Advice on Wide Angle Lenses

[AdamIsMyName]

My Camera is a Canon 550D ...

I have the kit lenses 18-55 and 75-300 zoom
I also have 100mm 2.8 macro

I want to start landscape photography and would like a wide angle lens.( I wouldnt use it exclusively for landscape BUT the main reason I want one right now is for taking long exposure landscape photography) I am on a budget so spending high $$$ and or $$$$ on a really top notch lens is out of the question right now.

I was looking at sigma 10-20mm but I read that it has distortion when you use it at the shorter focal distances? If sigma used at below 20 distorts is there reason to not just use the kit lens at 20? I also read that the crop sensor size of the 550d has an affect also - like it is not really 10 -20mm but instead 16 - 32?


Any recommendation / advice? Is sigma 10-20mm lens worth it for me to purchase or should I just use my cheap kit lens? Maybe a different lens similarly priced?


Thanks!

 

[480sparky]

Distortion can be corrected in post.

 

[AdamIsMyName]

Is there an actual difference as to how to image is perceived if I use the 18-55 at say 20, vs. using the sigma 10-20 at 20?

 

[Overread]

Nope - focal length is always the same no matter the lens.

Real world however there might be slight differences as a result of mechanical tolerances (ie the 20mm mark on both lenses might not be perfect - but it would only be small differences).

As for distortion you are going to get that with almost any wide angle lens, some will be better than others, but if its pushing wide angle its going to be there most of the time. There are editing software options out there which can reduce and remove the distortion and there are also many scenes where the distortion would be unnoticeable in regular viewing.

For some options you might want to read these reviews and comparisons:
Juza Nature Photography - Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM Review
Juza Nature Photography - Sigma, Canon, Tamron and Tokina APS-C Wide-Angles
Juza Nature Photography - Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DC (vs Sigma 12-24 on FF)

 

[AdamIsMyName]

Thanks!

Being on a super limited budget that's very good to know because now rather than spend $400 on the sigma lens I'll make due with the kit lens until I can afford a high quality ultra wide zoom lens.

Now I can worry about ND filters (can be quite expensive and dont wanna invest in ones specifically for the 58mm if I may be upgrading lens in the future) I ordered some cheap (and probably not so good?) 58mm filters to test with, but they werent anywhere close to the $$$s the better brands cost.