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Wide angle zoom dilema

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JonMal

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Narrowing down to a choice between a Sigma 10-20mm F/4.5-5.6 or a Tamron 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 for my 450D.
Any thoughts that would help me decide...

John
 
 
It is better both in build quality and in optical quality.

Tamron 10-24mm:

"The Tamron SP AF 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 Di II LD Aspherical IF left us unimpressed regarding its performance. There's a significant amount of barrel distortions at all focal lengths, CAs are rather high, even stopped down and the resolution figures at the borders are somewhat disappointing, especially in the extreme corners.

However, on the other hand the center resolution is very high and stopped down the border and even corner resolution reaches levels, which are probably sufficient for most use cases.

Given its rather low price (compared to similar lenses) it may well be the first choice, especially for those who shoot in this focal range occasionally only. You get what you pay for here: not outstanding, but maybe good enough."

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/466-tamron_1024_3545_nikon

Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6:

"The Sigma AF 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX HSM DC is a worthy alternative in the ultra-wide arena for APS-C DSLRs. At 10mm it showed some of the highest resolution figures that we've seen so far here whereas at 14mm and 20mm the results are slightly worse than the rest of the gang but still pretty good.

On the down-side the lens shows fairly heavy vignetting at large aperture settings. At 10mm there're some quite pronounced barrel distortions at the extreme corners (far less in the inner image field) whereas at 14mm pincushion distortions can be quite obvious.

It's a joy to use this lens with its excellent build quality, smooth controls and fast AF on top.

The alternatives in this zoom range perform quite similar so you've to consider your priorities. The Sigma AF 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX HSM DC is surely worth a deeper look here."

http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/307-sigma-af-10-20mm-f4-56-hsm-ex-dc-lab-test-report--review?start=1

Sigma 10-20mm f3.5:

"The new Sigma EX 10-20 mm f/3.5 DC HSM leaves us with mixed feelings. The build quality of the lens is certainly excellent, distortion is a little high at the wide end (but excellent for the rest of the zoom range), there's also a fair amount of vignetting and CA, but that's typical for this lens class. Resolution in the center is excellent, borders also are nothing to complain about and corner performance is ok at 15 and 20 mm, but very disappointing at 10 mm.

In summary, it makes one wonder who's supposed to buy this lens. Those who already own the older and slower Sigma 10-20 most likely don't feel the need to upgrade, especially if they already own filters to go with the lens. Even those who purchase new will probably find the older design with its lower price point more attractive. Unless you really need the speed of this lens, but for those use cases the Tokina 11-16/2.8 is probably the more attractive option.

Still, those who do buy this lens in the end have aquired a solid performer, which delivers great results if you're aware of its weaknesses and work around them."

http://www.photozone.de/nikon--nikkor-aps-c-lens-tests/467-sigma_1020_35_nikon?start=2

Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5:

"The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM is a very sound package thanks to a combination of very decent build quality and very good if not impressive optical results. The resolution is very high at 10mm and 14mm and still pretty good at 22mm. If anything vignetting at wide-open aperture could be better. The center performance is excellent throughout the range with generally good borders. The level of distortions is surprisingly low and CAs are quite well controlled (for an ultra-wide lens). Flare is also comparatively well-controlled. There's no such thing as a free lunch though - the EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM sells for around 600€ US$ which is a whopping 50% higher than for third-party products such as the Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 or the popular Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX."
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/406-canon_1022_3545_50d?start=2

Tokina 11-16mm f2.8:

"The Tokina AF 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX is currently the best ultra-wide angle zoom lens for Canon EOS APS-C DSLRs. The resolution is impressively high throughout the zoom range (albeit a short one) and across the image field. Vignetting is really only a problem at 11mm @ f/2.8 but otherwise the issue is very well controlled. The level of distortions is comparatively low. Typical for most Tokina lenses it has one weakness: lateral CAs which are very high at all settings. The build quality is on a very high level and its a joy to handle the lens out there. All-in-all a very sound package especially when considering the quite affordable price (around 600EUR/US$)."
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/379-tokina_1116_28_canon?start=2

If price would be the main argument, I would choose between the Tokina 12-24mm f4 and the Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6. If quality would be more important, I would choose between the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 and Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5 USM.

Caution with the Tokina: My series I does not focus well at all on my 450D. It worked well on my 350D. To blame is its rather crude AF motor implementation, so try before you buy.

But, to be fair, in this class of lenses (ultra wide zoom), most perform good enough, including the Tamron 10-24mm.
 
I can't offer an objective opinion between the two.

However, I own the Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 and a 450D and I love this lens. In the course of this year, many of my favourite images have been taken with it.

Just make sure you test it out when you get it to ensure you have a good copy.
 
Thanks, John, for starting this timely thread. I'm currently in the same dilemma. The good input here is helpful, as always. My head is leaning toward the Canon--my wallet is leaning another direction. May you end up with a good copy whichever you decide on. :)
--
photography -- a compatable blend of tech and art --
 
I went for the Tamron 10-24 for a two reasons:-

1. Price.
2. Wider zoom range. It overlaps my Tamron 18-270.

I accept that it is not optically the best avaiable but it deos give ultra wide angle at a price I was prepare to pay. If you are particularly interested in high grade optics it probably isn't for you It does take reasonable pictures though.

You can see an example at http://picasaweb.google.com.au/dickcampbell19/SanFrancisco . Many of the Golden Gate Bridge shots were taken with it.
JonMal said:
Narrowing down to a choice between a Sigma 10-20mm F/4.5-5.6 or a Tamron 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 for my 450D.
Any thoughts that would help me decide...

John
Click to expand...
--
**** Campbell
http://picasaweb.google.com/dickcampbell19
 
I went to your site to take a look and Picasa told me to get lost because there is nothing here for me to see.
dickcampbell said:
1. Price.
2. Wider zoom range. It overlaps my Tamron 18-270.

I accept that it is not optically the best avaiable but it deos give ultra wide angle at a price I was prepare to pay. If you are particularly interested in high grade optics it probably isn't for you It does take reasonable pictures though.

You can see an example at http://picasaweb.google.com.au/dickcampbell19/SanFrancisco . Many of the Golden Gate Bridge shots were taken with it.
JonMal said:
Narrowing down to a choice between a Sigma 10-20mm F/4.5-5.6 or a Tamron 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 for my 450D.
Any thoughts that would help me decide...

John
Click to expand...
--
**** Campbell
http://picasaweb.google.com/dickcampbell19
Click to expand...
 
JonMal said:
Narrowing down to a choice between a Sigma 10-20mm F/4.5-5.6 or a Tamron 10-24mm F/3.5-4.5 for my 450D.
Any thoughts that would help me decide...

John
Click to expand...
If I had to pick I'd probably say the Sigma. Honestly though I strongly suggest either the Canon EF-S 10-22 or the Tokina 11-16 f2.8.

The Canon and Tokina both blow the Sigma and Tamron out of the water in both image and build quality. The Canon Keeps the same nice wide range and gets down to f3.5. The Tokina has a much narrower range but has a constant f2.8 throughout the range. This means it takes in 2x the light that a lens at f4 would and four times the light of a lens at f5.6. That's the difference between a shutter of 1/30 vs 1/8.

I understand they're both more expensive than the Sigma and Tamron offerings but you get what you pay for.
 
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