Which Wideangle

[MichaelEarl]

I have a dilemma.

I have had a bit of a bonus and want to upgrade to a nice wide angle lens to enhance my landscape work. Im currently only able to use the stock 18-55mm that came with my d5000

I am interested in the Nikon AF-S DX Nikkor 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED. Looking at sample shots online I am very impressed with the quality and limited distortion.

My colleague in work loaned me his Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM to try out as it is cheaper by a couple hunred pound but I was a little dissapointed with the distortion it seemed to produce. I dont want to spend loads of time shopping out distortion.

Today now I am trying to choose and another contender has come in, the Tokina 11-16mm. Sample shots seem to be OK but I cant find any high res ones for comparison.

At the moment I am more than happy to settle for the Nikon but would really appreciate some advise or guidance

[MattUK]

All great lenses, but if distortion is your only issue with the Sigma, it shouldn't really be an issue. Distortion is corrected with a single click in apps like Lightroom...

As for sample shots, my gallery has a bunch from the Sigma (the f/3.5 version). Check out Jimmy Osram for examples of the Tokina.

[OldBoy]

Originally Posted by MichaelEarl

Today now I am trying to choose and another contender has come in, the Tokina 11-16mm. Sample shots seem to be OK but I cant find any high res ones for comparison.

Read Ken Rockwell's take on this lens and he's a Nikon user.

http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm

[MichaelEarl]

Thats exactly the reason I ended up looking at the Tokina.......Is it any good. I like build quality and have yet to see some sample shots. In regards to lightroom I am very confident with myabilities but dont understand this one click fix suggested. Can you tell me what you do? I have used the standard options with the "lens correction" tick box.

[MattUK]

The ticking the lens correction box should automatically load your lens' profile and correct vignetting, distortion and CA

[MichaelEarl]

Looking at the Tokina in full review the sharpness seems very very good. Im well impressed and its fast too. I think I will bite the bullet and go for this. The ammount of good reviews on the web are sealing the deal. I also love the sample images against the Nikkor on Ken Rockwell site.

Just noot that impressed with the Sigma Im afraid. Maybe Im too picky.

I will post my thoughts when I recieve the lens

[wintermute]

The Ken Rockwell review I found really helpful, I ended up with the Tokina 12-24mm. Very happy with the quality although it is quite big and heavy. The distortion is minimal but as I recall it is 'simple' and can therefore be corrected easily.

[rbarry]

Both the Sigma and Tokina will distort so if it's a matter of having to process the image in software to achieve the perfect image, does it matter that the Sigma distortion is slightly greater?

The reason the Sigma barrel distortion is greater is that it's 2mm wider at the widest setting which can make a huge difference when circumstances don't allow for an alternative viewpoint of your subject. For example the confines of interiors, both ends of that beautiful rainbow, the whole of Table mountain etc.

[MattUK]

Indeed. The other benefit is that lenses are almost always softer at the edges. The wider you shoot, the more you get in the sharper middle