# HELP! Need help choosing a lens



## fasted18 (Jan 12, 2012)

ok i like to shoot mostly sports and parties (indoors). I shoot on a t2i.... i find myself in a lot of low light situations. i currently own the Canon 1.8 50mm. im looking at the Tokina 11-16mm and the Canon 10-22. im really fixed to the price range of under $700. i hear a ton of good things bout the Tokina and the f2.8 really has me leaning towards it. but i just know the Canon will have sharper images.. so im stuck..someone help!


----------



## neuroanatomist (Jan 12, 2012)

The Tokina is actually just as sharp as the Canon. The Tokina shows a little more vignetting, but mostly, you are trading a wider focal range on the Canon for f/2.8 on the Tokina.


----------



## kolossal (Jan 12, 2012)

The Tokina is faster, has a great build and is very sharp. I used it with a XSi and a 60D with great pleasure. I'd chose it over the Canon just for the low light situations you shoot.


----------



## fasted18 (Jan 13, 2012)

thanks guys for the help/advice. I really like what I see out of the Tokina do I think that will be my choice!


----------



## funkboy (Jan 13, 2012)

This was just posted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXTVKXJ94sw
shot with a 5DII & Tokina 16-28 f/2.8

I really like my Tokina 11-16 f/2.8. One could say that I traded my Canon 17-40L on it as I sold it within a few months of getting the Tokina.

Cruize around here for some of my older posts on it, but I will say here that one of the revelations that came to me with this lens was that I bought it for use pretty much exclusively as a wide-angle for doing landscapes & interiors, and the first times I had it in my bag at a jazz club it suddenly occurred to me that I now have another low-light lens too .


----------



## tron (Jan 13, 2012)

How low light? wide angle low light or tele low light ?

There are also the 28mm f/1.8 and the 85mm f/1.8

You could have both with the budget (more or less) you mentioned...


----------



## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 13, 2012)

fasted18 said:


> ok i like to shoot mostly sports and parties (indoors). I shoot on a t2i.... i find myself in a lot of low light situations. i currently own the Canon 1.8 50mm. im looking at the Tokina 11-16mm and the Canon 10-22. im really fixed to the price range of under $700. i hear a ton of good things bout the Tokina and the f2.8 really has me leaning towards it. but i just know the Canon will have sharper images.. so im stuck..someone help!



I would suggest that for low light and moving subjects without flash, you will want a lens with as wide of a aperture as possible. This puts you in the realm of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4. I'm not aware of a low cost lens this fast at wide apertures, and f/2.8 is not fast enough unless you like lots of noise and grain in your photos.

Personally, I avoid Sigma, but it does have that lens at the right price.

None of the lenses you mention are ones I think of as being for sports. Indoor sports? Outdoor Spoorts? Daytime or evening? The answer could vary from the 85mm f/1.8 to a longer lens. The most difficult will be the low light situation, there might be nothing in your price range to handle that for sports, so you might have to compromise.


----------



## wickidwombat (Jan 13, 2012)

Mt Spokane Photography said:


> fasted18 said:
> 
> 
> > ok i like to shoot mostly sports and parties (indoors). I shoot on a t2i.... i find myself in a lot of low light situations. i currently own the Canon 1.8 50mm. im looking at the Tokina 11-16mm and the Canon 10-22. im really fixed to the price range of under $700. i hear a ton of good things bout the Tokina and the f2.8 really has me leaning towards it. but i just know the Canon will have sharper images.. so im stuck..someone help!
> ...


you also have to consider using a t2i there is no AF adjust so if the sigma focusing is off its going to have to go back to sigma for calibration


----------



## fasted18 (Jan 14, 2012)

my focus is on video...i just feel a lot of the time I like to have a high shutter speed (along with action photos) so the 2.8 grabs my attention over the 3.5/4 on the Canon 10-22. and 17-44... i guess i just need to save up and buy a selection but i want to buy the lens that will suit me best first off...Example i shoot mostly action photos/videos in sort of low light (indoors)..i live in ohio so its usually cloudy and stuff. i currently own the 50mm and its nice and all but on my cropped sensor t2i I just feel like it doesn't really fit what I'm doing (close spaces)....any other WIDE ANGLE ZOOM lens suggestions?


----------



## neuroanatomist (Jan 14, 2012)

You've basically got three choices if you want a UWA zoom with good IQ for a crop body. In terms of IQ, the three are equivalent - other factors differentiate them, all trade-offs of one sort or another. 


Canon 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 - broadest zoom range, intermediate aperture
Sigma 8-16mm f/4.5-5.6 - widest angle of view, slowest aperture
Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 - narrowest zoom range, fastest aperture

From your criteria, the Tokina is the best choice. Now, if you want merely wide on APS-C, and not ultrawide, but still want fast, there are other options that also offer FF compatibility - the Canon 16-35/2.8 II and the Tokina 16-28/2.8. Both exceed your stated budget, the Tokina only slightly, but it reportedly has some QC issues. 

Overall, I think the Tokina 11-16mm is the best recommendation for you.


----------



## Mt Spokane Photography (Jan 14, 2012)

The Tokina 11-16 also comes in at about $700 or slightly less, so its a reasonable choice for low light.


----------

