Camera Labs

Hi all,
This is my first post and I'm a complete newbie. I don't see a beginner's forum here so I think it's advisable for me to post at the Canon forum considering that I just bought a Canon 400D or rebel XTI.
As I said earlier, I'm new to photography so please bear with me if some questions that I ask may sound stupid.
I'd actually bought myself a Sigma 50-150mm f2.8 lens which I might want to do some portraits and now I'm looking for a wider lens which I'm torn between the Sigma 10-20mm f 4-4.5 and the Canon 10-22mm f3.5-4.5. I'll be using this lens for day and night photography mostly on streets and group photo. I believe, with the aperture size, taking day shots will not be a problem but for night shots ( I wanted shots like light up streets with streak of lights from cars passing ) where flash is restricted, do you think the above 2 will be able to handle the job considering it aperture size? I really hope that some of you expert here can give me some advice and do not hesitate to let me know of other options that you can give.
Sorry for the long post but this forum is something I find useful with lots of help.
Bemyself

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You will never have what you like until you learn to like what you have

Hello bemyself and welcome to the friendly CamreLabs forum!
Seems what you need is a wide-angle large aperture prime to complement your 50-150mm. So something around 24mm, like the Sigma AF 20-40mm 2.8 EX DG Asp IF or the Sigma AF 24mm 1.8 EX DG Asp Makro.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Hi Tombomba2,
Thanks for your suggestion. However on my earlier post, I forgot to mention that I do have the kit lens 18-55 that came with the camera. Does this len proves to be of any good?
Regarding the 2 lens that you recommended, I'm quite confuse on why a wide len like the Sigma AF 24mm 1.8EX DG ASP call a Macro len. I thought Macro is for close up and if this len is so wide, how near should it get to the subject. Plaese bear with me on this question as I'm very new to photography.
Thanks,
Bemyself

_________________
You will never have what you like until you learn to like what you have

Yep, you're right. First it's not 1:1 macro but goes to 18cm close-up at 1:2.7. 18cm from the focal-plane, that is. So substract the depth of the cam-body (4cm) and the length of the lens (8cm) and you end up having only 6cm air between the front-lens and your subject...
So if you already have 18-55mm (nice if you could list your gear in the signature, so everybody knows) are you looking for something wider or something with larger aperture?
In the first case go for the Sigma 10-20mm reviewed here. Or the Canon 10-22mm if you have the dosh...
In the 2nd case the Sigma's I suggested in my earlier post are viable alternatives, although the 20-40mm is an older design seldom found today in the shops, the 18-50mm/f2.8 EX DC macro being the successor.

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

PS - our Canon 10-22mm review is here:

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon1022EFS/

Considering your circumstances, I think the Canon 10-22mm is a great option and aperture size doesn't really matter a huge amount in night time photography because you can't really see the depth of field. The Canon 18-55 should work fine if you have a tripod that is, but if you want a faster aperture, maybe the Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 SP XR should work.

Hope this helps!

P.S. If your using a small aperture at night you'll need a slow shutter speed so the tripod is a handy tool.

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Thank you all for the valuable comments.
Thomas, actually I'm looking for a wider and faster lens . Will the Sigma performance be comparable to the Canon? If so I'll go for the Sigma since I understand that it's cheaper but the aperture will be a bit slower.
Gordon Laing, thanks for pointing me to the review
fearless leader,thanks for the recommendation on the Canon, however you said that the aperture size really dosen't matter in night photography because you can't see the depth of field. In fact I'd seen night photography with very good light exposure on the depth of field. I believe it's done using a fast aperture with a very slow shutter speed without flash. So will the Sigma 10-20 or the Canon 10-22 be able to do this considering it aperture size?
I apologise again if my question seems stupid

_________________
You will never have what you like until you learn to like what you have

There is no such thing as a "stupid question"!
But if you want to go extra-wide and have a large aperture, that is going to cost you dearly.
So it really boils down to the following question:
Do you really need wider angles than 17/18mm?
If not the f2.8 zooms are your choice (the best being the Canon EF-S 17-55mm 2.8 IS USM because it adds IS) or the Sigma 24mm/1.8 prime!

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Thomas (beware: Nikon-fanboy and moderator!) My Lens Reviews, My Pictures, My Photography Blog
D800+assorted lenses

Hi Thomas,
Thanks again for your suggestions. I'll heed your suggestion and check this 2 lens.
Thanks once again.
Bemyself

_________________
You will never have what you like until you learn to like what you have