Reccomend wide lens based on current setup

[NothingRare]

I'm looking for a wide angle zoom/prime.

This is what I currently have:
35 1.8G
50 1.4D
70-300 4.5-5.6 vr

I don't know how wide i want, since the widest i've ever used is 34mm (on a point and shoot)

I'm considering these:
Nikon 10-24 (can't get the flash i was saving for )
Nikon 12-24 (I don't know how wide is 10mm or 12mm..)
Tokina 12-24 (how does this compare to the nikon?)
Sigma 10-20 (the least expensive)
Tokina 11-16 (16 and 35 might be too big a gap, i think.)

[tclune]

The only one I have is the Tokina 12-24, and I like it a lot. I chose it instead of the Tokina 11-16 because of the focal range -- I like to take just one lens with me whenever possible, and 11-16 is just too narrow a range in a specialized field of view. By going up to as much as 24mm on my APS-C sensor, I can function in many contexts with just that lens.

I like the look of the photos a lot, but some folks find them too biased toward blue. That's a real judgment call that only you can make. The Tokina 11-16 is virtually identical in that aspect (it was based on the 12-24 lens design), so if you don't like one in this regard you won't like the other either.

I have a small gallery of shots I took a couple of months back that you can view here to get a sense of the color: http://www.dpreview.com/galleries/63...EC4A0CC8863043

The two small kvetches I have with the lens are that the lens hood is just visible in the upper edges of the photos at 12mm and, weirdly, the autofocus tends to hunt even in good light, even though virtually any focus will do with a lens this wide. I now tend to use it in manual focus and set it by the distance scale just to avoid the hunting. FWIW

[Hards80]

It seems to me that you are missing a normal zoom. I would get a nice normal zoom before I would think to add an ultra-wide.

maybe something like the Nikon 16-85 VR. Would be a very useful range of focal lengths and considerably wider than anything you have now.

[tclune]

Originally Posted by Hards80

It seems to me that you are missing a normal zoom. I would get a nice normal zoom before I would think to add an ultra-wide.

maybe something like the Nikon 16-85 VR. Would be a very useful range of focal lengths and considerably wider than anything you have now.

I don't agree with this. I have the 35mm f/1.8 and the 55-200 f/-5.6 VR as my other lenses, and I really don't miss zoom in the standard range at all. I use the 35mm as my default lens, and it is a delight to shoot with. Zoom is really handy for tele stuff, because you're typically shooting things you can't get to, so framing requires moving the lens. And, with a lens that goes up into the tele region or down into the UW region, it's nice to be able to fall back into something close to standard without having to change lenses.

But for standard focal lengths, you really are able to move yourself to compose just about anything you want to shoot. It's more a matter of adjusting your attitude toward taking a photo than anything else, and I find that being in the "move my ass" mode makes it much more likely that I'll look for an interesting angle than I tend to do with a zoom, where I just frame the photo from wherever I happen to be and click the shutter. Admittedly, I'm more of a slug than most, but I can imagine that my slothful tendencies are not unique.

[Hards80]

well, you would be in the minority. there is a reason why it is called a standard zoom.

and the adjusting your attitude and moving to frame is not the complete story. sure if there is room you can move back to compose a similar amount of objects with the 35mm, however, that does not make it the same photograph as the similar amount of elements shot at 18mm or 28mm, etc. the changes in focal length will have a dramatic difference in the shot.

also, there are times when it is not possible to carry and ultrawide, your 35, your 50, and your telephoto. and there is a reason why zooms in the equivelent focal lenths of 28-80/100ish are called standard zooms. these are the focal lengths that cover the greatest number of shooting conditions.

now you may be falsely thinking that i am argueing against primes, that is far from the case, i own a nice set of primes myself and and ultrawide and i use them alot. but not having a normal zoom lens in the arsenal is a disadvantage as they really are quite useful.

i think the normal zoom is a good base to build a lens collection. and supplement it with your primes, ultrawides, teles and specialized lenses.

[dafiryde]

Originally Posted by tclune

I don't agree with this. I have the 35mm f/1.8 and the 55-200 f/-5.6 VR as my other lenses, and I really don't miss zoom in the standard range at all. I use the 35mm as my default lens, and it is a delight to shoot with. Zoom is really handy for tele stuff, because you're typically shooting things you can't get to, so framing requires moving the lens. And, with a lens that goes up into the tele region or down into the UW region, it's nice to be able to fall back into something close to standard without having to change lenses.

But for standard focal lengths, you really are able to move yourself to compose just about anything you want to shoot. It's more a matter of adjusting your attitude toward taking a photo than anything else, and I find that being in the "move my ass" mode makes it much more likely that I'll look for an interesting angle than I tend to do with a zoom, where I just frame the photo from wherever I happen to be and click the shutter. Admittedly, I'm more of a slug than most, but I can imagine that my slothful tendencies are not unique.

your very right.
i read a very nice article on this on Thom Hogan site. He claimed he very rearly uses standard zooms but rather use a good prime and moves his legs to suit. or if he has on a zoom he sets the range to suite the scene and moves his feet to suite the frame

Dave
T&T

[Hards80]

Originally Posted by dafiryde

he has on a zoom he sets the range to suite the scene and moves his feet to suite the frame

that is the point of the zoom. its to be able to control the focal length which will control how elements appear in relationship to each other. it has nothing to do with zooms are for lazy people versus primes are not.

sure you can have many primes to cover a bunch of different focal lengths, and that is actually quite nice, because you can get them much faster than most zooms, giving you flexibility in dof too.

but, as a foundation for a lens kit, a few nice zooms makes the best base to build from. it gives you flexibility when you need it, and when you can't carry around a bag of lenses, gives you ability to still control focal length.