Wanting a wide angle (17-24mm) lens for D5100.. HELP!!

[KnicKnack]

Hi! I have the Nikon D5100 and I'm looking to purchase a wide angle lens in the 17-24 mm range f/1.8-2.8 BUT I am having a hard time finding anything I want/like with auto focus and once I do, they're about $1,000. I can't afford over $600 anytime soon, so what do you guys suggest??
Prime or zoom, I'm not picky but I shoot in a lot of low light situations (concerts, theatrical shows) so I need the lens to stop down to at least a 2.8 (but prefer 1.8).
Thanks!

 

[jaomul]

There are no zooms @ f1.8. How about a tamron 17-50 f2.8

 

[480sparky]

How about one that stops down to f/22 or so?

 

[Solarflare]

Um.

I'm not sure if you talk 17-24mm equivalent or real focal length.


Wide prime lenses on Nikon DX = forget it.

1. They just dont exist. You get 1 fisheye, 1 normal lens, and 2 macro from Nikon themselves:

Nikon Deutschland

(Sorry for linking the GERMAN Nikon page but the english one doesnt have a way to only display DX lenses)

2. Using FX lenses is a no-go, because thanks to the crop factor they arent really that wide anymore, plus they are prohibitively expensive anyway.

3. Unfortunately its quite rare that the competition (Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Zeiss, Samyang) has anything thats really different from what Nikon themselves offer, so no flood of DX prime lenses from them, either.


So yeah, you are limited to zoom.

The most popular wide angle for Nikon DX is AFAIK right now the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8, which IIRC should be inside your budget. Its optically good, bright, and its not as expensive as original Nikon alternatives. But it "only" offers 11mm (ca 17mm equivalent) as lowest focal length. Some alternatives offer 10mm, some even less (and a millimeter is a lot in this area).

There are no zooms @ f1.8. How about a tamron 17-50 f2.8

If we talk REAL focal length, than thats what I would have suggested as well.

 

[greybeard]

Just about the best you are going to do in that range will be something like a 17-50mm 2.8. I've never seen a zoom faster than 2.8 at any price. As far as 17-24, lenses in that range are usually designed for Full Frame dSLR's and are in $1500-$2000 range and would be a waste of money for your D5100. What lens do you have now?