Sigma/N 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG HSM

Mineores

Senior Member
I'm thinking about renting this for when I go on a trip to Iceland in 2 weeks. Would it be suitable for my beginners DSLR? (D3200)

It'll be used for landscapes/cityscapes (I'm not sure what else you'd use it for to be honest)

thanks
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Well, I rarely shoot landscapes with a wide angle, personally. Why? Because at 12mm everything will look really, really small, and really, really far away for one thing. When this happens, fine details get "lost" in the overall image. WA lenses are at their best, IMO, when you can get really, really close to your subject. Instead, when shooting a landscape, try to find a particular aspect in the landscape before you (aka: "a subject"), then isolate and draw down on it really hard. Simple, powerful compositions = "Wow!" Factor.

Find one mountain in the range, if you will, and shoot that one mountain tightly; don't try to cram the entire mountain range into your frame by going to 12mm or you risk winding up with a weak, boring image with no clear subject. Your viewer's eye won't know what to look at and so will wander endlessly on the frame. Identify, isolate, frame it tightly.

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Mineores

Senior Member
Humm, well I haven't been to Iceland before so I don't really know what to expect in the landscape scheme of things. This is why I was considering renting this lens out for a couple of days (Which would cost £17 to do so)

From reviews it seems like it'll be better optically than the kit lens, which must be a bonus it that retrospect? Haven looked at some photos with this lens it seems like the results are pretty good, and it *may* be a good experience to use a WA so I know a little if I use on in the future.

Thanks for your input, it has got me questioning my options slightly. As you may realise I am a newbie to photography, so the chance to rent some out of the ordinary glass may be useful for learning?
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Humm, well I haven't been to Iceland before so I don't really know what to expect in the landscape scheme of things. This is why I was considering renting this lens out for a couple of days (Which would cost £17 to do so)

From reviews it seems like it'll be better optically than the kit lens, which must be a bonus it that retrospect? Haven looked at some photos with this lens it seems like the results are pretty good, and it *may* be a good experience to use a WA so I know a little if I use on in the future.

Thanks for your input, it has got me questioning my options slightly. As you may realise I am a newbie to photography, so the chance to rent some out of the ordinary glass may be useful for learning?

If you have the opportunity to rent some lenses to experiment with BEFORE your trip, I think that would be money VERY well spent... Absolutely! Also, I don't mean to say the Sigma 24-70mm isn't a good lens, it's just a misunderstanding many people have that "wider is better" when it comes to landscapes; and that just isn't so. I don't know which "kit" lens you have, but if it's the Nikon 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 that comes on soooo many Nikon bodies, then yes... The Sigma will give you better image quality.

I think the Sigma 24-70mm would make an excellent "walking around lens", personally; it's fast (and I really like a constant aperture lens, but that's just a personal thing) and the focal lengths are ones I would use a lot, personally. You may want to consider the Nikon 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6, though it is a bit slower than the Sigma.

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Mineores

Senior Member
It's that kit lens, yes. The website I'm looking to rent off doesn't have the Sigma 24 - 70mm, but the [h=1]Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 G ED[/h]This lens has got a lot of amazing reviews, and I think it should for £1,200!

It is a very good point about the wide angle - but when I can rent a prime lens and a WA for £50 for 6 days, it does seem like money well spent for the experience given!
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
It's that kit lens, yes. The website I'm looking to rent off doesn't have the Sigma 24 - 70mm, but the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 G ED

This lens has got a lot of amazing reviews, and I think it should for £1,200!
Agreed. Personally, I think you can do just as well for a lot less money by going with a "third party" lens from Sigma or Tokina; possibly Tamron as well, but I have no experience with Tamron glass. Still, renting the Nikon 24-70 would tell you is you like the focal length well enough to buy the Sigma... I just recently got my first Sigma lens and I'm very, very impressed with the quality of the lens.


It is a very good point about the wide angle - but when I can rent a prime lens and a WA for , it does seem like money well spent for the experience given!
Fifty quid for 6 days is a steal when you consider the experience and feedback you'll have gotten.
 

Steve B

Senior Member
The Tamron 24-70mm is the only one of the three (Nikon, Sigma, Tamron) that has image stabilization. That being said when I bought my 24-70mm I went with the Nikon.:)
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member

That's a pretty nice range of glass!

Just so I understand you situation... You want to rent a lens in anticipation of buying the same lens for this upcoming trip, yes? Buying assumes you LIKE the lens after having tried it for the rental period of course. If that's the case I can tell you the Nikon 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 VR is a HUGELY popular lens so maybe you want to consider that... The Nikon 18-200mm might be something to consider as well.

What camera body are you going to be using, by the way?

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Mineores

Senior Member
I would be renting the lens to use on the trip, unfortunately I am a student and will never have the money to buy any of these lenses. I will be using the D3200 as it's the only body I own.

What would you recommend out of those choices?
 

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
I would be renting the lens to use on the trip, unfortunately I am a student and will never have the money to buy any of these lenses. I will be using the D3200 as it's the only body I own.

What would you recommend out of those choices?
Picking one lens to do it all is always tough... But, for a six day rental the Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 is a screaming deal at only £40. That's a LOT of focal-length flexibility and would be a good match for your D3200. Shooting at night would be the only thing this lens would not be very well suited for. At 18mm you can go reasonably wide and 200mm on the long end will get you in reasonably close. Again, it won't be a spectacular low-light performer with a max aperture of f/3.5 (without a tripod at least) but the VR should help with that.

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Mineores

Senior Member
I might get that one, but I am up to getting 2 lenses because they are doing a half price deal for all of February, making it only £20 to rent that 18 - 200mm! :)
 

Mineores

Senior Member
I ended up going for the Sigma 18 - 35mm for my landscape shots (after looking at some WA shots)
and the 50mm f/1.4 to get some experience with a prime lens for when I invest in one in the future.

thanks for the advice Horoscope Fish!
 

Deezey

Senior Member
Remember what Horoscope Fish said though! On your WA shots. Put something interesting in the foreground! Try 1/3 foreground to lead interest I to the next 1/3 with your main subject. Then leave the last 1/3 for the backdrop. Practice shots like this to get familiar with using the WA for landscape.

Without a foreground subject the images will look flat an uninteresting. Also don't be afraid to use a WA to get really close to your subject and really isolate them.

Sent from my RM-860_nam_usa_100 using Tapatalk
 

Mineores

Senior Member
Yeah, that's why I didn't bother with the WA in the end as its a little to restrictive for my liking. I'll try and split my shots into thirds for greater effect.

thank you.
 

bigal1000

Senior Member
It's that kit lens, yes. The website I'm looking to rent off doesn't have the Sigma 24 - 70mm, but the Nikkor AF-S 24-70mm f/2.8 G ED

This lens has got a lot of amazing reviews, and I think it should for £1,200!

It is a very good point about the wide angle - but when I can rent a prime lens and a WA for £50 for 6 days, it does seem like money well spent for the experience given!

Please don't rent the Nikon 24-70 2.8 you will want to buy one !!!
 

moony16

Senior Member
I understand the OP is set now, but want to add a little. I own a copy of the Sigma 12-24 and shoot it on Dx & Fx. On Fx it is a specialty lens, requiring refined compositional skills & not the most useful focal range for landscapes in my opinion.
However, on Dx (which is what the OP is talking) the lens has a very useful focal range for landscapes. Since 24mm on Dx serves as 35mm view, the lens can make a nice landscape lens.
The 12-24 is very contrasty, almost free of all distortions on Dx, and not very expensive is you purchase version I. In fact, I just saw a copy in excellent condition going for <$400--pretty good for a Dx& FX option IMO, particularly if you do not want to invest a lot into this focal range.
Best
JT
 
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Ironwood

Senior Member
I understand the OP is set now, but want to add a little. I own a copy of the Sigma 12-24 and shoot it on Dx & Fx. On Fx it is a specialty lens, requiring refined compositional skills & not the most useful focal range for landscapes in my opinion.
However, on Dx (which is what the OP is talking) the lens has a very useful focal range for landscapes. Since 24mm on Dx serves as 35mm view, the lens can make a nice landscape lens.
The 12-24 is very contrasty, almost free of all distortions on Dx, and not very expensive is you purchase version I. In fact, I just saw a copy in excellent condition going for <$400--pretty good for a Dx& FX option IMO, particularly if you do not want to invest a lot into this focal range.
Best
JT

Which DX camera do you use this lens on Moony ? Do you have any photos you can post using this lens on your DX camera.

I have been interested in this lens for a while now because I like the fact that I can keep it if I go to FX later on. , but I have held off because I wasn't sure how well it would perform on my D7100.
DXO rated it well down from the Tokina 11-16. Best wide angle zooms for the D7100 - DxOMark

I have been almost tempted to buy the Tokina 11-16 a few times now, but didn't pull the trigger because I am hesitant to buy another dedicated DX lens.
 

moony16

Senior Member
Which DX camera do you use this lens on Moony ? Do you have any photos you can post using this lens on your DX camera.

I have been interested in this lens for a while now because I like the fact that I can keep it if I go to FX later on. , but I have held off because I wasn't sure how well it would perform on my D7100.
DXO rated it well down from the Tokina 11-16. Best wide angle zooms for the D7100 - DxOMark

I have been almost tempted to buy the Tokina 11-16 a few times now, but didn't pull the trigger because I am hesitant to buy another dedicated DX lens.

I'm shooting it on a D300. If you get a centered copy, then it should do fine, even on the higher-density sensor of the D7100. But, for version 1 of this lens, I'm afraid decentered copies may out-number centered ones. Sigma has come a long way since this lens.

I'm seen nice shots with the 11-16 on Fx, though I think only 15 & 16mm work well enough to use. I opted for the 12-24 because I wanted to use it on Dx & Fx so I understand you.

You could buy 1 from Keh, and if you do not like it get your money back. I saw one over there for $375. But make sure you test it, carefully, for decentering before you keep it.

I'll post a few samples a little later.

JT
 
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