Canon Powershot vs Wide angle lens

[truettray]

Hey guys! I am hoping for a little bit of advice. I'm a hobbyist photographer and I have a Canon 60d. I mainly like to do wildlife and landscapes, as well as some portraiture. It's all just good fun! What I'm wondering is would it be better to save up for something like the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 or even the 16-35mm L... OR go with a Canon Powershot S90 so S100 for landscapes. Based off Flickr, the powershot takes some very sharp landcapes. Buying the powershot would be much less expensive, and would give me the connivence of a compact shooter to my gear. Just hoping for some insight from the more experienced!

[glenthompson]

A lot depends on what you plan to do with the pictures. For web and small prints the Powershot will do fine. For larger prints, the 60d is needed. While a small point & shoot is handy to have for casual use, decent lenses for your primary camera should be a priority. I would focus on getting lenses that cover the focal lengths you need.

As example, my Nex-7 came with a 18-55 and I added the 55-210 so I have everything from wide angle to longish telephoto covered. The zooms lack some in depth of field control so my next lens will probably be the 50mm f1.8 (75mm effective) which is a focal length I like.

[truettray]

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah my kit lens is the same length, and it is sufficient. I just want a wider view, and with a crop sensor it seems to be rather expensive to go any wider. That's alright though! Maybe in a year or so...

[Laird Knox]

The Tokina is a wonderful lens. I've even used it (at 16mm) underwater on a D800.

[admwright]

Your 18-55mm gives an 35mm angle of view equivalent to 29-88mm. The S90 is 6.0–22.5 mm (35 mm equivalent: 28–105 mm), so not really any wider. The S100 is 5.2–26.0 mm (35 mm equivalent: 24–120 mm), so a bit wider but not really wide angle.

The 11-16mm will give you approx 18-26mm equivalent.

[acearchie]

I think you should be careful with the Tokina 11-16mm.

I wouldn't really call it a Landscape lens as for me it's far to wide for this purpose. If you have the kit lens I would stick to that and find what focal length you are usually using.

[truettray]

Yeah Archie, I know what you mean... but I am actually wanting something wider than the 18mm on the standard kit lens. Something that will be more dramatic on a crop sensor. I know that a full frame would be optimal, but I really want to see what I can do with what I've got as much as possible. Buuuut I'm thinking on holding off. I'm also currently saving up for an engagement ring, and it's gonna have to take precedent to new toys.

[mulo]

my recommendation would be to get the canon ef-s 10-22. it has the same fov as the 16-35 on ff, and is very sharp

[100Teraflops]

Originally Posted by truettray

Hey guys! I am hoping for a little bit of advice. I'm a hobbyist photographer and I have a Canon 60d. I mainly like to do wildlife and landscapes, as well as some portraiture. It's all just good fun! What I'm wondering is would it be better to save up for something like the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 or even the 16-35mm L...

I use a Tokina 11-16 2.8 MK I and I love it. It is a great all around lens, but it suffers from minor distortion and flare issues. Nothing too significant, but you should know this before buying the lens. I haven't used a Canon 10-22, but people rave about this lens. It is a variable aperture lens, while the Tokina is a constant 2.8. The trade off is 2.8 through the zoom range or an extension of 6mm with nominal distortion/flare, and a variable aperture. I heard that there is less distortion and flare with the 10-22, but I can't confirm this from experience. Although, after viewing some pictures, such claim is apparent!

Honestly, I would stay away from a 16-35 unless you plan to buy full frame camera such as a 5d2 or 5d3, demand absolute sharpness from corner to corner, or require 2.8 for a slew of reasons. I own a 17-40 and it is a good walkabout lens on my 60D, however, it is not a proper substitute as a ultra wide angle lens for a crop body. Neither is a 16-35!

So, I would look at the beloved Tokina 11-16 2.8, Canon 10-22 3.5-4.5, or the thrifty 17-40. Again one can eliminate the 17-40 if one requires an UWA for a crop body. As far as buying a powershot, I would buy an UWA lens and work exclusively with your 60D for now. There are ample tools and options when using a modern dslr. I hope this helps you out!

The photo's recording info:
shot from a tripod, iso 100, shutter speed 1/40, f/8.0, at 11mm, and just a regular raw converted file. The raw file is much darker on a decent wide gamut monitor. I just want to show you how the lens handles multiple colors, deals with over and under exposing, plus show a little distortion. The camera is a 60D. Again, I hope this helps you out! Oh yeah, this is a Florida sunrise from Melbourne Beach. Or in that vicinity!

[ijohn.8.80]

Originally Posted by truettray

Yeah Archie, I know what you mean... but I am actually wanting something wider than the 18mm on the standard kit lens. Something that will be more dramatic on a crop sensor.

Take a look at the Tokina 11-16mm thread over on POTN. 250 odd pages of shots to look at there, with many fine landscapes in amongst them. It's a really versatile lens as I've discovered lately. It is a bit of a pain with light flare, but if you keep it in mind it's otherwise excellent. I got mine for $460 including 2 day shipping to Australia.

[truettray]

Originally Posted by 100Teraflops

I use a Tokina 11-16 2.8 MK I and I love it. It is a great all around lens, but it suffers from minor distortion and flare issues. Nothing too significant, but you should know this before buying the lens. I haven't used a Canon 10-22, but people rave about this lens. It is a variable aperture lens, while the Tokina is a constant 2.8. The trade off is 2.8 through the zoom range or an extension of 6mm with nominal distortion/flare, and a variable aperture. I heard that there is less distortion and flare with the 10-22, but I can't confirm this from experience. Although, after viewing some pictures, such claim is apparent!

Honestly, I would stay away from a 16-35 unless you plan to buy full frame camera such as a 5d2 or 5d3, demand absolute sharpness from corner to corner, or require 2.8 for a slew of reasons. I own a 17-40 and it is a good walkabout lens on my 60D, however, it is not a proper substitute as a ultra wide angle lens for a crop body. Neither is a 16-35!

So, I would look at the beloved Tokina 11-16 2.8, Canon 10-22 3.5-4.5, or the thrifty 17-40. Again one can eliminate the 17-40 if one requires an UWA for a crop body. As far as buying a powershot, I would buy an UWA lens and work exclusively with your 60D for now. There are ample tools and options when using a modern dslr. I hope this helps you out!

The photo's recording info:
shot from a tripod, iso 100, shutter speed 1/40, f/8.0, at 11mm, and just a regular raw converted file. The raw file is much darker on a decent wide gamut monitor. I just want to show you how the lens handles multiple colors, deals with over and under exposing, plus show a little distortion. The camera is a 60D. Again, I hope this helps you out! Oh yeah, this is a Florida sunrise from Melbourne Beach. Or in that vicinity!

Very insightful! I appreciate the advice and insight! I did not know the Tokina is fixed aperture. Very good to know... Would using a nice filter counter the flare at all?

----------

Originally Posted by ijohn.8.80

Take a look at the Tokina 11-16mm thread over on POTN. 250 odd pages of shots to look at there, with many fine landscapes in amongst them. It's a really versatile lens as I've discovered lately. It is a bit of a pain with light flare, but if you keep it in mind it's otherwise excellent. I got mine for $460 including 2 day shipping to Australia.

Yeah this thread has some good stuff! It's what got me turned onto the Tokina in the first place.

[100Teraflops]

Originally Posted by truettray

Very insightful! I appreciate the advice and insight! I did not know the Tokina is fixed aperture. Very good to know... Would using a nice filter counter the flare at all?[COLOR="#808080"]

No problem. Yes it would. It accepts 77mm filters. I think the MK II version is still 77mm. Happy Shopping!

[ledzeppelin]

Originally Posted by 100Teraflops

Oh yeah, this is a Florida sunrise from Melbourne Beach. Or in that vicinity!

Great picture!!!
Thanks for haring it.

[100Teraflops]

Originally Posted by ledzeppelin

Great picture!!!
Thanks for haring it.

Thanks Zepplin!