Canon 50mm f/1.8 vs Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 (sharpness)

[Killerclaw]

How does the tokina 11-16 compare to the 50 in terms are sharpness?

[staplermofo]

Which 50?

[Killerclaw]

Which 50?

The one in the topic, the f1.8

The cheap one.

[Elsinore]

I like the lens reviews at http://www.photozone.de/ a lot. They include OEM lenses as well as third party stuff.

Here’s their review on the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8:
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/379-tokina_1116_28_canon

And the one on the Canon 50mm f/1.8:
http://www.photozone.de/canon-eos/160-canon-ef-50mm-f18-ii-test-report–review

Comparing aperture-to-aperture (f/2.8 and up) on the sharpness/resolution chart, they look pretty close.

[Killerclaw]

I’m not sure why they didn’t just make it a 11mm prime lens.

Anyway, how much more challenging would this thing be for low light work compared to the 1.8 that I’m used to working with?

[Elsinore]

Well, f/1.8 is what, 2/3 of a stop faster than f/2.8 I *think*, so your shutter speeds won’t be as fast for the same ISO. Depending on your shooting conditions, that may or may not be a problem.

[staplermofo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F-number

1 1/3 stops according to them.
But depending on how smokey the places are and how fast the people move you might more than make up for it by being closer and using slower shutters.
I have an 8mm and a 12mm, and man, lemme tell you, you have to be right on top of people.

Do you have the kit lens or anything that wide to see how much of a difference being that close makes?

[sleeping]

Well, f/1.8 is what, 2/3 of a stop faster than f/2.8

No, 1 1/3 stops – 2.8 to 2 is one stop. You’d probably get at least an extra stop of handholdability with a lens that wide, though, but that only works if motion blur is not a concern.

[Killerclaw]

I know how F #s work, I just was wondering if I would be able to handle losing those stops when shooting concerts

[Elsinore]

Well, f/1.8 is what, 2/3 of a stop faster than f/2.8

No, 1 1/3 stops – 2.8 to 2 is one stop. You’d probably get at least an extra stop of handholdability with a lens that wide, though, but that only works if motion blur is not a concern.

Yeah, see, how my mathtarded ass got into a hobby that is so numbers oriented is beyond me…

Killerclaw: for concerts, I’ve always heard the faster the aperture the better. I know it was difficult to get hand holdable shutter speeds with my digicam on f/2.8 and ISO 200 at a recent concert I went to, but then you’ll have more usable ISO speeds to work with on your DSLR. I don’t shoot a lot of concerts, though, so YMMV.

[staplermofo]

Where’s Analogy?

[Elsinore]

That’s what I was wondering 😆 . He’d be the man to ask, Killerclaw.

[swampa]

For concerts go the 1.8, it will make a huge difference. I have a sigma 2.8 lens and I can’t get enough light for it to be useful most of the time (I have to put the ISO to 1600 or greater which makes the image full of noise).

How far from the stage will you be taking photos? Unless you are going to be about a metre from the band then I feel the 11-16 will be way to wide. The 50 will give you good head shots from a metre away to full band photos from about 5 metres (depend on the spread of the band)

[Killerclaw]

For concerts go the 1.8, it will make a huge difference. I have a sigma 2.8 lens and I can’t get enough light for it to be useful most of the time (I have to put the ISO to 1600 or greater which makes the image full of noise).

How far from the stage will you be taking photos? Unless you are going to be about a metre from the band then I feel the 11-16 will be way to wide. The 50 will give you good head shots from a metre away to full band photos from about 5 metres (depend on the spread of the band)

Maybe get the Canon 28 or sigma 24mm instead?

I kinda wanted a really freaking wide lens for landscapes that I could also use for concerts. I get between a meter and 10 meters from bands.

[swampa]

The last concert I went to, I used a 30mm (borrowed it from SClark to have a play :D) and it was great for getting group shots (without having to head to the back of the room or mingle with the crowd). I felt the 50mm gave more intimate photos of the performers, as you could be further away so it wasn’t as obtrusive (with the 30mm, you nearly need to be right up in their face to get a headshot).

It isn’t going to matter too much between 24-85mm, it is more important getting a low f numbered lens (you can always move to get a shot with any sizes in that range but you can’t get more light if it is a dark venue)

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