Nikon 16-35mm or 18-35mm

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nononadanope

Senior Member
Okay, so the current lenses I have now are a Nikon 28mm 2.8D and a Tamron 28-75mm 2.8 XR Di LD Aspherical (IF) Macro Zoom. I'm looking to get a new lens in the future, one with a focal length starting between 16-20mm. The ones I'm looking at are the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED or the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR. Now I know there is a price difference between the two. The 18-35 being around $750 and the 16-35 being around $1,250. Is the price difference worth it? Which lens would suit me better? I would mostly use the lens for photographing things such as cars and motorcycles (Not action shots). I'm open to any other options as well. Although, I will put this out here now. I use to have a Sigma 12-24mm but didn't like it that much because it would distort the image more than I wanted, even though it was a sharp lens.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
They are both excellent lenses. I have the 18-35g and it is excellent, extremely light and very sharp. At 18mm it is a f3.5 lens so to me the constant f4 was not a factor. The 16-35 of course has the advantage of being 2mm wider which is nice. All wide angles will suffer from distortion, but with the build in controls and post processing it's easy to work with.
 
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nononadanope

Senior Member
@480sparky - Even though the 17-35mm is just $500 more than the 16-35mm; I'm not sure that I want to spend that much on a lens, at least right now.
[MENTION=4399]Rick M[/MENTION] - I do like that the 18-35 is light; that's always a plus especially if you're not using a tripod/monopod. I may start off with the 18-35mm and then go from there. I did took some photos with one focal length being at 28 and the other being at 31(couldn't get it on 30) and I didn't notice much of a difference; nothing major at least.

I'm still starting out in some ways so I'd prefer not spending too much on lenses and other accessories right now.
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
If I remember correctly, the 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G scored slightly better via DXO Mark on a D600 than the 16-35mm f/4 although just slightly. After seeing Rick M's photos, I opted for the 18-35G myself. It's a very nice lens! :)

I haven't used it a lot yet, but here is a recent photo taken with it.

14238306773_97dc901f1b_o.jpg

Follow Me by *Hark*, on Flickr
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
You won't be disappointed with any of the current Nikon Fx wides. I think you and others would be surprised at just how good the newer 18-35 is, despite the low price, it is not a compromise.
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
BTW, if you get it, just make sure you don't get the 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5D lens. The 'D' version is older and not as sharp as the newer 'G' lens. :)
 
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TedG954

Senior Member
ajh86 said:
Nice shots! For some reason though, when I view photos on Flickr; they are blurry/pixelated. Not just your photos but others as well.

But I may start with the 18-35mm then eventually go to the 14-24mm.
Click to expand...

Those weren't my photos. But the results of the lens are crystal clear if you do your part.
 
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nononadanope

Senior Member
@hark - That photo does look nice and sharp. Thanks for mentioning the 'D' vs 'G' thing because I did notice a 'D' lens yesterday but wasn't sure what the difference was.

@TedG954 - Oh lol. I thought they were yours. My bad.

@Rick M - That's good to hear! I like that it's a a reasonably priced lens but offers good quality.

BTW, what other lens manufacturers are good? At least for Nikons.
 
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NVSteve

Senior Member
For those of you who own the 18-35, how sharp are the borders at 18mm wide open (F3.5?)? The distortion on my 16-35 can be corrected for the most part & isn't much of a bother, but I was just looking closely at a bunch of my shots of late & noticed how incredibly soft the edges are at 16mm & f4. Kind of defeats the purpose if I have to crop down to 18mm just to get rid of the soft edges ("soft" is my being extremely nice).
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
From all of my research at the time, The 18-35 is better at the corners @18 than the 16-35 is @16. I find it to the most usable UW at the corners I have ever used.
 
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Rick M

Senior Member
NVSteve said:
For those of you who own the 18-35, how sharp are the borders at 18mm wide open (F3.5?)? The distortion on my 16-35 can be corrected for the most part & isn't much of a bother, but I was just looking closely at a bunch of my shots of late & noticed how incredibly soft the edges are at 16mm & f4. Kind of defeats the purpose if I have to crop down to 18mm just to get rid of the soft edges ("soft" is my being extremely nice).
Click to expand...

I tried to steer you way back when :)

http://nikonites.com/wide-angle/13072-post-your-nikon-18-35mm-f-3-5-4-5g-photos-7.html#axzz3A7wh1ZLi
 
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NVSteve

Senior Member
Rick M said:
I tried to steer you way back when :)

http://nikonites.com/wide-angle/13072-post-your-nikon-18-35mm-f-3-5-4-5g-photos-7.html#axzz3A7wh1ZLi
Click to expand...

Yep, I remember. My problem is that 16mm will always be better (more useful for me) than 18mm, although now that I've been using it a lot, 18mm with sharper edges would be preferable to 16mm and blurry edges. I'll have to remember to give it a shot at f8 or so and see if it is any better at 16mm. Nasim has them pretty close: Nikon 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G Preview
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
nononadanope said:
The ones I'm looking at are the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED or the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 16-35mm f/4G ED VR. Now I know there is a price difference between the two. The 18-35 being around $750 and the 16-35 being around $1,250. Is the price difference worth it? Which lens would suit me better?
Click to expand...


It is a similar question when I was trying to buy a Nikon 14-24mm f2.8 vs 16-35mm f4 VRII lens.

You can buy a used Nikon 16-35mm f4 VRII around $950 if that helps. This is an average price in the used market. Lenses are normally well kept and in excellent condition.

The Nikon 18-35mm VR lens appears to be just as sharp or possibly sharper than the 17-35mm f2.8 and 16-35mm f4.
 
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