very interesting - thanks..... I'd sacrifice some speed of the lens for a wider range.... i mainly shoot outdoors so something <16mm at f4 would be fine for me i think.....
You're welcome.
Well, if you need something really wider than those 17mm I mentioned, then you have some other choices:
- Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5
- Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6
- Tokina 12-24mm f/4.0
- Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8
- Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5
The Sigma has a terrible corner performance. I had one and I regret not buying the Tokina 12-24mm. It also has the worst aperture of the list.
Center performance is very good and and focusing speed is very fast, but I don't know if you'll need it.
Built quality is EX or, in other words, very good, but not as good as Tokina AT-X Pro series.
The Canon is probably the best, but it's more expensive.
The Tokina 12-24mm used to be the best for the money, but I stop reading about this type of lens, since I moved to full-frame later, so I don't know much about the Tokina 11-16mm and the Tamron 10-24mm. I'm sure you can find some good reviews on the internet (check Fredmiranda) and I think both should be very good lenses. The Tokina has impressive specs!
If you think you'll move to full-frame soon and still need something very wide at the moment, consider the Sigma 12-24mm. it's not excellent, but it's very decent and it will work in a full frame body.
By the way, the Tamron 17-50mm is also designed to work on APS-C bodies only.