Best wide angle lens

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SacrificeTheory

Senior Member
I love landscape photography and I'm actually going to borrowlenses.com to rent a wide-angle lens for my road trip in August. I want to make sure I can get the best image quality while being able to fit everything in one frame.

The main lens I'm leaning towards is...

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens

But I might also look at these -

Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor Wide-Angle

Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM FLD Large Aperture Standard Zoom Lens

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX Digital Lens

Eventually I want to purchase a great wide angle lens, so any help or more suggestions would be appreciated.
 
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aZuMi

Senior Member
Is it for FX or DX camera? If it's for DX, you probably won't need 14-24mm 2.8 since the crop factor won't help you at all. On top of that, it's heavy and the extra glass won't benefit you. I would actually just get the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 for DX and Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 or Nikon 17-55mm 2.8 to cover your needs.

If you're shooting with FX, then I would just recommend Nikon 16-35mm f4 VR over the Nikon 14-24mm 2.8 mainly because it's a easier to bring around, use filters with it, sharp and you won't need 2.8 for landscape.
 
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aZuMi

Senior Member
SacrificeTheory said:
Wouldn't the 14-24mm be less of a crop though than the 17-50mm or the 17-55?
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whoops, sorry. Didn't realize this was in D7100 sub thread :)

It is, but what I'm saying is get Tokina 11-16mm 2.8 and 17-50mm for more range in your travel. That would cover your needs :)
 
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AC016

AC016

Senior Member
Why don't you go for the 10-24? It's a DX lens. It would be an ultra-wide, but you would really be able to suck things into the frame with it. Just a thought. You can also look at the Sigma 10-20mm.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
RockyNH said:
several of us also picked up the Tokina 12-24 for DX cameras (using mine on a 7100) and have been impressed.
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My vote would go to either the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 or the the aforementioned Tokina 12-24mm f4. I have the 11-16mm because I dig the faster, constant aperture but I'm sure I could be just as happy (well, almost) with the 12-24mm if push came to shove.


...
 
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WayneF

Senior Member
SacrificeTheory said:
I love landscape photography and I'm actually going to borrowlenses.com to rent a wide-angle lens for my road trip in August. I want to make sure I can get the best image quality while being able to fit everything in one frame.

The main lens I'm leaning towards is...

Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S Nikkor Wide Angle Zoom Lens

But I might also look at these -

Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX ED VR Nikkor Wide-Angle

Click to expand...

I have both of those, and also the Nikon 12-24 f/4 DX, don't overlook it. All are great lenses, but they are kinda different.

It seems like choosing a car to buy... A Yugo or a Ferrari? Or some reasonable place in between? Or a pickup truck? Everyone has priorities.

The property of lenses is the focal length and the aperture. And there is a quality factor.

Sometimes there is great advantage of a f/2.8 lens. Landscapes in bright sun is really not one of those times. Indoors and bounce flash certainly is however.
Not that you would shoot f/2.8 (unless doing star trails), but the f/2.8 lens stops down to use it at f/5 with higher quality there, specifically, less vignetting and less distortion, than if not fully wide open. Using a f/5 lens wide open is much less satisfying.

The 12-24 is a great lens for DX landscapes.

The 14-24 is awesome on FX, but expensive, big, heavy, and DX offers other choices.

The 16-85 is good, really great for walk-around-all-day-with-one-lens, but aperture is sort of limited. Not really as great indoors.

I would recommend Nikon / Nikkor (APS-C) Lens Tests
for evaluation of lens quality on these. Specifically, also look at wide open results (vignetting and distortion and resolution), compared to same lens results at f/5.6 (which might near wide open sometimes).
 
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Skytalker

Senior Member
14-24 is miles away from the rest. You dont need to shoot it at F2.8 but at F4 is razor sharp from center to corner, even better than most of the primes.
16-35, one of the most overrated lenses, is soft wide open in the corners at F4 where the 14-24 shines. 16-35 is a very good solution for day to day shooting but not necessarily for landscape where you want center corner sharpness.

There are other combinations:
  • Nikon 12-24
  • Nikon 10-24
  • Sigma 10-20 the F/3.5, inclusive
  • Tokina 12-24
  • Tokina 11-16
  • Samyang 14mm
  • Tamron 10-24
  • Sigma 8-16 f/4.5-5.6
Probably the best IQ and adequate focal length has the Nikon 10-24. The best buck for money would be the tokina 12-24. The tokina 11-16 very good lens but the focal length of 16 mm for me it was too limiting.
When I faced this situation I went for the Nikon 12-24. No way it is like the 14-24 but it has a very well controlled flare and chromatic aberrations.It provides you with a good IQ.
Hope it helps.
 
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jwstl

Senior Member
Skytalker said:
16-35, one of the most overrated lenses, is soft wide open in the corners at F4 where the 14-24 shines. 16-35 is a very good solution for day to day shooting but not necessarily for landscape where you want center corner sharpness.
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Sorry, but that makes no sense. Even if it is soft in the corners wide open, it's a great landscape lens because landscapes aren't shot wide open. Stopped down one or 2 and it's as good as the 14-24 and accepts filters which could be essential for landscapes.
 
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pedroj

Senior Member
jwstl said:
Sorry, but that makes no sense. Even if it is soft in the corners wide open, it's a great landscape lens because landscapes aren't shot wide open. Stopped down one or 2 and it's as good as the 14-24 and accepts filters which could be essential for landscapes.
Click to expand...

Yes...Have to agree with you....
 
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Somersetscott

Senior Member
I :heart: the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX Digital Lens on my D7000

Sharp, good build quality, wish there was a bit more zoom - but hey! I can walk! :)

Not used the others though.
 
Mycenius

Mycenius

Senior Member
Horoscope Fish said:
My vote would go to either the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8... I have the 11-16mm because I dig the faster, constant aperture...
Click to expand...

Somersetscott said:
I :heart: the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Pro DX Digital Lens...
Click to expand...

Me too... I picked one up a couple of months or 3 ago, haven't used it much as I would like yet but love the sharpness & getting that wider view, especially up close (e.g. buildings).

Of course on a DX its really a 17mm-24mm (and the 12-24 is a 18mm-36mm) - so for really wide what you want is the Sigma 8mm-16mm (so DX 12mm-24mm), although I don't think it's as good for f/stop (f/4.5 vs. f/2.8 on the 2 Tokinas or the Nikon 12-24)...

Sent from my iPad 3 using Tapatalk HD
 
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