gus86
newbie
Reged: 25/04/2008
Posts: 15
Loc: Portsmouth/Suffolk, UK
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Hi all, i'm looking for a new lens, I have recently started, at the moment I have the 50mm prime lens which I have been using a fair bit, but was wanting to get a wide angle lens just so that I can start experiment and extend my learning more.
I was looking on ebay for used lenses, and I said I'm looking for a wide angle lens, I'm looking for something cheapish as I'm a student so bagging a bargain would be helpful. Would people advise a sigma lens to keep the costs low? Any advice would be extremely helpful.
Feel free to ask questions if i'm being too vague!
Thanks in advance.
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 7668
Loc: Doon the glen
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What camera do you plan on using the lens with? A DSLR with an APS-C sized sensor? If so I guess something 20mm or wider would fit the bill but others on here are far more familiar with what's available at that sort of focal length.
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
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Malcolm_Stewart
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 11/07/2005
Posts: 2578
Loc: Milton Keynes, UK
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As Andrew suggests, the EF 20.f2.8 gives a wide angle view on an APS-C sensor, and you're using the central sweet spot of the lens. But it's a large and quite expensive lens. The lower cost and physically much smaller EF 28 f2.8 also works well, but is hardly wide-angle (equiv to 45mm) on the smaller sensor.
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Malcolm Stewart
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El Sid
Going potty
Reged: 14/04/2003
Posts: 9463
Loc: Sussex-by-the-Sea
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Assuming you are intending it for the EOS 500 you posted about some while back then the typical wide angle most 'togs bought in the days before zooms was a 28mm f2.8. I have the Canon one which I bought used from a local dealer for £99 and a nice sharp lens it is too.
Alternatively you may like something a little wider in which case a 24mm may be worth looking out for.
By and large the shorter the focal length the more the lens is going to cost. 28mm ones tend to be quite cheap as it used to be the most common w/a purchased - I remember that the same dealer later had a 24mm EF Canon and that was £199....
Sigma primes are also pretty decent. I have two 24mm Siggys - one in Nikon Ai manual focus and one in Canon EF fit. Both do a very good job and both were much cheaper than their Nikkor and Canon equivalents.
One point of warning with buying older Sigmas in Canon fit is that many will not work with recent digital cameras (and possibly some very late film models too). My 24mm is fine on all my aged film EOS but refused to function properly on my 20D (it won't stop down on exposure and the camera errors out - Err99...). If you intend ever to buy a digital EOS this is worth remembering - reputable dealers will often describe the lens as 'film only' but others and private sales may not.
HTH
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Nigel
Completely BSRIPN 
ElSid Gallery
A camera in the hand is better than one in the cupboard........
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gus86
newbie
Reged: 25/04/2008
Posts: 15
Loc: Portsmouth/Suffolk, UK
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Well i've started learning with a 35mm, I have the EOS 500 at the moment, I may get the EOS 300, but for the time being sticking with film as I haven't the budget and am quite enjoying working with film.
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PapaLazarou
Mr Joyful
Reged: 04/01/2006
Posts: 206
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Film Slrs ar falling in price so much that I would be tempted to aim a little higher, a fine light wee camera that the 300 is, the 300x is a bit more user friendly with a very large LCD display and faster top shutter, the 300v adds E-TTL-II to the mix to assist your flash photography.
If you want something more substantial then a 30 or 30v would be a good bet, more metering modes, more control over individual parameters such as using certain metering patterns with drive patterns with focus modes, build quality is up as well, there is also the added ergonomic advantage of the control wheel on the rear for independent setting adjustment. The 30v adds E-TTL-II to the flash metering.
All of these models will cost very little on top of the price of a 300, well worth the extra.
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 7668
Loc: Doon the glen
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Quote:
....the 300v adds E-TTL-II to the mix to assist your flash photography.
IIRC ETTL-II is dependant on having a lens that communicates distance information and I don't think any of the lenses being discussed are likely to have that feature? Without the distance information I think you just get ETTL on the newer bodies.
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
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gus86
newbie
Reged: 25/04/2008
Posts: 15
Loc: Portsmouth/Suffolk, UK
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I was looking on eBay to see what they offered and found a Cosina 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Wide Angle Lens for Canons for £70, tried researching a little into the makers as I have never really heard of them before. anyone have any knowledge of them?
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Benchista
Wich Tyler
Reged: 11/08/2000
Posts: 37849
Loc: Everywhere and nowhere, baby
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Cosina make lenses at various price points and also for various manufacturers. Their lenses range from some of the best available (for Zeiss) through to what might best be described as the other end of the range - at one point, AP's lens tests included "best ever tested" and "worst ever tested" references, and the worst ever was a Cosina 28-105 IIRC. However, to the lens in question...
It's from Cosina's budget range, but - and it's a big but - it's one of the two pretty decent lenses in that range. The best was the 100mm f3.5 Macro, but the 19-35 is capable of pretty respectable quality at a very reasonable price. Long and the short of it is that you won't do better for the money - it covers just about all the wideangle focal lengths, quality is not embarassing, and the price is about as right as you'll get.
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Nick
www.nbrphoto.com
Light and Shade II - the new blog
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daft_biker
Action Man!
Reged: 11/10/2006
Posts: 7668
Loc: Doon the glen
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Quote:
I was looking on eBay to see what they offered and found a Cosina 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Wide Angle Lens for Canons for £70, tried researching a little into the makers as I have never really heard of them before. anyone have any knowledge of them?
I have a Tamron 19-35mm of similar spec but it's a pretty poor performer. I'd expect the Cosina to be pretty similar. I expect I would much rather have the 28mm lens Nigel (El Sid) mentions. 28mm is reasonably wide and it will likely give impressive quality (I have the 24mm and it's pretty good). Depends how wide you want to go and how much quality you are bothered about! 
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Andrew (BSRIPN) ... Pics.
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