HELP! Need help choosing a lens

[fasted18]

ok i like to shoot mostly sports and parties (indoors). I shoot on a t2i.... i find myself in a lot of low light situations. i currently own the Canon 1.8 50mm. im looking at the Tokina 11-16mm and the Canon 10-22. im really fixed to the price range of under $700. i hear a ton of good things bout the Tokina and the f2.8 really has me leaning towards it. but i just know the Canon will have sharper images.. so im stuck..someone help!

 

[neuroanatomist]

The Tokina is actually just as sharp as the Canon. The Tokina shows a little more vignetting, but mostly, you are trading a wider focal range on the Canon for f/2.8 on the Tokina.

 

[kolossal]

The Tokina is faster, has a great build and is very sharp. I used it with a XSi and a 60D with great pleasure. I'd chose it over the Canon just for the low light situations you shoot.

 

[fasted18]

thanks guys for the help/advice. I really like what I see out of the Tokina do I think that will be my choice!

 

[funkboy]

This was just posted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXTVKXJ94sw
shot with a 5DII & Tokina 16-28 f/2.8

I really like my Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. One could say that I traded my Canon 17-40L on it as I sold it within a few months of getting the Tokina.

Cruize around here for some of my older posts on it, but I will say here that one of the revelations that came to me with this lens was that I bought it for use pretty much exclusively as a wide-angle for doing landscapes & interiors, and the first times I had it in my bag at a jazz club it suddenly occurred to me that I now have another low-light lens too .

 

[tron]

How low light? wide angle low light or tele low light ?

There are also the 28mm f/1.8 and the 85mm f/1.8

You could have both with the budget (more or less) you mentioned...

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

ok i like to shoot mostly sports and parties (indoors). I shoot on a t2i.... i find myself in a lot of low light situations. i currently own the Canon 1.8 50mm. im looking at the Tokina 11-16mm and the Canon 10-22. im really fixed to the price range of under $700. i hear a ton of good things bout the Tokina and the f2.8 really has me leaning towards it. but i just know the Canon will have sharper images.. so im stuck..someone help!

I would suggest that for low light and moving subjects without flash, you will want a lens with as wide of a aperture as possible. This puts you in the realm of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. I'm not aware of a low cost lens this fast at wide apertures, and f/2.8 is not fast enough unless you like lots of noise and grain in your photos.

Personally, I avoid Sigma, but it does have that lens at the right price.

None of the lenses you mention are ones I think of as being for sports. Indoor sports? Outdoor Spoorts? Daytime or evening? The answer could vary from the 85mm f/1.8 to a longer lens. The most difficult will be the low light situation, there might be nothing in your price range to handle that for sports, so you might have to compromise.

 

[wickidwombat]

ok i like to shoot mostly sports and parties (indoors). I shoot on a t2i.... i find myself in a lot of low light situations. i currently own the Canon 1.8 50mm. im looking at the Tokina 11-16mm and the Canon 10-22. im really fixed to the price range of under $700. i hear a ton of good things bout the Tokina and the f2.8 really has me leaning towards it. but i just know the Canon will have sharper images.. so im stuck..someone help!

I would suggest that for low light and moving subjects without flash, you will want a lens with as wide of a aperture as possible. This puts you in the realm of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. I'm not aware of a low cost lens this fast at wide apertures, and f/2.8 is not fast enough unless you like lots of noise and grain in your photos.

Personally, I avoid Sigma, but it does have that lens at the right price.

None of the lenses you mention are ones I think of as being for sports. Indoor sports? Outdoor Spoorts? Daytime or evening? The answer could vary from the 85mm f/1.8 to a longer lens. The most difficult will be the low light situation, there might be nothing in your price range to handle that for sports, so you might have to compromise.

you also have to consider using a t2i there is no AF adjust so if the sigma focusing is off its going to have to go back to sigma for calibration

 

[fasted18]

my focus is on video...i just feel a lot of the time I like to have a high shutter speed (along with action photos) so the 2.8 grabs my attention over the 3.5/4 on the Canon 10-22. and 17-44... i guess i just need to save up and buy a selection but i want to buy the lens that will suit me best first off...Example i shoot mostly action photos/videos in sort of low light (indoors)..i live in ohio so its usually cloudy and stuff. i currently own the 50mm and its nice and all but on my cropped sensor t2i I just feel like it doesn't really fit what I'm doing (close spaces)....any other WIDE ANGLE ZOOM lens suggestions?

 

[neuroanatomist]

You've basically got three choices if you want a UWA zoom with good IQ for a crop body. In terms of IQ, the three are equivalent - other factors differentiate them, all trade-offs of one sort or another.

• Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 - broadest zoom range, intermediate aperture
• Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 - widest angle of view, slowest aperture
• Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 - narrowest zoom range, fastest aperture

From your criteria, the Tokina is the best choice. Now, if you want merely wide on APS-C, and not ultrawide, but still want fast, there are other options that also offer FF compatibility - the Canon 16-35/2.8 II and the Tokina 16-28/2.8. Both exceed your stated budget, the Tokina only slightly, but it reportedly has some QC issues.

Overall, I think the Tokina 11-16mm is the best recommendation for you.

 

[Mt Spokane Photography]

The Tokina 11-16 also comes in at about $700 or slightly less, so its a reasonable choice for low light.