Only 3 Ultra wide zoom lens FX for Nikon?

[Marc-Etienne]

I know, another annoying "help me pick a lens" thread, but I made a quick research and couldn't find thread treating of this, so here it is.

I made a quick research of all the possible ultra-wide angle zoom lens made for Nikon and came up to a list of 11 lens (3 Nikon, 4 Sigma, 3 Tokina and 1 Tamron). I'm looking in the new market. Of those 11 lens only 3 are design for FX. I'm actually shooting for a D90, but I'm trying to avoid compatibility issues when I'll upgrade to a FX in few years. Since lenses last close to ever when you take good care of them, I'm tying to look ahead and not shoot myself in the foot. Here are my three questions

1- I'm I totally lost and there are other FX ultra wide zoom lens than the Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f/2.8G IF-ED, the Sigma 12-24mm F4.5-5.6 EX DG ASP HSM and the Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5?

2- I'm guessing that the Nikon is the way to go if I rely on the reviews I read, but I'd like to know what ultra-wide zoom lens users think

3- I'm I totally stupid to restrict myself to FX (I'm hoping to get an FX in few years when D700 will be easier to get on the used market)? Or the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X DX is that awesome?

Thanks for your inputs and help!!!

 

[tirediron]

I think sticking to Full-frame lenses is a good plan (although by all accounts, the Tokina 11-16 really is that good!). Remember on a DX body, even the Tokina is only going to give a FoV of ~17mm. How many lenses there are really depends on what you call ultra-wide. There's the Nikkor 17-35 f2.8, the Nikkor 16-35 F4 VR, and the 18-35 f3.5 - 5.6. I'm using the 16-35 f4, and while it's a stop slower than the 14-24 and 17-35, it will take filters and is a LOT cheaper as well.

 

[Garbz]

3- I'm I totally stupid to restrict myself to FX (I'm hoping to get an FX in few years when D700 will be easier to get on the used market)? Or the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X DX is that awesome?

Not totally stupid. It's a wise decision to plan for the future. But ultimately looking at where the future is going I'm not so sure this is too much of a concern anymore. With the D700 you can happily mount your DX lenses and you'll end up with a camera that's every bit as robust and high quality as ever with only a limit in the usable megapixels. It'll be the finest 5.1mpx camera you've ever used. Looking at long term trends then if the D3s's sensor finds its way into the D700 successor, or a D700s gets released then mounting a DX lens on the D700 will result in nearly the same resolution as the current crop of smaller DSLRs.

This is ultimately the direction I went. I have only FX glass except for the ultrawide zoom where I went for the Sigma 10-20 a while back because it was damn cheap and does the job. I won't be throwing this lens away when I go FX, though I will most likely start looking to replace it, but currently it wasn't worth the money to go for one of the expensive full frame ultrawide zooms.

 

[Marc-Etienne]

Thank you guys for your inputs. It definitively helps me in my planning process. I'll look into that in with more care. I still give myself about a year to a year and a half to purchase an ultra-wide angle zoom lens. Still have time to change my mind a thousand times!!