Wide angle lens help

Hi guys!

I wanted your advice on the following:

I have just brought a Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S VR DX lens. I decided to go for an all round lens for an up and coming visit to India.

I have been looking into wide angle lenses.

My first question is do I need one.

The second what advantage does it give me.

Third any recommendations.


Thanks Jignesh

If you want a wide angle it is going to provide you the 10mm to 18mm range depending which you get. You can go shorter but that's often Fisheye territory.

What it enables you to do is take wide shots which can be nice for landscapes and architecture although they don't come without restrictions. You need to know where to take the shot and how to point the lens. There's quite some distortion in the short range but most of that can be fixed afterwards.

The advantage is just that; wide. You have a much wider field of view which can be handy. But they're fairly costly depending what you buy and how much you'll use them.

If you're not sure if you need one, you probably don't.

My advice....for what it's worth, is that if you're going to be traveling, it's nice to have a wide angle to capture all the buildings, monuments, and other sight seeing exhibits. It will capture the whole street if you have a wide angle zoom. It's good to have one in your arsenal. Definitely for traveling.

For landscapes and architecture , I would definitely take an UWA lens.
The Tokina 11-16mm practically lives on my camera.
If you do decide to get one, and you need it to auto focus on your D5200, then get the newer version. There is also the Sigma 10-20mm which is a popular UWA lens as well. There is also a Nikon version of an UWA lens for a DX camera, but that one is a lot more expensive. Make sure you do lots of research before making the purchase.

I have the Nikon 10-24mm DX on my D3300 and was satisfied about it. There's some distortion at 10mm and it's a clumsy lens but that's most of the wides. The hood is also embarrassingly cheap.

It's neither the cheapest available.

Also. Besides going wide, most WA lenses focus closer then non WA. So....dont be afraid to use it up close and personal for some neat effects and really make your subject pop.

WA Ain't just all about the landscape/structure shots. Get outside the box, a WA may just surprise you.

Thanks guys. I've been keeping an eye on the Nikon 10-24mm and sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6. The Nikon is super pricey so I'll keep an eye out for the sigma
[h=1][/h]