Tokna 11-16mm or fast prime ? (D300 body)

Hi,

I'm struggling to make a decision on this, so thought I'd add to my confusion and ask for some opinions!!

I've currently got a Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6VR on my D300 and was thinking of getting a nice fast lens.

Initially I had thought to get the Sigma 30mm 1.4 as a good alternative to the 16-85 in low light, but then thought that the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 might be a better option as it complements the 16-85 and doesn't overlap.

I take a variety of shots - landscape/people/street/indoors and I love natural light, so any reccommendations on which lens or another lens might be the best option as a fast general purpose lens ?

--
Ivan

Ivan:

mostro900 said:

Hi,
I'm struggling to make a decision on this, so thought I'd add to my
confusion and ask for some opinions!!

I've currently got a Nikkor 16-85 f/3.5-5.6VR on my D300 and was
thinking of getting a nice fast lens.
Initially I had thought to get the Sigma 30mm 1.4 as a good
alternative to the 16-85 in low light, but then thought that the
Tokina 11-16 f2.8 might be a better option as it complements the
16-85 and doesn't overlap.

I take a variety of shots - landscape/people/street/indoors and I
love natural light, so any reccommendations on which lens or another
lens might be the best option as a fast general purpose lens ?

Click to expand...

If you aren't aware of what a wide angle can do, try to rent or borrow either the 11-16, one of the 12-24s, or the Sigma 10-20. That way you will be able to determine if you like using a proper wide angle. The aperture shouldn't be a big deal because most people tend to use small apertures for landscapes. In any case, it's the difference in coverage and perspective that will be the real difference.

You are right that an f/1.4 will also extend your range in a different and useful way. The Sigma has had quality control problems --- not as bad as some lenses --- manifesting themselves as focusing problems and de-centering if I recall correctly. There have been many threads here and in nikoncafe.com on the Sigma 30 mm f/1.4. In fact, nikoncafe tends to have more sample threads than we do here.

You might use your 16-85, set to 30 mm, the iso button, and a few calculations to see if the f/1.4 will be enough for your typical applications.

Other options are:

Sigma HSM & Nikkor 50 mm AFS f/1.4

Very new so not much feedback on quality control and field performance. I think that photozone.de has a review up. Both will be subject to the inevitable "awkward focal length" criticism.

A cheaper alternative is the older 50 mm f/1.4 non-AFS, although the two newer 50 mm lenses are likely to be sharper wide open --- just a guess, because they are so new.

Nikkor 35 mm f/2

A favorite here, cheaper than the 30 mm, but slower by a stop. Perhaps this or the cheapo compromise if you are going to get the wide angle anyway.

Tough decision ......
msc

Thanks MSC! I may just need to see how much money I have and let that be the decider! I'm going to be in Hong Kong next week, so will check out the prices there.

--
Ivan

msc1 said:

You might use your 16-85, set to 30 mm, the iso button, and a few
calculations to see if the f/1.4 will be enough for your typical
applications.

Tough decision ......
msc

Click to expand...

What calculations do you have to do? And what about the iso?
thanks
ken
--

Nikon D50, 16-85 VR, 18-55 mm DX, 18-135 DX, 50mm f/1.4, 70-300 VR. PS Ele 4; PS Ele 6; 8 books on editing photos, and two books on the D50. SB-600.

The drawback of Tokina 11-16 is that there isn't much of a zoom range. The benefit however is the F2.8, while not useful for landscape, it is very useful indoors when you don't have enough light.

mostro900 said:

I take a variety of shots - landscape/people/street/indoors and I
love natural light, so any reccommendations on which lens or another
lens might be the best option as a fast general purpose lens ?

Click to expand...

For that, it's the 30/1.4, IMO. The 11-16 is neither particularly fast (f/2.8 is "a bit fast"), and it's not particularly general purpose (it's ultrawide). So, it's great for landscapes or interiors, or whatever else you want to photograph with large angles of view (and I couldn't live my photographic life with a dedicated wideangle) - but I don't think I'd call it general purpose.

BG

Hi Ivan,

Those are two excellent choices, what you need to keep in mind is what and how you shoot your subjects,

For Landscape/Street/Indoor, I'd choose the 11-16 Tokina,
For Portrait/street, I'd choose the 30 Sigma,

What do you shoot most, what focal length do you use most (around 16 with a peek at 16 or between 24 and 50 or either at 85 mostly),
A good program to find out about this is ExposurePlot,

Hope you'll make a right choice
Kind regards
--
--------------
Tim
D2H - Sigma 1.4 - Nikkor 1.8 - Tokina 2.8/4.0 - SB-800
http://timvdb.smugmug.com/

Keep in mind that a 11-16mm F2.8 is about the same speed as a 30mm F1.4--oH NO YOU SAY----Well if you go by the axiom that shutter speed s/b approx same as focal lenght(we all know this can vary), then 11mm vs 30mm can be handheld in approx same light. I have owned both. the 30mm I didn't use as much as I thought I would(it was also rubbing someway or another while focusing) and the 11-16 is a very good lens but a little short on the width. I have also own 12-24 and 14-24. I bought the 11-16 to use much as you would a prime and for it's size. It's a good one. the 14-24 is unbelievable but "huge" , kinda wish I had kept my 12-24, dufferent times/styles/ portability etc.---ron s.
Keeping it sane in an insane world is an inconvenience at an inconvenient time!!
http://www.pbase.com/ron9ron