Best wide angle lens

[cgipson1]

^ All wide angles have distortion to an extent, and to be honest in landscapes and pictures like you posted its almost non exisitant as their are so many different paths and almost no straight hard lines

Lightroom unless you tell it not to will also auto correct for it and odes a decent job, can get even better in photoshop if you do it yourself. Its the nature of the shape of the glass, does not matter if its a 400 dollar wide angle or a 2k dollar wide angle, there is going to be distortion present to some extent.

I wish I had the Nikon at times for that little extra focal reach, but I would take the tokina any day of the week.

Yes.. just like most GARDENS... which is what the OP was asking about shooting!

I completely missed that and I wasnt lashing out at you about your post at all, it was more or less directed to the "MAD DISTORTION" post by someone else. I will agree, I have seen shots taken with the 14-24 and it is an spectacular lens.

No problem at all, bro!

 

[cgipson1]

I wouldn't bother with the 14-24, its very large, very heavy, very expensive and really quite specialised. http://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/1735.htm

Yea.. most PRO lenses are large, heavy and expensive! That is why they turn out the absolute best image quality you can get! If that kind of IQ is needed, there is no other choice!

 

[billbaillie]

Thank you all for the great info. I am liking the Nikon 10-24 and think it would work well with my D200 (replacing this after the job, that will be another discussion!). A little more job info - photographing gardens which will be used to make wallpaper. The client wants very high res images as sharp as possible as they will be printed to a large scale.

 

[mikeduk]

I wouldn't bother with the 14-24, its very large, very heavy, very expensive and really quite specialised.

Yea.. most PRO lenses are large, heavy and expensive! That is why they turn out the absolute best image quality you can get! If that kind of IQ is needed, there is no other choice!

sad but true.. photography was never going to be a cheap hobby

 

[mikeduk]

Thank you all for the great info. I am liking the Nikon 10-24 and think it would work well with my D200 (replacing this after the job, that will be another discussion!). A little more job info - photographing gardens which will be used to make wallpaper. The client wants very high res images as sharp as possible as they will be printed to a large scale.

sounds an interesting project, good luck with it!

 

[cgipson1]

Thank you all for the great info. I am liking the Nikon 10-24 and think it would work well with my D200 (replacing this after the job, that will be another discussion!). A little more job info - photographing gardens which will be used to make wallpaper. The client wants very high res images as sharp as possible as they will be printed to a large scale.

Define large scale?

Large prints can be greatly enhanced by throwing MP's at it.. and your body is only 10mp or so. If you are talking wall size prints... you may need to rent a body... and a lens! Maybe a D800 / D3X and a 14-24 (if you really need to do a top end job!)

 

[billbaillie]

You could be right! I am thinking of upgrading to the D800 and renting one would allow me to try it out. I suppose that would make more sense as I could hire a top end camera and lens and still be within my budget. I am not sure of exact sizes but if we are talking wallpaper then I expect we are also talking industrial sized printer

 

[spacefuzz]

Could probably go as far as £600 at a push. What about Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S? Edge to edge sharpness is very important and as the D200 would use DX lenses I thought the wider the better without going fish-eye.

You are not going to get edge to edge sharpness at 600 pounds. To get that you need a lens on the level of the nikon 14-24 / pro series type lens. Lenses like the 10-24 is going to have mad distortion and softness in the corners.

If its a business and you will be shooting wide for money often, pony up for the good gear. If its a one time job, RENT.

I disagree.. the 10-24 does not have MAD distortion! lol! Have you ever even used one?

Well I stand corrected then. When I purchased my crop sensor wide angle the nikon one was getting horrid reviews. It was a while ago though and perhaps they released a new one.

I recently moved from the Tamron 10-24 to the Nikon 14-24 and its just a world of difference.

 

[cgipson1]

You are not going to get edge to edge sharpness at 600 pounds. To get that you need a lens on the level of the nikon 14-24 / pro series type lens. Lenses like the 10-24 is going to have mad distortion and softness in the corners.

If its a business and you will be shooting wide for money often, pony up for the good gear. If its a one time job, RENT.

I disagree.. the 10-24 does not have MAD distortion! lol! Have you ever even used one?

Well I stand corrected then. When I purchased my crop sensor wide angle the nikon one was getting horrid reviews. It was a while ago though and perhaps they released a new one.

I recently moved from the Tamron 10-24 to the Nikon 14-24 and its just a world of difference.

Yep!!! That 14-24 is unbelievable!!!!

 

[spacefuzz]

You could be right! I am thinking of upgrading to the D800 and renting one would allow me to try it out. I suppose that would make more sense as I could hire a top end camera and lens and still be within my budget. I am not sure of exact sizes but if we are talking wallpaper then I expect we are also talking industrial sized printer

Just letting you know D800 might be hard to find as a rental, there are still shortages of them.

For printing as a wallpaper I would be curious about the paper used, dpi reqd, etc. Might be worth finding out because you can then back track exactly what size image you need.

 

[cgipson1]

Another option... Shoot multiple shots and stitch them together!

 

[Designer]

Aside from the lens question, which is being addressed, I would remind you that your setup and technique will also affect the end result. Practice using your tripod, and use the mirror-lockup feature (be sure to block the rear of the viewfinder first). Use a remote shutter release, watch for wind or other movement, and take more than one shot at each location to increase your chances of success.

You're welcome!

 

[Designer]

Oh, I nearly forgot; your choice of lens will probably have something to do with its performance at smaller lens openings, as that is also how to get sharper pics with a significant depth of field, such as the typical landscape shot.

 

[spacefuzz]

Aside from the lens question, which is being addressed, I would remind you that your setup and technique will also affect the end result. Practice using your tripod, and use the mirror-lockup feature (be sure to block the rear of the viewfinder first). Use a remote shutter release, watch for wind or other movement, and take more than one shot at each location to increase your chances of success.

You're welcome!

If you are looking for the best sharpness possible and need more DOF you can also focus stack. though the technique requires precision and discapline.

 

[billbaillie]

All good info again, many thanks. This is why originally I was happy to stick with my D200 because this has been a great camera and has produced some high end results, using tripod and mirror lock up, etc. I was going to produce top end images of the gardens and discuss stitching images together if necessary. The only concern I had were my lenses, they have done a fine job so far with landscapes but they are mid-range quality lenses. I was looking for something better for this specific job. Now I am not sure! Do I get a good Nikon lens (14-24mm if I can persuade the client) or hire a higher MP camera and lens?