Cant Decide Which To Go For Next...

Ghost in the Shell · 20 Jun 2006 at 13:08

Ok i am undecided on whether or not to purchase the following two lenses

Canon EF 200mm F2.8L II USM

reason: i have no telephoto and would really like to get more into this area, particularly as owning a 10D and not using it for telephoto is a bit criminal! i mean its a great body for just that really!

Telephoto lens boasting high image quality and carrying ease. With two UD-glass elements and rear focusing to correct aberrations, image delineation is extremely sharp.
Background blur is natural-looking. The lens comes with a dedicated, detachable hood.

or

Canon EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye

Fisheye lens with a 180° angle of view for unique and intriguing effects. The wide depth of field makes it even more interesting. The short minimum focusing distance of 20cm gives new meaning to close-up shots.
The lens has a fixed petal-type hood and a gelatin filter holder at the rear.

reason: i am looking more and more into the idea of doing night/gig photography and i think this lens would give me some interesting shots while in venues etc. certainly anything i can get wider than my 17-40 is useful (cant use a 10-22) and i love the fisheye effect so its something im personally interested in developing.

my kit at present is:

Canon 10D
Canon 17-40L F4 USM
Canon 50 F1.4 USM

so im looking to expand my uses and maybe i should be considering a macro instead but i dont know much about macro photography so i dont know..

hmm thought id share my dilemma so you can aid me make a decision..? any thoughts??

AdWright · 20 Jun 2006 at 13:22

Hmm, sounds like you have a greater requirement for a new wide rather than telephoto. It's a shame that you can't use the Canon 10-22 or Sigma 10-20 with your 10d. You're a bit limited when it comes to wide - the 14mm L is pretty pricey! I would think carefully about the fisheye - it can be fun, but you may become tired of the effect, and correcting it in PS will be a pain

hoodmeister · 20 Jun 2006 at 13:46

I'm pretty sure it's only the Canon 10-22 you can't use on the 10D...
So perhaps the Sigma 10-20, Sigma 12-24, Tokina 12-24, Tamron 11-18 are all worth looking at, too?

As said above, the fisheye effect is very novel, but wears off.

cyKey · 20 Jun 2006 at 14:06

hoodmeister said:
I'm pretty sure it's only the Canon 10-22 you can't use on the 10D...
So perhaps the Sigma 10-20, Sigma 12-24, Tokina 12-24, Tamron 11-18 are all worth looking at, too?

As said above, the fisheye effect is very novel, but wears off.

It is indeed. I have the Sigma 10-20 on my 10D. I agree with the novelty of the fisheye. Fun but not worth the price. Might as well buy a dedicated fisheye lomo or something.

olv · 20 Jun 2006 at 14:07

You can definately use the sigma 10-20 on the 10d

AdWright · 20 Jun 2006 at 14:09

olv said:
You can definately use the sigma 10-20 on the 10d

I stand corrected! Go for it.

Ghost in the Shell · 20 Jun 2006 at 14:59

AdWright said:
I stand corrected! Go for it.

the 10-22 sigmas no good for low light stuff though is it?
cykey has one and uses other lenses for indoor stuff right? or am i wrong.. :confused:

hoodmeister · 20 Jun 2006 at 15:09

It's not the fastest of lenses, but the short focal length means that with half decent technique, you can get away with very slow shutter speeds.

CyKey gets excellent gig results with the 10-20, although I think his mainstay has flipped to the Sigma 24-70 F/2.8

I'm sure he'll be along to tells ya in a moment though

AdWright · 20 Jun 2006 at 15:09

Ghost in the Shell said:
the 10-22 sigmas no good for low light stuff though is it?
cykey has one and uses other lenses for indoor stuff right? or am i wrong..

I think he uses his 10-20 for some photos eg:

http://petemc.net/gallery/2006/04/ladytron_at_korova

and

http://petemc.net/gallery/2006/06/rayna_gig

Raider · 20 Jun 2006 at 15:10

The Sigma 10-20mm goes to F4.5 at the wide end, so not brilliant for indoor work. Although F2.8 isn't exactly a huge amount of extra light either.

Personally I'd go mental if I didn't have any lens longer than 50mm! What would you use the telephoto for? If it's indoor stuff then the 200mm F2.8 would be sweet, although for general use maybe the 70-200mm F4 L? Around the same price, but more flexible, at the cost of the sharpness and extra light of the F2.8.

Ghost in the Shell · 20 Jun 2006 at 15:27

Raider said:
The Sigma 10-20mm goes to F4.5 at the wide end, so not brilliant for indoor work. Although F2.8 isn't exactly a huge amount of extra light either.

Personally I'd go mental if I didn't have any lens longer than 50mm! What would you use the telephoto for? If it's indoor stuff then the 200mm F2.8 would be sweet, although for general use maybe the 70-200mm F4 L? Around the same price, but more flexible, at the cost of the sharpness and extra light of the F2.8.

yea but the 70-200 is HUUUUGE id be too afraid to take it out!

Raider · 20 Jun 2006 at 15:57

I wouldn't call it huge. It's pretty light, and it's quite a bit smaller than any of the big primes / zooms.

cyKey · 20 Jun 2006 at 16:06

hoodmeister said:
It's not the fastest of lenses, but the short focal length means that with half decent technique, you can get away with very slow shutter speeds.

CyKey gets excellent gig results with the 10-20, although I think his mainstay has flipped to the Sigma 24-70 F/2.8

I'm sure he'll be along to tells ya in a moment though

Yeah I've used the 10-20 in low light at 10mm 1/10th f/4 ISO800-1600. Its definetly useable due to the focal length.

SDK^ · 20 Jun 2006 at 18:56

I would go for the Canon 135mm F2 L lens over the 200mm F2.8L. It is shorter, faster and makes a better portrait lens. It's also one of Canon best lenses

Ghost in the Shell · 20 Jun 2006 at 22:44

cyKey said:
Yeah I've used the 10-20 in low light at 10mm 1/10th f/4 ISO800-1600. Its definetly useable due to the focal length.

are they any good 10mm area primes i should consider? seeing as its ultra wide im looking for?

SDK^ · 20 Jun 2006 at 23:02

Ghost in the Shell said:
are they any good 10mm area primes i should consider?

In a word - no

The widest Canon prime lens is a 14mm F2.8 L and it's a great lens but costs over £1k.
Sigma also do a 14mm F2.8 and that costs £550