Lens Receommendations svp - wide angle zooms

As a further thought, is there any sensible option (please forgive subjectivity!) that would sit alongside my Sigma 28-70 f/2.8 at wider angle? Something like a 12-28 or equivalent, at reasonable money? I like low-light shooting, but most wide-angle would be on tripod at extended shutter speeds so no need for lightening-fast aperture.

Apols for duffer questions, I really only pay attention to lenses when I need to get one, otherwise I'd end up with shelves full of 'em!

As far as I know there are only 3 wide angle zooms available at present?

Sigma 10-20 at £329
Pentax 12-24 at £739
Tamron 10-24 at £349

These are all new prices of course and you do see 2nd hand ones occassionally. I'd keep an eye on the classifieds here.

I have the Pentax 12-24 but the price was considerably lower than that 3 years ago when I bought it. If I was buying today I'd possibly lean towards the Sigma, though you may have to try a couple of those to make sure you get a good one.

It's also worth checking out what Samyang are producing, I think at the moment they have an 8mm Fisheye and also a 14mm wide angle lens, these are usually cheaper than the above though only autofocus.

Hi Mattie... As previous posters have noted, your best bang for buck zooms below 28mm are probably the Tamron 17-50, Pentax 16 45, or Sigma 10-20... Depends how wide you need... I have the Pentax 16 45 and the Sigma 10 20, and stopped down they can be very sharp indeed... Owners of the Pentax 12 24 rave about it, although as Woodworm's noted that's considerably more expensive than any of the above... If you don't need to go too wide, a leftfield option might be the Tokina 20 35 f3.5... an old full frame lens which is built like a tank, and which sometimes goes for as little as £70/80... Good luck with the search...

Best

Nearly 15 months is some prevarication mattie, you could have had 15 months of good use and fun out of buying something....

Used £210-£250.. siggy 10-20

Have you considered maybe stitching images together to produce panoramas using one of your existing lenses?

We 'made do' with the 18-55 in the meantime, and saved up for a new body instead (we've now replaced the *istD with a K30 to go with the K10D).

Never entirely satisfied by the 18-55 but couldn't really justify significant outlay just to replace it - now that we'd like to go a bit wider I thought I'd resurrect thread.

I'll keep eye out for a used Sigma 10-20 or Tamrom 10-24, Pentax sounds a bit too rich for my blood, sadly.

Ta all for comments. I'll report back if I buy anything - hopefully in less than 15 months!

I bought the Samsung version of 16-45 brand new for £170 earlier this year and it is superb. Just added the Sigma 10-20 but not had chance to test it out yet.

SRS are selling Sigma 15-30 f/3.5-4.5 EX DG for £230, anyone know anything about this lens?

If I understand correctly, it appears it'll work Full-Frame (handy for occasional film outings and if a FF Pentax DSLR ever happens) but the fixed lens hood means only gelatin filters in rear slot can be used. I gather it was designed with digital in mind, so assume light perpendicularity not an issue despite vintage of lens (2001-ish)

Impressed by quality of my EX 28-70, and this would seem a decent addition to pair with it, but not sure if 15mm is wide enough compared to 10-20 or similar.

Hi Mattie

FYI There's a 16-45 on Gumtree for £110.00, as new. 3 days ago, so dont know if its still available?

Kind regards

Mark

Hi Mattie i have a 10-20 for sale here in the classified section pm me if interested.
anto

Ta anto, sounds like I just missed out on it.

Bought a 16-45 off of a forum member, looking forward to trying it in anger!

The 16-45 has proven to be a very tidy lens, well pleased with it except for two things:
- 16 isn't quite wide enough for some landscapes;
- The missus has pretty much claimed it for her K30 meaning I'm generally using the Sigma 28-70 EX anyway!

I was tempted by the Sigma 10-20, but went the whole hog and got the 8-16 instead. Only real downside is the front element which is always in focus and prevents the use of filters aside from at 16mm. I'm still a bit concerned about vignetting at this length, as I can make out dimming just with the end tube in place (the filter ring is on an end tube which slides over the permanently fixed hood) and I'm not sure if it'll be so bad with filter on as to make it not worth the effort.

I haven't yet got an adapter ring large enough to try, has anyone else with this lens given it a go?

I recently bought a used Sigma 8-16 and I am impressed by its optical qualities. I have not yet tried using a filter on it. It is apparently possible if you do not mind a bit of DIY link.