Upgrading/side stepping wide angle lens - Recommendations please?

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Somersetscott

Senior Member
Hi Guys, So! I've been poking around with my D600 over the winter. I am looking to upgrade my wide angle Sigma EX D 17-35mm f2.8-4 (when I moved into FX the wide angle took the compromise hit in my budget), the Sigma is quite sharp, excellent for the cash! not as good as the Tokina 11-16mm I had with the DX but then the price was considerably different. Things that aren't so great about the Sigma:>Not a fixed aperture zoom >No lens profile correction on Lightroom>Feels cheap, looks plasticy, front lens cap pops off all the time! SO! now i've landed a local lighting assistant/second shooter role for a 'higher end' Wedding photographer and looking to upgrade this lens for something better/more suitable. The Wedding photographer shoots all prime and Cannon, not that i'm looking to go into Cannon or a bag full-o-primes just yet. My other lenses are 50mm f1.8 & 80-200mm AF-s f2.8 I've still not got a mega amount of money to spend but would like the following criteria>Wide, fast(ish), Sharp & not crazy distortion. >Cost - low >Possible 'gap filler' between wide to the 50mm I've been looking at:Sigma EX DG 24-70 mm f2.8 Nikkor AF 20mm f2.8DMy initial thought is the Nikkor is going to be better quality but not flexible (in zoom) and no correction profile in LR. The Sigma is the right kind of price, seems to bridge the wide to the 50mm well but not sure if the quality is great? Or am I missing a trick completely - there are much better lenses about at the same price? Any help, thoughts, personal experiences very much appreciated :) I can see i'm probably doing that age old - something for nothing kind of post. I'm not scared of secondhand or non-Nikon lenses Thanks,Scott
 
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aroy

Senior Member
There is a good reason for shooting with primes - fast aperture and good bokeh wide open, plus a lot of sharpness. Zooms though are extremely versatile in the ever changing FOV of a wedding. Still I prefer primes and crop later. With 24MP there is enough space to crop and still get a great shot.

I have found that if there is sufficient light then on a DX sensor the kit 18-55 is excellent. The 18 end corresponds to 27mm and the 55mm end to 80mm in FX world. Any thing wider will distort the perspective and unless you are looking for it, best avoided.

Are you comfortable with manual focus? If so then there is quite a selection of wides to choose from. Most are available in AF, but the older manual focus AIS are still the best.
. 20mm
. 24mm
. 28mm
The 28mm AIS is one of the sharpest of Nikons wides.
 
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