Budget wide angle lens suggestions...

[StillSanj]

I am looking to expand my lens collection, and I realize I would like to add more wide angle lenses. I just got a Pentax-A 28mm 2.8 for 25 dollars and enjoy it very much, and was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for any other rather cheap but good wide angle lenses. I know anything wider than 28mm starts getting expensive, but I am not very familiar with vintage wide angle primes and would love any input as to what to look for and what are some quality lenses in that regard. Thank you all in advance : ) cheers.

[calvin83]

EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM(you own it) or even wider Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM.

[StillSanj]

[cooltouch]

For a wide angle to behave as a wide angle on your 70D, you're looking at a 17mm or so and those start getting really pricey. You're not gonna find any cheap 17s. But if you're just looking for wides that you can use as more or less normals, then the one that comes to mind most readily -- a very good optic that sometimes can be found for reasonable -- is the Tamron 24mm f/2.5.

[Lightshow]

Tokina 17
Nikkor 18/4
Are about the cheapest I can think of, there are other options, but that requires getting a FF mirrorless, A7 for example(<$1000USD).
You would need a 9.3mm lens to match my A7r and CV15III($750USD), or 7.5mm to match the CV12, or 6.25mm lens to match Canon's 10-24L, granted these aren't budget, but you may get my point.

[vroger]

[calvin83]

The IS will help to if you are not shooting moving objects. If you need a fast lens for indoor shooting in fast shutter speed, you may consider the Samyang 16mm F2.0 ED AS UMC CS but it is quiet expensive. If you consider 24mm, you need to find one which is sharp from wide-open like. The Sigma super-wide II 24mm F2.8 may be a good choice in a budget.

[StillSanj]

I was looking for manual lens suggestions, but the more I think about it, the 10-18 seems like a good choice for the money, I doubt I can get 10mm otherwise for less than 300. I will however keep looking around for some primes such as the ones you guys mentioned. I will be taking a road trip to Europe to rather scenic places so I need more than just my "arsenal" of 50's and such. I would still take some suggestions if anyone has any on some wider mid-20mm lenses to look out for that would serve well as walk around on my crop sensor. Thanks guys

[cooltouch]

For sure, a 10mm will give you that WA reach you'll want with your 70D. About all I can suggest regarding that focal length might be to shop around, see what the various manufacturers are making and read reviews for each one before spending money.

As for mid-20s, there's really a plethora to chose from, some of which might be fairly reasonable, pricewise. I can only recommend those optics with which I'm familiar. The aforementioned Tamron 24mm is actually an excellent optic. I tested my copy against a Nikon AI 24mm f/2.8 that I also own on my crop-body Canon, so I wasn't able to evaluate edge or corner sharpness, but within the crop frame the Tamron and Nikkor were almost a dead-even match. Wide open, the Nikkor had a slight edge, but by the time they were stopped down to f/8, the Tamron actually had a slight edge in sharpness over the Nikon. I also own a Canon 24mm f/2.8 SSC, which I consider to be every bit as good as the Nikkor, so I can also recommend it, although you'll have problems mounting it to your 70D, so it's pretty much out, unless you also add a mirrorless to your kit. Sometimes you can find the Canons on eBay for reasonable sums. Sometimes the older pre-AI Nikkors can be found on eBay for reasonable. I recently sold one on eBay for about $100, which is a pretty fair price for a 24mm. But mine was an exceptionally clean example and had been professionally AI'd by a 3rd party.

[tomasg]

A second hand Samyang/Rokinon 14 2.8 perhaps?

[pinholecam]

Samyang 14mm is probably the best fit for good performance and price.


I got one just for FF.

Birds on a wire by jenkwang, on Flickr

[DConvert]

The only ways I'd expect to get wider than a 28mm cheaply are a wide angle converter (most will degrade IQ noticeably) and panoramic stitching. Whilst stitching used to be a real pain the likes of Microsoft ICE (free) make it very easy these days.
I know neither of these options have the appeal of a nice old lens, but they might help...

[vroger]

[Gardener]

[bluecoast]

+1 to what everybody else said. mf super wides just aren't 'cheap' and, as already noted, not really wide on your 70D. If you think you'll be staying with your 70d for a good while and don't have plans to change your set up for awhile, there appear to be decent super wide af lenses from 3rd party brands. consider, maybe, the tokina 11-16 which is made for aps-c. i haven't used it but i have used their 16-28 for full frame and was very pleased. are you in the u.s.? i forgot to look. it's been awhile since i have looked for auto focus lenses but i think tokina sells refurbished lenses at a nice discount through their partner /sibling company in the u.s. - kenko on ebay and on their website. finally, didn't canon come out with a super wide zoom?

something else to consider if you think you may only be shooting super wide occasionally is to grab a used, cheap second camera with sensors thatare smaller and therefore capable of using a range of c-mount and d-mount lenses which are often still cheap because of their generally limited application. i'm thinking here of micro 4/3 all the way to the pentax q line. just some thoughts.

[DConvert]

[cooltouch]

There is a way to get those C-mount lenses to work full-coverage, you know. Reverse-mount them. A few years ago, I tried a little experiment with an old D-mount (smaller than a C-mount, used with interchangeable-lens 8mm cameras) Wollensak. I think it was about a 6mm. I used a lens cap for the mount. I took a 49mm lens cap and drilled a 1/2" hole in it and then glued the Wollensak lens to it, reverse-mounted. I set the Wollensak at infinity, wide-open and attached the 49mm cap to a Tamron 90mm macro lens, mounted it to my EOS Crop-sensor camera and took some test shots. I had to get the lens very close to the subject, but it covered the entire frame. I was down in the micro range with my shots. Like imagine seeing the individual dots laid down on paper with a 1200 dpi printer, where a single 8-pt letter more than fills the frame.

It was an interesting experiment, but I haven't done much more with it. So, just sayin' -- there is a definite use for these lenses that won't cover the frame when oriented the right way around, but when reversed they should fill the frame and give great macro shots.

[StillSanj]

[bluecoast]

[kido]

I've been on similar quest about a year ago, also looking for a cheap, wide for Canon's crop camera (60D):
http://forum.mflenses.com/wide-lens-for-close-distance-action-photography-t66056.html


I ended up with:

- Tokina "Plastic Fantastic" AF 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 in EF mount. Cheap if you're patient, solid IQ, really fast AF, not the best MF ring (but at least it's there) and not the greatest performer when shot against the sun. I can honestly recommend this lens to anyone but I'm still not sure if in terms of the IQ it offers any advantage over my kit Canon 18-200mm. Anyhow, I could be proved wrong.

You'll find a few sample photos on the second page of the aforementioned thread.



- Ensinor & Promaster 24mm f/2.8. Goes by many names and there seem to be some differences from one to another, but again: can be had cheaply, astounding IQ, pleasure to use, easy to focus, offers the macro capability (1:4 magnification) and focuses from such a small distance it makes you bump into things. Super versatile, it's a hell of a lens and I love it!

You can check out some sample photos in the same thread I mentioned above and also here:
http://forum.mflenses.com/ensinor-and-promaster-24mm-f-2-8-cheapnwide-delight-t67726.html



- Canon 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6. Doesn't need recommendations since you're already planning to get one. I'll just confirm that, in my opinion, every positive thing that has been said and written about this lens is true. Its price-tag is unbelievably low for what it offers. The IQ is great, AF is fast, it has IS, it weights next to nothing and it offers tremendous fun-factor to anyone who hasn't shot an UWA before (like myself). I'm serious, it literally puts a smile on my face every time I discover a new angle, a new perspective to look at things. And yes, you need to learn how to compose with an ultra-wide, shooting at 10mm is very different from shooting at 24mm or even at 18mm.

The only drawback of this lens I can think of is the focus-by-wire which doesn't let me use it on A6000 + a cheap adapter. To be honest, this lens stays on my Canon most of the time while for MF lenses I tend to use the A6000 lately.



I think that when it comes to wide angle, for your road trip, you will be best off with the Canon's 10-18mm. You'll be dealing with new circumstances every day, you'll have no opportunity to come back and repeat the exposure and this lens will not only let you cover a lot of different situations/sceneries but also, because of the AF/IS aids, it will simply become the safest bet.

[StillSanj]

[cooltouch]

[iangreenhalgh1]

Learn to use stitching software then you can use just about any lens to make ultrawide views. I prefer 35mm and 50mm lenses as they have little distortion and makes stitching easier.

Here's some I did recently with 50mm lenses:

[DConvert]

[cooltouch]