Ultra-wide angle lens for Nikon FX?

[Antithesis]

The sigma 12mm f2.8 looks sharp from all the reviews I've heard and can be had for as low as about $600, but you can only find it used as it's discontinued. It's a pretty small prime and is probably lighter than your 11-16. I also know someone who uses a Tamron 12mm and it works pretty well from what he tells me, and he got it for $250.

Thanks, Antithesis. I didn't even know that primes this wide existed (I thought the widest primes were 14mm). I'll look into this.

Yikes, I meant 14mm on all accounts. My bad. That korean prime is this: Samyang 14mm f2.8 IF ED MC Aspherical Lens

The company is Samyang. Unfortunately all their lenses are MF, but they are really inexpensive. AF on a 14mm is a luxury at best. Hyperfocus is very easy to set at that focal length.

 

[itznfb]

If you're not willing to spend the cash on the 14-24 f/2.8 then get the 18-35 f/3.5-4.5

Not as wide as the 14-24, but the 11-16 lies right in the middle of the 14-24 and 18-35

 

[invisible]

Thanks everybody for the feedback. The decision for the time being is to give my Tokina 11-16 a chance –it's usable on full frame between 14.5 and 16mm. I need to see how the Tokina performs from edge to edge on a full format camera. If it doesn't work, then I'll try the Nikkor 18-35 or any of the Sigmas (14mm and 15-30mm). There is no way I can shell out the money needed for a 14-24 or 17-35. I do this for fun, I have no income from photography.

All that being said, I find it unbelievable that there are currently no third party alternatives out there to compete with the Nikkor 14-24 at least in terms of price. As far as I understand, all the Sigmas (except for the 12-24mm, the worst of them all) have been discontinued.

 

[djacobox372]

Tokina/Spiratone 17mm f3.5 -- not the widest, but still pretty fricken wide on FX.

I picked up one of these after buying my d700, i've been happy with it.

Kenny had a review of it a while back:
Tokina 17mm f/3.5 SL

 

[ocular]

Tokina has announced a 16-28mm fx. Don't when it will be out or how much it will be, but sounds exciting.

 

[MrLogic]

Tokina has announced a 16-28mm fx. Don't when it will be out or how much it will be

Adorama sells it for $849. It will be out in October.

ATX168PROFNX Tokina 16-28MM F/2.8 ATX Pro FX Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras



Samples with a D3X:

AT-X 16-28 F2.8 PRO FXb‚‹´—Ç•ã‚ÌŽ‹“_

 

[shaunly]

Tokina has announced a 16-28mm fx. Don't when it will be out or how much it will be

Adorama sells it for $849. It will be out in October.

ATX168PROFNX Tokina 16-28MM F/2.8 ATX Pro FX Zoom Lens for Nikon Digital SLR Cameras



Samples with a D3X:

AT-X 16-28 F2.8 PRO FXb‚‹´—Ç•ã‚ÌŽ‹“_

Wow, that's a pretty good price. What about the 16-35 VRII f/4. If you're shooting landscape, the VRII is a big plus. That lens has good amount of distortion at 16mm, but that can easily be corrected and it goes away as soon as you get to 17/18mm. I've seen many review saying this lens is everyone new favorite because it's sharp as the 14-24mm in the center and almost as sharp in the corners and VRII seems to really be useful even in ultra wide.