Canon 10-18mm, good cheap wide angle?

miker

miker

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Mike
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I have a colleague in the states for work this week, so have the opportunity to pick up the new canon 10-18mm at a very good price. I am also planning on going to iceland this winter and of course wish to photograph the northern lights. I also like the idea of a wide angle to do some landscape/scenery work and really enjoyed playing with the wide FOV offered by a go-pro I played with recently. Whilst even a 10mm lens won't approach that, I like the idea!

Other than that, any suggestions for similarly priced lenses with similar focal lengths? I would like something a bit faster, and am happy to go 2nd hand if there's anything out there!
 
To photograph the northern lights you really need something faster than the 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 to really get the most of your experience and capture the wow images. Minimum would be a f2.8 lens or faster. Also tripod and shutter release. It's finding the right lens for your cropped camera. Don't make an impulse buy because you can, do a bit of research into what others have recommended, check out the links

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/82...aphy-a-guide-to-capturing-the-northern-lights
http://www.alaskaphotographics.com/blog/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-a-digital-camera/
http://www.visitnorway.com/uk/what-...thern-lights/how-to-snap-the-northern-lights/
http://petapixel.com/2014/04/18/beginning-photographers-guide-photographing-northern-lights/
 
Thanks for those, I'll have a read. Budget stops me from getting anything really fast, but the tokina 11-16 2.8 is looking very appealing, can be had for ~£300 second hand. I do love shooting with my 50mm 1.8 at wide apertures, and a wide angle fast lens does appeal for that reason.
 
The tokina a cracking lens, probably the best of the ultra wide angle lenses and meeting most of the criteria for shooting the northern lights when you read the gear sections on the links
 
Is there any practical difference between the mk1 & 2 tokina for a canon user? All I seem to be able to find is that the mk2 nikon version has a built in AF motor, and that the coatings are slightly improved on both mk2 versions!
 
The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX II Lens' predecessor, the version I model, was the first Tokina lens I used in the field and I found that experience to be a positive one. The major version II changes are found in the Nikon mount version of this lens. Utilizing an internal silent focusing motor, the version II lens no longer requires a Nikon DSLR with an AF drive gear and motor to autofocus this lens. Both Nikon and Canon mount versions of the Tokina 11-16 II have improved multi-layer coatings to minimize light reflection "... for slightly improved optical performance." [Tokina] There were no other changes made to the Canon mount version of this lens.
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http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Tokina-11-16mm-f-2.8-AT-X-Pro-DX-II-Lens.aspx
 
pete.rush said:
To photograph the northern lights you really need something faster than the 10-18mm f4.5-5.6 to really get the most of your experience and capture the wow images.
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Can you explain why? Not questioning what your saying but why you are saying it, would the northern lights not require a long exposure time?
 
From the reading I've done, whilst you do need to use a long exposure, if you have a slow lens you are forced to use an even longer exposure(30s +). This takes your images from a well defined, impressive display to a vague green fog!
 
WelshNoob said:
Can you explain why? Not questioning what your saying but why you are saying it, would the northern lights not require a long exposure time?
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You want the shortest exposure you can get away with which will still be long otherwise the lights just become a green smudge as they move continuously. The shorter the exposure the better the definition of the 'curtains' also if the exposure is too long the stars become smudged lines due to the earths rotation.

Ideal kit is a full frame slr and an ultra wide fast lens so you can shoot high ISO and wide open. If I had been using a crop body I would have gone with the tokina which has the advantage of being a great lens anyway as it was I purchased a samyang 14mm especially for the trip and sold it afterwards was well worth it for the lights but too wide for me in normal use.

http://flic.kr/p/kKPR3i
 
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the cheapest wide-angle lens that has decent quality is the Sigma 10-22.It costs around $400.The least price i found was at nextonly selling for around $200 but its used one .So please do an through check before buying.
 
a1ex2001 said:
You want the shortest exposure you can get away with which will still be long otherwise the lights just become a green smudge as they move continuously. The shorter the exposure the better the definition of the 'curtains' also if the exposure is too long the stars become smudged lines due to the earths rotation.

Ideal kit is a full frame slr and an ultra wide fast lens so you can shoot high ISO and wide open. If I had been using a crop body I would have gone with the tokina which has the advantage of being a great lens anyway as it was I purchased a samyang 14mm especially for the trip and sold it afterwards was well worth it for the lights but too wide for me in normal use.

http://flic.kr/p/kKPR3i
Click to expand...

Thanks for the explanation. I recently bought the 10-18mm as mentioned by the OP. Have only used it once so far though.
 
More or less settled on the tokina I think. Only reservations are chromatic abberation, which is apparently easily fixed in pp, and whether I will miss the extra millimeter at the wide end!
 
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