Wide Angle lens shopping for Canon 20D

[deej36]

Hi all! I am an amateur-amateur photographer but pursuing this hobby with zeal. So far I have the 20D with EF-S 18-55, EF 50/1.8, EF 75-300 USM IS, and EF-S 17-85 lenses.

Next on my radar is a wide angle lens. I am weighing the EF-S 10-22 versus the EF 16-35L-series. I have read excellent reviews on both but I guess I am still having a bit of a hard time understanding the 1.6 ratio for the 20D. The 10-22 effectively becomes "equivalent" to a 16-35 and the 16-35 becomes equivalent to a 26-56.

Does this mean I will then get wider shots with more information off of the 10-22? I noticed that both the lenses have relatively the same horizontal angle of view. However does that change because of the apparent focal length?

Of course one might ask "why is this newbie thinking of spending big bucks on the L-series?" Actually I am also concerned about the compatibility going forward for the EF-S series (yeah..even though I already own two EF-S lenses). I have a lot more versatility and lasting power with the L (in my opinion). Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!!

[SmartWombat]

I picked the EF-S 10-22
Here's some examples from my 20D
It's a really nice creative tool