Recommendations for a fast sub-28mm lens for ~$1k?

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locke42

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Right now, I have a 50mm f/1.4 USM and a 15-85mm f/3.5-56 USM. Both are great, but I'm finding myself wanting to do a lot of indoor wide angle shots with relatively low light. The 50mm is too tight, and the 15-85mm is too slow.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a fast, relatively affordable wide-angle lens for a 60D that might fit the bill? It need not be a zoom lens, but I would like it to be very fast (faster than f/2 if possible; definitely faster than f/3). I know Canon has a 28mm f/1.8 USM, but I've read a couple of mixed reviews about its performance.
 
#5
locke42 said:
Right now, I have a 50mm f/1.4 USM and a 15-85mm f/3.5-56 USM. Both are great, but I'm finding myself wanting to do a lot of indoor wide angle shots with relatively low light. The 50mm is too tight, and the 15-85mm is too slow.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a fast, relatively affordable wide-angle lens for a 60D that might fit the bill? It need not be a zoom lens, but I would like it to be very fast (faster than f/2 if possible; definitely faster than f/3). I know Canon has a 28mm f/1.8 USM, but I've read a couple of mixed reviews about its performance.
Click to expand...

Since you have a 60D, hmm. 24mm would be about what, 38-39mm on the crop. Is that wide enough for you? I just can't see 28mm being that wide. 28 x 1.6 is about 45mm. I don't have the answer here. You could save up the extra money over a longer period and get the 24mm f/1.4L (which is an awesome lens) or save a little more money and get a 16-35mm f/2.8L II. I guess $1k is a tough thing to hit when looking for a good lens down at these focal lengths. Since you have a 50mm and that is just a bit too tight, I'm guessing the 28 would work for you if that is wide enough for you and obviously much, much more affordable than the other two lenses I mentioned. Don't plan on great IQ at f/1.8 though on that 28mm.
 
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#6
That's a tough one for under a grand the tokina 11-16 is a good bet, but thats only 2.8. I find f2.8 generally just ok stopping indoor action, not the best but adequate in most situations. It seems you feel the same way hence the question. don't worry about the pixel peepers who complain about the 28 1.8. If it fits your needs and your budget you won't regret it, I never have. There really isnt a whole lot of choices in canon only. You could try the 35 f2 but no usm on that lens, not sure if that is a deal breaker or not.

How about just adding a decent flash to your current kit?

Good luck keep us posted on what you decide and how your getting on with it.
 
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#7
If you don't like the Canon 28mm f/1.8, you may want to look at the Sigma 28mm f/1.8. I've shot some with it and was very impressed. It won't be extremely wide angle on a crop sensor but the image quality and bokeh are definitely good. Alternatively you could consider picking up a used 5D classic full frame DSLR and pairing it with your 50mm f/1.4 to get a much wider field of view while maintaining a fast aperture. I shoot with that combo quite a bit indoors and other than the lack of auto white balance and being limited to ISO 1600, it works really well. You should be able to pick one up for under $1K also. I know that 50mm on a full frame is equivalent to 31mm on a 1.6x crop sensor (which is greater than the 28mm you specified), but it's close enough that I figured you still may want to consider it.
 
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#9
locke42 said:
Right now, I have a 50mm f/1.4 USM and a 15-85mm f/3.5-56 USM. Both are great, but I'm finding myself wanting to do a lot of indoor wide angle shots with relatively low light. The 50mm is too tight, and the 15-85mm is too slow.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a fast, relatively affordable wide-angle lens for a 60D that might fit the bill? It need not be a zoom lens, but I would like it to be very fast (faster than f/2 if possible; definitely faster than f/3). I know Canon has a 28mm f/1.8 USM, but I've read a couple of mixed reviews about its performance.
Click to expand...

Canon 17-55 IS f/2.8 is a great lens.

If you want something faster, how about the Sigma 30mm 1.4.
 
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#12
Canon 17-55/2.8IS - at the high end of your price range, but an ideal fit with a crop
Tokina 11-16 - I use this one and am somewhat pleased
Rokinon 14mm - manual lens with fairly good reviews, reasonably priced
SIGMA 20/1.8 - FWIW, I am very happy with the Sigma lenses I've had. I have a 400/5.6 APO Macro that does not communicate with my 60D or 40D but is so nice wide open I keep it anyway.

The 17-55/2.8 is on my short list. I have the Rok8 fisheye and find the build quality and performance very good for the price point. The Rok14 is plenty wide enough for me and AF is just not an issue at that FL. I don't make a living at this and cannot justify the expense of L or Zeiss glass, my only L so far is a 300/4 non-IS for astro work.
 
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#14
I'd say get a flash, and then that opens up your options for lenses. For example, the 430exII flash is like, $250, that gives you $750 to either get 2 primes or 1 good zoom that covers that range. Because any f/2.8 lens, indoors, won't get you the shutter speeds you need to shoot anything other than people standing still (unless you go ISO1600+).

I just shot my friends wedding this past weekend, so there were multiple indoor rooms with only sunlight from outside helping lighting. Without flash, I'd have been shooting at 1/30th shutter speeds and ditching 90% of the photos. With the flash, I was shooting at 1/160th and 1/200th, which means I keep 90% of the photos. And this includes the 50mm f/1.4 I shot with, I was lucky if I got 1/80th shutter speeds at ISO800, and that was only when pointing at the windows. And if you're indoors, its really easy to bounce the flash to create nice lighting.

Otherwise, I'd say consider the Rokinon/Samyang lenses that do f/1.4 if you can accept MF, if not, then I'd say your options are the Sigma wide-angle primes (20mm, 24mm, both f/1.8) or the Canon 28mm f/1.8. I think the Tokina will be too wide for general use.
 
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#15
Gah, why wasn't the forum notifying me of replies? :(

Okay, to clarify what I need this for, I want to do some wide field astrophotography, so the wider the better. I'm probably looking more for an equivalent 28mm rather than an actual 28mm, which means around 17mm or so actual focal length.

I think I can do that pretty nicely with my 15-85mm when pulled to its widest, but it's still fairly slow, and without an equatorial mount I'm risking star trails (which, admittedly, isn't much of a concern at this short focal length, but still a concern). The 50mm is fast enough, but is probably a little tight on the FOV for what I need since I only have a crop sensor camera.

On that note, any idea how focal length translates into FOV in the photo? The Andromeda galaxy, for example is about 2 degrees wide, and I think 85mm's FOV is about 15 degrees on a full frame, so I can probably capture Andromeda nicely on my lens and crop it, provided I have an equatorial mount.
 
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#16
Yeah, that's going to change things quite a bit. It just so happens astrophotography is something i'm starting to get into and this post is very timely. Have you thought about getting a tracking mount? What do they cost anyway? Would you be better off with that money going towards that instead of a lens?
 
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#17
locke42 said:
Gah, why wasn't the forum notifying me of replies? :(

Okay, to clarify what I need this for, I want to do some wide field astrophotography, so the wider the better. I'm probably looking more for an equivalent 28mm rather than an actual 28mm, which means around 17mm or so actual focal length.

I think I can do that pretty nicely with my 15-85mm when pulled to its widest, but it's still fairly slow, and without an equatorial mount I'm risking star trails (which, admittedly, isn't much of a concern at this short focal length, but still a concern). The 50mm is fast enough, but is probably a little tight on the FOV for what I need since I only have a crop sensor camera.

On that note, any idea how focal length translates into FOV in the photo? The Andromeda galaxy, for example is about 2 degrees wide, and I think 85mm's FOV is about 15 degrees on a full frame, so I can probably capture Andromeda nicely on my lens and crop it, provided I have an equatorial mount.
Click to expand...

For fast, wide and relatively cheap, the two contenders are Samyang 14mm f/2.8 and Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. Other options are either above 17mm, slower than f/2.8 or much more expensive
 
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#20
elflord said:
For fast, wide and relatively cheap, the two contenders are Samyang 14mm f/2.8 and Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. Other options are either above 17mm, slower than f/2.8 or much more expensive
Click to expand...
Yep, and both would work well for your purposes. The Tokina would give you more options, the Samyang would be cheaper. If those aren't fast enough, your only real Canon option is the 28mm f/1.8. Also, if the Tokina is too wide for your tastes, there is the older Canon 20-35mm f/2.8L that you can get for $4-500ish on Ebay, if not cheaper. But I think the 28mm f/1.8 would probably give you stronger image than that.
 
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