would be welcome of course.

aerialphoto · June 27, 2008

I've no experience with the Sigma, but I researched both lenses a lot before I got my Tokina. I looked through a ton of pictures from both lenses on pBase and I came away feeling like the Sigma was, more often than not, just slightly softer than the Tokina - and the Tokina would, under the right conditions, show significant CA. The Tokina got brownie points for being a straight f4 lens...but in the end the places I usually deal with got the Tokina in stock first - I gambled on the CA issue and have been very happy with the lens. The fact that it's not an "HSM/AFS" type lens has not been a noticeable issue for me.

I put a gallery together for a friend of mine (he decided on the Tokina too) with some pretty honest samples from the lens. Feel free to look, here.

Tee Why · June 27, 2008

If tamron is the cheapest and you are thinking about selling it later, then I'd consider it.

If wide open and night time shooting is a big factor, consider the toke 11-16mm f2.8. This is my current lens and optically is far better than the others.

Tanuki · June 27, 2008

Davidoff wrote:

I'll be travelling to France, and I wanted to go wider than 18mm in a third party lens, that I would probably sell later.

I was wondering wich one was best out of these three contenders:

Sigma 10-20
Tamron 11-18
Tokina 12-24

I'm leaning towards the tokina because it's a bit cheaper than the sigma and it's a constant f/4, but I'm not sure that the IQ is as good as the sigma ( from what I've read ). Anyone as tried them all ?

If you haven't already, you should check out the reviews for these lenses on Photozone.de and FredMiranda.com. The first will give you an in depth analysis, and the second will give you user opinions.

I have the Sigma 10-20. I considered others (including the Nikkor 12-24), but settled on the Sigma because it goes wider than the rest. In hindsight, it was a good choice. Being able to go just a bit wider has really made a difference in countless situations.

Mike

ziggy53 · June 27, 2008

Davidoff wrote:

What are those appertures Ziggy ? HSM is interesting, altough I have to agree, at this focal lenghts I think accuracy is more important than speed. Both would be welcome of course.

Typical is f8, but sometimes f11 gives me the DOF I need and I can justify the very slight loss in sharpness.

mackidbrendan · June 28, 2008

what about the tokina 11-16 2.8 ???
its a great lens with great IQ

BigAl · June 28, 2008

The depth of field on the Sigma 10-20 is awesome. F8:

F6.3:

Davidoff · June 28, 2008

I have read the reviews in those sites. They say the tokina is sharper, but from the feedback I'm getting, it looks like they're pretty much equal iq wise. Of course the Tokina is constant f/4, but I'm leaning towards the sigma because it's slightly wider, and has hsm. That tokina 2.8... I'd really like it, but it's a bit out of my budget and I can't find it in Europe.
I considered the cheper tamron, and even though I may later sell the lens, I'd like it to be as good as can be for when I use it, and it looks like that tamron is weaker, optically. Thanks for posting those samples Aerialphoto.

Ok, slightly unrelated ( Ziggy, should I open another thread ? )
I recently bought an sb-800 ( had a vivitar 285 before that ). I was considering taking it as well, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra weight in my situation. In museums/inside buildings it's generally not allowed, the pop-up is usually enough for fill flash uses etc. Do you usually use flash while travelling ?

ziggy53 · June 28, 2008

Davidoff wrote:

... I recently bought an sb-800 ( had a vivitar 285 before that ). I was considering taking it as well, but I'm not sure it's worth the extra weight in my situation. In museums/inside buildings it's generally not allowed, the pop-up is usually enough for fill flash uses etc. Do you usually use flash while travelling ?

Short answer; yes, I always take a flash with me for travel/vacation and I use it fairly often for fill and primary light.

I have 2 flashes in my travel kit, a Sigma EF 500 DG Super flash and a Sunpak 383 Super "auto" flash. The Sigma works great in E-TTL II mode on the camera and it has a built-in optical slave so if I need an off-camera light I can use the Sunpak to trigger the Sigma as either primary or secondary light.

I suggest you take the SB-800 and a simple bounce-card device to give some extra versatility.

Davidoff · June 28, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

Short answer; yes, I always take a flash with me for travel/vacation and I use it fairly often for fill and primary light.

I have 2 flashes in my travel kit, a Sigma EF 500 DG Super flash and a Sunpak 383 Super "auto" flash. The Sigma works great in E-TTL II mode on the camera and it has a built-in optical slave so if I need an off-camera light I can use the Sunpak to trigger the Sigma as either primary or secondary light.

I suggest you take the SB-800 and a simple bounce-card device to give some extra versatility.

But what kind of shots do you do with 2 flashes on travel ? Unless it's a really a photography trip, do you have time to set up everything ?

ziggy53 · June 28, 2008

Davidoff wrote:

But what kind of shots do you do with 2 flashes on travel ? Unless it's a really a photography trip, do you have time to set up everything ?

"Setup" can be as simple as mounting the Sunpak on camera and holding the Sigma flash in my hand where I want it off camera. The Sunpak can be the trigger and fill with the Sigma off camera and primary in slave mode.

With a little practice the setup is minimal. I don't do it very often, but visiting family and friends it's a valuable technique.

I might switch to carying 2 Sigma flashes because then I can set up a master-slave relationship and automate the ratios.

Davidoff · June 28, 2008

ziggy53 wrote:

"Setup" can be as simple as mounting the Sunpak on camera and holding the Sigma flash in my hand where I want it off camera. The Sunpak can be the trigger and fill with the Sigma off camera and primary in slave mode.

With a little practice the setup is minimal. I don't do it very often, but visiting family and friends it's a valuable technique.

I might switch to carying 2 Sigma flashes because then I can set up a master-slave relationship and automate the ratios.

I see. In my case, I wouldn't be actually visiting anyone, just sightseeing, so I don't know, maybe I won't take it. Other than for people, do you use the setup often ?

DVDM · June 28, 2008

After testing all wide-angles I decided to buy EF 17-40 f/4

Eileron · June 29, 2008

I just bought a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 in-store yesterday, and I have to say I have absolutely no regrets about the lens. The limited shots I got to take wandering around were always surprisingly crisp and sharp.

Granted, I bought it near Sanjyo street in Kyoto; availability may vary.

Now I still have to debate that D300...it tempted me yesterday...

Which Ultra-wide for travel ?

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