Which is the better wide-angle choice for a Canon EOS 700D: EF-S 10-22mm or EF-S 15-85mm IS?
Asked 1/11/2016
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I use a Canon EOS 700D (APS-C) and want a wide-angle lens. I’m especially drawn to very wide views around 10mm, but many ultra-wide lenses don’t have image stabilization. I’m also considering the Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM because it has IS.
I don’t like using a tripod, so I’m trying to balance field of view against blur from camera shake. My main options are:
- Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
- Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
For handheld shooting on a 700D, which is the better choice if I want wide or ultra-wide images without too much blur?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
2 Answers
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First, some terminology. On your 700D (or any of the 1.6x crop APS-C bodies), a 15mm and up is still just "wide angle". It's below 15mm that lenses become ultrawide. So if you want ultrawide, you need lenses that are around the 10-15mm focal length range. Wide angle on a 1.6x crop camera, typically means something in the 15-24mm range. Normal is around 28-35. And telephoto begins around 40mm. (For film or full frame, ultrawide would be below 24mm, wide from 24 to 35mm, normal around 50, and telephoto starts in the 50-85 range).
Whether you need a wide or an ultrawide is a matter of personal taste, but essentially going very wide means more distortion as well as more coverage, so you're basically choosing how funky and extreme you want to get with the wide angle. Also, be aware that most of these wide angle choices on Canon are only for crop bodies (Canon EF-S, Sigma DC, Tamron DiII, Tokina DX, etc.), and probably will have to be replaced if you ever plan to make the full-frame move.
Whether you need stabilization or a large max. aperture depends on how you plan to use the lens. Most folks do not find IS to be critical with ultrawide lenses, because their main use will be for landscape/cityscape shooting with a tripod. And a tripod will beat IS any day when it comes to long exposures. While it is more inconvenient, it also is a much better tool than IS for long exposures, and generally doesn't have an upper limit, shutter-speed-wise, like IS does. And a tripod or monopod (a good equivalent to IS) works with any lens you have.
In addition, good handholding technique and choosing appropriate exposure settings can take care of camera shake issues as much as IS, and IS, while convenient, is still no guarantee of eliminating motion blur from camera shake.
The only use where you might want stabilization and a large max. aperture is if you plan to shoot environmental portraiture handheld, or architectural interiors without lighting.
That said, there is one lens that it seems you have not considered which is both 10mm and has image stabilization, while being lower-cost than either of the two lenses you're looking at: the EF-S 10-18 f/3-5.6 IS STM.
Also, if you find that you are an ultrawide junkie and you'd like to go even wider, there is one class of lenses you might want to consider if the distortion doesn't scare you off, and that would be fisheye lenses. Fisheyes give up attempting to project the image in rectilinear fashion (i.e., keeping straight lines straight), and allows lines to curve (maps equisolid or stereographic). I shot for many years without an ultrawide because I had a fisheye in the bag.
Originally by user27440. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user27440
10y ago
0
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If you specifically want ultra-wide, the EF-S 10-22mm is the better fit. On a Canon APS-C body like the 700D, 10–15mm is ultra-wide, while 15mm is simply wide. So the 15-85mm won’t give the same dramatic field of view as 10mm.
As for blur: image stabilization helps with camera shake, but at very short focal lengths camera shake is already less of a problem than it is with longer lenses. A common guideline is to handhold at about 1 over the focal length (adjusted for crop factor in practice), so wide lenses can usually be used at relatively slow shutter speeds even without IS.
The bigger decision is really angle of view, not stabilization. If your priority is the “impressed by 10mm” look, get the 10-22mm. If you want a more general-purpose zoom with some wide-angle capability and IS, the 15-85mm is more versatile, but it is not ultra-wide.
Also keep in mind that going very wide usually brings more perspective exaggeration and distortion, which may or may not suit your style.
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