Wide-angle lens question

Canon Rebel T2i and Canon 7D, both EOS;

Canon 18-55 and 55-250 kit lenses, Tamron f/2.8 90mm macro lens, Canon 400mm f/5.6 lens;

always looking for intimate landscapes but sometimes they just need to be able to be captured with a wider view than I have;

have gotten better but still a LONG way to go with landscapes -- one thing I've learned is to shoot a lot less of them than I was at first;

do still find a need for a wide-angle lens and would still like a reasonable wide-angle lens for me in my situation.

I have searched and read about a dozen threads, but I don't have the knowledge to evaluate what was said in them and relate them to my existing equipment.

Can anyone tell me if they can recommend a wide-angle lens that would fit my situation? If there is such a thing for around $700 or less (or even much less) that would be great, but if not I'd still like to know. Thank you.

Barbara, the really dramatic shots you see on here are mostly in the 16-20mm range on a FULL FRAME Camera, and as you know, the bodies you listed are smaller-sized sensors which alter the view making it appear more magnified. The factor is 1.6 with Canon, so a 100mm lens on your camera shoots like 160mm. Therefore your 18-55mm is equivalent to 29-88mm, not really wide enough for that look you want. Also, the 18-55mm is a kit lens, the optics are not best in class, so I think your real solution is the Canon 10-22mm. It's quite a nice lens optically, and will give you the equivalent of a 16-35mm lens for that huge image we all know and love. The one thing to know is that if you ever decide to go for a full frame body like a Canon 5D Mark II (or a friend pulls a Canon film body out of the closet), the 10-22mm can't be used. It's specifically built for crop cameras like T1/2/3i, 7D, 20/30/40/50/60D (NOT the 10D!), Xsi,Rebels, all of those like that there. Sounds like you're happy with what you're using, so I'd go for it. You can always sell it later. Canon lenses have great resale value. Enjoy!

Ha! Amazing timing, Sigma also makes a 10-20mm lens and somebody posted one for sale in the classifieds forum earlier today for half the price of the Canon.

If interested, make sure hers is a Canon mount.

The Sigma gets really good reviews and is a lot less expensive.
I haven't done a lot of landscapes, but I'm impressed with the optics.

Not only is the Sigma 10-20 lens comparable in quality to the Canon 10-22 lens, they also include a lens hood (which Canon should offer!) and a great case. I used that Sigma lens for years before I went to a full frame camera and never had a problem with it.
You can see a pretty comprehensive comparison between the two lenses here.

Barbara: I also shoot Canon with Rebel XL and a 60D I use a Tamron 10-24mm which gives great wide angle. Even with a 1.6 crop factor the lens is still 16mm and really wide. Almost a 180 degeee view.

Hi Barbara, I love my canon 10-22 and wouldn't trade it for the world! I've heard a lot of good things about the sigma so maybe you can do a head-to-head comparison to see if you prefeer one to the other. I find I do alot of chromatic abberation adjustment in processing but that only takes a second. If you want "wide" now you could stitch multiple images and get the same kind of feel, as well as high pixel counts.

Dean

Hi Barbara, I use the Tokina 12-24 f4 on my Nikon DX body and I really like it. It's very sharp, renders great color and contrast. It's built like a tank and has gotten very positive reviews. Make sure you're looking at the constant aperture version, an older version is not and has gotten poor reviews. Definitely worth considering. Nice price too...around $500.