Wide angle lens for D70

[phamtuanhai]

Hi all,

 

I am looking for a wide angle lens for my D70. The Nikkor 12-24mm/f4

is still too expensive for me (more then 1000 EU here in Europe). I am

thinking about the Sigma 12-24mm/f3.5-5.6 or Sigma 15-30mm/f3.5-4.5.

Does anyone have experience with those lenses in combination with D70?

What are the pros and cons? Any suggestion about other wide angle

zoom/prime is also greatly appreciated.

 

Hai

[csuzor]

The Tokina 12-24 is the next best thing to the Nikon, at half the price. Some have compared it to Nikon 12-24 and found the Tokina superior. From all reports I have seen, better than the sigma.

 

http://www.pbase.com/lou_giroud/tokina

 

The Tokina won't focus as fast, but if that's not essential, it is equivalent in all other aspects to the Nikon, maybe even more solid. I have it and it is great.

[walterh]

not a test but some comments here:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00AG59

 

if you have a chance to get the sigma serviced locally this is a good lens (with the one exception of the slight metering problem I mentioned in the link. That problem may have been in one series I can not tell). I heard of several people using the sigma 12-24 lens (in canon mount) who had alignment problems but got an excellent lens back from sigma germany after they send it in after first testing.

[eric friedemann]

If you need to use the lens on a full frame film camera as well as a D70, the Sigma 12-24mm might make some sense. Otherwise the Tokina 12-24mm would be better. Scroll down to see Mike Reichman's comparison of the Sigma 12-24mm to the Canon 10-22mm- the edge sharpness on the Sigma was unimpressive, even on a camera with an APS-C sensor:

 

 

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/lenses/Canon-10-22mm-test.shtml

[martin_altmann]

I second all who said Tokina, it is a great lens, with a lot of metal, no cheapo thing. Accordign to some tests, it is evewn better than the Nikon. Only drawback (like the Nikon): it is not FF-compatible, the SIGMA is.

[joseph_wisniewski]

One big advantage of the Tokina over the Sigma 12-24 and 15-30, the Tokina can use filters. That's a deal maker for me.

 

The Tokina is also considerably lighter and smaller than the Sigmas, and much harder to damage in the field. The Sigmas have buldging front elements.

[wm._kleimenhagen]

Hello,

After posting a request for a forum membership review of the Sigma 15-30 last week I deceided to buy it at my local camera shop where it was on sale for $299 new. I am quite pleased with the lens. My Nikon Capture is showing it to be a 20mm lens on my D70 photos when set at 15mm and the view through my F100 is so wide I get the full three wall of interior room shots. (It is a full frame lens.) After experimenting with the lens on the D70 I find the photos on the warm side & 1/3 stop over exposed. Very easy to compensate by adding a +2 to the WB and dialing in a neg.1/3 stop on the camera. The photo below was taken at 15mm (22mm? on the D70)and I was only about 2 feet in front of the car!<div></div>

[terry_rory]

http://www.sigmaphoto.com/lenses/lenses_all_details.asp?id=3301&navigator=6

[terry_rory]

That is the link for the Sigma 10-20mm EX DC lens which is currently selling for 499 dollars.

[terry_rory]

335 GBP here in England

[vivek iyer]

Some stunning 10-20 Sigma zoom examples here: http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=525488

[joseph_wisniewski]

Moderator! Vivek made me look at "stunning" examples and I was stunned so severely that I couldn't get out of my chair for hours, and missed lunch. Make Vivek stop stunning people.

 

I like the second picture ;)

[lex_jenkins]

Those are some beautiful photos. But you really can't tell much about the quality of a lens from small JPEGs. Heck, I can make my crappier lenses seem great by carefully tweaking, resizing and sharpening them. But I still can't take photos as pretty as those to which Vivek provided a link.

[vivek iyer]

Good response, Lex!

 

Joe, If you want less shocking but excellent (you are already warned but this is serious as well) images from another Sigma zoom, visit the Leica forum and look at Trevor's posts.

[vivek iyer]

Just to be clear, Trevor's images are excellent (I should have phrased my post above differently).

[jake_mecklenborg]

It appeared to me in a side-by-side comparison that the Tokina is brighter in the viewfinder than the Nikon, another advantage.

[eric friedemann]

"It appeared to me in a side-by-side comparison that the Tokina is brighter in the viewfinder than the Nikon, another advantage."

 

 

The Nikon and Tokina lenses are both f/4.0 lenses. Perhaps your eyes were playing tricks.

[sarla]

Pay the mony and get quality,and joy with your photo.

Bon chance.

H.