Looking more seriously at wide lenses

[TheFantasticG]

I looked at that Nikon and the non-constant aperture was why I steered away from it. My Tokina 11-16 handles CA great and that was a selling point as I use it for lightning quite a bit. Not to mention at 100% at any aperture from 4 to 11 it's tack sharp.

 

[PaulWog]

Here's a question... The nikon 10-24mm is on sale at futureshop for $770. That's cheaper than everywhere else. Good price?

 

[PaulWog]

So there's a few good sales on locally:

Tokina 16-28mm - $799.99
Tokina 17-35mm - $699.99
Nikon 18-35mm - $779.99
Nikon 10-24mm - $769.99
Sigma 10-20mm F4-F5.6 - $550

I would really like for the 11-16mm Tokina to be available locally, but it's not. Each of the above lenses definitely have upsides and downsides, based on the fact that I intend to switch to full-frame as my next purchase after a wide lens, and I will be handling crop sensor until then (which could be a year or even more).

 

[Usul]

When I was trying to find a combination of camera+ wide lense for landscape and astrography I decided that I wouldn't find anything affordable lense for FF that have all I'm looking for. Nikon 14-24 f2.8 is good but expesive and filters are too big and expesive althought Tokina 16-35 f2.8 is cheaper but has the same issue with filters. Nikon 16-35 f4 is slow for astrography and VR isn't very usefull for landscapes as anyway one should use tripod in low light for landscapes. Nikon 17-35 is old and rare. So I guess to date APS-C cameras have better options among wide lenses.

 

[PaulWog]

Okay I'm pretty excited, this guy just went on sale for $650: http://www.bccamera.com/product.php?productid=4836&cat=56&page=1

(Tokina 11-16mm with internal focusing motor)

BHphoto sells it for $525, but with s&h, duties, and US-to-CDN exchange rate, the price converts almost 1-to-1. I may very-well contact the dealer tomorrow to see if they have any in. As a 15-16mm prime on a full-frame, I think I like the addition to my lens collection.

 

[TheFantasticG]

Never heard of them and did a quick googling:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...6455-47th_Digital-New_York_City_New_York.html

47th Street Camera = Broadway Camera

Bad bad bad... I wouldn't order from www.bccamera.com

 

[TheFantasticG]

Apparently they are a terrible company to work for too

http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Broadway-Camera-Reviews-E472126.htm

 

[TheFantasticG]

Apparently they fly quite a few different names and you'd have to if your service was so extremely bad:

http://forums.photographyreview.com/camera-dealer-feedback/broadway-camera-49065.html

 

[PaulWog]

Never heard of them and did a quick googling:

Changed Scam Name to Broadway Camera - Review of 47th Digital, New York City, NY - TripAdvisor

47th Street Camera = Broadway Camera

Bad bad bad... I wouldn't order from Broadway Camera

They're a local chain that has multiple locations around my house. I don't know, seems like it will be fine. I'll be careful :-/

 

[yioties]

these are the best prices for tokina lenses in canada

 

[PaulWog]

these are the best prices for tokina lenses in canada

Unfortunately I called the place (BroadwayCameras) and they said it would take 2-3 weeks to get in, and I got a really weird answer: "It would be really tough to get it at the rebate price." I don't even know what he meant by that, so I think I'm steering away from that store.

I *really* want to order this lens through bhphotovideo, but I have no fine tune focus mode on my camera at all. It's a tough decision.

 

[71M]

I have no fine tune focus mode on my camera at all. It's a tough decision.

Ultra wide lenses - fine tuning focus - is this a big concern in reality?

 

[PaulWog]

Ultra wide lenses - fine tuning focus - is this a big concern in reality?

Somewhat. Usually I could just get used to manual focus, and usually I'd just be shooting in live view if bang-on focus were important (so I'd get contrast based focus and any variation wouldn't matter).

However, if I were to shoot this lens in the range of f2.8-f5.6 for walk-arounds of certain things and not use live-view focus, I might have some issues.

You do bring up a good point nevertheless. I think if I don't get the 11-16mm, I won't get a wide angle lens at all until something new comes out (likely that would be a full frame first).

 

[PaulWog]

Pretty sure I'm ordering the Tokina from bh, just not sure if I'll order it in time for the vacation.

 

[PaulWog]

Taking a look at the Sigma 10-20mm f4-f5.6 tomorrow. It's $500, and there's a copy at a reputable local dealership. It's $270 cheaper than the Nikon 10-24mm, and if the copy I get to check out works well on my D5200, then I'll likely go with it.

I read up on the Tokina 11-16mm a bit more. Apparently infinity focus is a *HUGE* issue on the lens, even when manually focusing. Apparently the lens goes soft at infinity on a lot of copies of the lens, regardless of version i or version ii. The other QC issue I saw was front and backfocus issues, which at f2.8 could be a bit of an issue. Finally, there's also a fair bit of copy variation in terms of inconsistencies in sharpness in the center of the lens. There will always be complaints about faulty lenses (for every single lens out there), but I found too many complaints about the 11-16mm to go with one ordered online. I wouldn't mind playing roulette with the lens if there were multiple copies at a store I could visit.