looking for an Ultra-wide angle (18mm or lower) prime lens for D7000

[SeeingEyeHuman]

the 18-55mm kit lens is good and all but i am tired of the plasticy, wobbily, ultra-sensetive focus ring... i want a good wide lens for star-scapes, landscapes, and group photos,something within the $500 price range. I would like something in a 2.8f... older lenses are ok, i dont mind manually focusing.

 

[480sparky]

Honestly.... Tokina's dinosaur of a 17mm f/3.5 SL. A bit slower than you want but not much. Can be found on occasion on ebay for $250-300. I think there's one listed now. Not sure how sharp it would be wide open but I've read some glowing reviews about it.

But that's all I know of in your price range..... It won't get you much wider than your current lens. You might save up for a uwa zoom like a Nikkor 10-24 or Tokina 11-17.

 

[SeeingEyeHuman]

how much are those going for if you dont mind? and the 17mm 3.5 wouldn't be noticably different then the 18-55 3.5 except maybe a better focus ring...

 

[SeeingEyeHuman]

nvm i looked it up... seems reasonable, i was looking for some vintage lenses yesterday but since they are all film lenses what is ultra wide-angle to them isnt for my D7000

 

[480sparky]

nvm i looked it up... seems reasonable, i was looking for some vintage lenses yesterday but since they are all film lenses what is ultra wide-angle to them isnt for my D7000

A 'film' lens will work just fine on a D7000. One huge advantage is if you get an FX-format digital body, you'll be able to keep the 'film' lens.

 

[SeeingEyeHuman]

that 10-24 nikkor is my dream lens... i know there are faster lenses out there, but i would love to have it

 

[SeeingEyeHuman]

what i meant is due to the crop factor with the sensor on my 7000 what usually is a wide angle lens on a film camera, like a 24mm is actually more like in the low to mid 30mm's for my camera, so not as wide as it would be with a full frame... and i just upgraded from the d40x to the d7000 which i plan to keep for as long as it lasts

 

[480sparky]

that 10-24 nikkor is my dream lens... i know there are faster lenses out there, but i would love to have it

Having one, I can say she is a dream. Even though I shoot a D600 with a 17-35 these days, I still keep mine for use on my D7000.

FYI, they sell used on ebay in the $600-700 range. So maybe you're closer to your dream than you think.

 

[SeeingEyeHuman]

i pretty much have an awesome collection of vintage lenses right now, i love using them for the sheer fact that they are 40 years old and still take amazing pictures, a testament to nikon's sheer awesomeness, after i get this 10-24mm i can take my time saving for something much much better all the while honing my skills so that spending 2 grand on a lens would be justified