I need help choosing a wide angle lens!!

[PhoTATgraphy]

Hi! I'm new to the forums and I am looking into purchasing a wide angle lens. I have a Canon T1i, and this summer i'm taking wedding pictures and I wanted to know which lens would be best for groups and landscapes? I'm new to this, so anything will help! As of now price isnt the biggest problem, I just want to know which lens would be best for the T1i! Thank you!

 

[reznap]

Super wide?

Canon EF-S 10-22mm is L quality glass (not branded L because of the mount).
Sigma 10-20mm would also do a great job and save you a few bucks over the Canon.

What do you have for lenses right now?

 

[PhoTATgraphy]

I was actually looking at the canon one you mentioned but I was reading some of the reviews and many people were saying it wasnt sharp and saturation was a problem. I also have the standard kit lens, Canon 75-300mm, and 50mm f1.4. Thanks for all your help!

 

[fiveoboy01]

I'll say it first. If you're asking this, you shouldn't be shooting weddings.

There are a myriad of "wide" lenses available, the internet is great for searching and researching your options.

 

[PhoTATgraphy]

It's really for practice.. the people are close friends of the family.. and they asked me because they liked my photos. They're not looking for huge professional pictures. I know that I can look on the internet, that's what i've been doing actually. I just would like to know which few to narrow it down to. but thanks anyway.

 

[Big Mike]

The EF-S 10-22mm is probably the 'best' ultra wide angle lens for your camera. It's not perfect, but neither are any of the other options...ultra wide angle lenses are just prone to certain optical performance issues.

The Sigma 10-20mm gets many recommendations because it's almost as good as the Canon, but it's a few hundred cheaper.

I wouldn't recommend either of these lenses for group shots at a wedding, unless you are going for something funky or it's a group or more than 20 people.
Because it's such a wide angle lens, you get distortion, especially around the edges....so it's not the best for shooting people.
For landscapes, it's pure gold though.

I'd recommend something in the 18-50mm range for shooting groups. Even then, try to avoid shooting at the widest end and back up instead.

 

[supraman215]

I tried out the 10-20 Sigma at the camera store the other day and LOVED IT.

 

[bigtwinky]

Then get the Sigma.

I have the Canon 10-22 but shooting at anything under 18 will have too much distortion for a wedding photo group image. A great lens for wedding groups and tighter spaces is a 17-50 focal range lens. Tamron makes a good one and Canon has a few as well. Could work for landscapes as well.

But if you want a landscape lens, the 10-22 is fine. Love the sharpness. Here is a link to an image I took with the lens skating on Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Just some small tweaking done in post processing, not much.

If I need to shoot a large group and I can't stand back to use a more standard focal lenght, I try and get as close to 22mm as possible