Ultra Wide for use on D40 and D90

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Ultra Wide for use on D40 and D90

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chancetlu

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I am sure this topic has been beat to death, but now that some of the models have been out for a while, I wanted to see if I could get some fresh opinions.

I am looking at purchasing an ultra wide for my two bodies. I am really not sure which to get as the 5 I am contemplating are all within my budget. I am looking at the Nikon 10-24, Nikon 12-24 refurb, Tokina 11-16 2.8, Tokina 12-24, and Sigma 10-20 3.5. Unfortunately, due to my location (Doha, Qatar), I cannot physically hold or test any of these. The Nikon 14-24 is over budget.

My current lens kit includes the 18-200 VR for a generic walk around, 35mm 1.8 for indoors, and the 70-200 VR 1 along with a 1.7 tele for sports/wildlife/long range stuff.

Thanks for the input.

Posted 3 years ago #
heartyfisher

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You have a lovely set of lenses and cameras. You can do most anything with them !! great choices!.

Why do you want an ultra wide? do you have a specific need? I have the 12-24 and its great but for my use I should have got the sigma 10-20 .. that's because I mainly use it for realestate shots. ie at 10mm you can stand in the corner and get the whole room .. Its got a slightly larger than 90 degree coverage at 10mm. Still I dont really regret the 12-24.. its sharp and tough(toughest nikkor I know) and It will probably go to my grandson if I ever have one :-)

Posted 3 years ago #
ted2001

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I'm very happy with the Nikon 10-24. I don't mind the variable aperture and like the zoom range.

Posted 3 years ago #
chancetlu

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I plan on landscape, wide shots of sports fields (most likely night), and party-type pics.

Posted 3 years ago #
ShadeofBlue

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If you feel like going to extremes, Sigma's upcoming 8-16mm is not a fisheye. It might be a while until reviews start coming out for that though since a release date hasn't even been announced yet as far as I know. It's also really slow (f/4-5.6 I think) so party shots might be out. Just a thought :).

As for right now I'd probably look into the Tokina 11-16, but I'd look at return policies carefully on that one, it had QC problems for a long time, and might still, I don't know. It's supposed to be great, although I've never used one personally.

Posted 3 years ago #
aesnakes

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I love love love my Tokina 11-16. Super sharp and good in low light. It actually has me not wanting to switch to fx but im giving my D90 to Steph and buying a D700 or what ever comes out before the end of the year mainly for lowlight and better DOF.

Posted 3 years ago #
PB PM

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Do you want a lens that will AF on both cameras? If so, some of those lenses will not auto focus on the D40, such as the Tokina 11-16 F2.8.

Posted 3 years ago #
chancetlu

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The D40 will mainly be used as a backup body and I could deal with manual focus if I had to, but that is one of the reasons I am leaning toward the Nikon 10-24 - auto focus plus the 10mm. I have read a number of blogs/reviews that claim the 10-12mm range on the Nikon has terrible distortion and super soft corners though, hence me hesitation. The F2.8 makes the Tokina very very attractive as i find myself carrying my heavy 70-200 just as much as my 18-200 due to the low light performance.

Posted 3 years ago #
PB PM

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With wide angel lenses it really depends on how you intend to use it. If you want the lens for landscapes, then you'll want to put the camera on a good tripod, in which case having a wide aperture may not be as important.

Posted 3 years ago #
chancetlu

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If I only planned on doing landscapes, you are right, I wouldn't need to worry about aperture. However we host a lot of different events at our house, and I think that using a wide angle could really throw a new angle on indoor party pics.

Posted 3 years ago #
mb

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If you plan to use it on D40 and landscapes Sigma EX 10-20mm F/4.0-5.6 is probably the best option and it is currently around 500$.

Posted 3 years ago #
RyanWard

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I have the Tokina 11-16 on a D60 (no auto focus) and love it. Focusing on a wide angle is not as hard as trying to manually focus a 50mm 1.8 or something. The DOF is much deeper making it easier to focus. I got my 11-16 just for real estate, but have found myself using on more things than just a staged room.

Now, having said that, I still wish it had auto focus, but there isn't anything else as fast so if you don't need the 2.8, go with something that will auto focus. If you want to shoot in lower light, manually focusing is not hard on it. I only say this because once you have a lens that you thought you needed only for one thing, you may find yourself wanting to use it for other things and so it might well be worth taking that into consideration.

Posted 3 years ago #
ted2001

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureted/4169830443/in/set-72157622963759336/
10-24 at Hearst Castle 1/4 sec. f8, 10mm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureted/4169830635/in/set-72157622963759336/
10-24 at Hearst Castle 1/20 sec f3.5, 10mm

I not only like it going wide to 10mm, but because it goes to 24mm (36 equiv.), I like it for crowded street shooting.

Posted 3 years ago #
kanuck

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Hi, I'd like to throw another vote in for the 11-16mm Tokina. I no longer own this lens as I traded it in when I went FX but this lens is amazing and very sharp. Its a professional 2.8 solid piece of medal lens that produces incredible images all for a nice price. Some of my best shots ever were taken with this lens. It gives amazing night shots giving light star patterns even at F6! Its also great with water (waterfalls, beaches etc) making it a serious landscape lens. My one complaint was the limited zoom range and it always felt like a wide angle prime and not a zoom lens to me.

Posted 3 years ago #
kanuck

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The 11-16 for your D90 would be a sweet combo, its so good I'd even tolerate the manual focus it on the D40 if I were you no problems. It focuses manually with ease and speed I thought on my D40x and D80 back in 2007-2008.

Posted 3 years ago #
kyoshinikon

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My favorite actually isn't on your list. The 10.5mm f/2.8 prime...

Posted 3 years ago #
ted2001

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The 10.5/2.8 is fun, but very limited in it's usefulness. I'd get either the Nikon 10-24 (the one I love) or the Tokina 11-16.

On other hand... from the 10.5

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureted/4272146199/in/set-72157622886711048/

Posted 3 years ago #
chancetlu

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bump

Posted 3 years ago #
PB PM

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Why the bump? You haven't added anything new to the discussion.

Posted 3 years ago #
chancetlu

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I was hoping some new eyes might read it and give their opinions as it had dropped to the bottom of the page. I have the Tokina 11-16 and Nikon 10-24 in my cart right now, but can't quite pull the trigger, so I was just hoping for a little more input.

Posted 3 years ago #
ted2001

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureted/4442216592/in/set-72157623517265777/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureted/4441437673/in/set-72157623517265777/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictureted/4442217208/in/set-72157623517265777/

Here are three shots from the same location at the Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California. All shot with D90 and Nikon 10-24 at f16. 15mm, 12mm and 10mm. You can see in this setting how much difference a few mm makes.

Besides, go ahead and pull the trigger. Both lenses are highly rated.

Posted 3 years ago #
mcammer

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Thanks Ted, it was nice to see the comparison. 18mm always felt too limiting! Apparently I need 12 mm to get 90 degrees field of view.

I've ordered this lens. I didn't order one of the others because of autofocus, limited range, and build quality issues. It's supposed to arrive Monday.

Posted 3 years ago #
heartyfisher

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at 12 mm the 90 degree field of view is measured DIAGONALLY ! so you cant get a whole room from the corner.

Posted 3 years ago #
mcammer

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That's not what I get from angles a la jonny

http://www.tawbaware.com/maxlyons/calc.htm

Posted 3 years ago #
jonnyapple

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You shouldn't give me credit (or hold me responsible) for that site, mcammer. It's a useful one, but also just one that I bookmarked, not created. ;-)

Posted 3 years ago #