Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Does anyone have any thoughts on which Nikon wide angle zoom is worth the money? I am in the market, and have looked at the 14-24 f 2.8, the 12-24 f4 and the 10-24 f3.5-4.5. I am prepared to lay down the bucks for the 14-24, but wondered if anyone has any views on the three lenses.

I rented 12-24 f4 from Vistek this summer and fell in love with it. It's amazingly sharp. Unfortunately, that's the only one I used so my feedback is not very helpful. I loved that glass so much that I had to mention it though

Hi Toby,

Which Nikon body do you have? DX or FX? Thanks.

Based on your email, and the fact that you are considering the 12-24, I will assume you have a DX crop body... as the 12-24 Nikkor is only designed for DX. If that is the case, I would say.. stick with the crop lens. It will be better suited to your camera, and a bit cheaper too!

I have the D700 and the 14-24, and all I can say is that the combo is stellar! I love both camera and lens, and use them both at every chance I get. I am also a big fan of ultra-wide images, so I had no problem's making the investment.

I find the 14-24 on my D90 just weird... as the lens at 14mm is not nearly as wide as it is on FX. But if you are willing to spend the bucks... it is tack sharp even on DX.


David

I have a D-80 at the moment. In the "gear plan" I am not looking to upgrade the body yet, but will consider it over time.

Go for the 12-24, if not for anything else .. that you can actually use neutral graduated P size filters from Cokin for landscape photography. The 14-24 does not allow the use of any kind of filters due to the front element which protrudes on the camera.

You might want to take a look at the Tokina wide angle lenses. They're all for crop bodies (they have two versions of a 12-24mm F/4, and a 11-16 F/2.

I have the 11-16 and love it, but they're a little hard to find these days.
A bit cheaper than the nikons, and seem to be quite well thought of as alternatives.

I had the Tokina 12-24 up until recently... and it was a nice lens that I used on all of my crop bodies. Now that I have the 14-24, I sold the Tokina, as it made no sense to keep it. Plus, I recooped the money and bought a 70-300VRII to have in the kit.

Get the Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6. It's wider.

Somebody's selling Mint Nikon AF-S 12-24mm f/4.0 on Nikonians forum (location=canada) for $850 shipped.

Another option is the Sigma 12-24 which would be compatible if you decided to go FX or full frame. I have one, and like it (though I have not tried any others mentioned above).

Why is there never any love for the Nikon 10-24? I know that the Nikon 12-24 is a proven winner, but still... At least at 10mm it's tied with the widest you can get for DX.

And although I have said in some other post that I was looking at getting the 10-24, I ended up getting the Sigma 12-24 since it will go on my film body. Holy crap it's wide Its drawbacks are like the Nikon 14-24: protruding front element and no filters (at least not at full wide. The lens cap will take 82mm filters, but you have to zoom in). At half the price of the 14-24, that was also a deciding factor.

Yes, I agree.... watch the tripod legs, feet, and any other personal parts of your body that might be sticking out at the time of photo taking!

Thanks so much to all for the input. I think I know where I will go from here. I had been leaning towards the 14-24, but being reminded that it is a slightly awkward lens - and knowing that I can be a little rough on my stuff- was something that was particularly relevant.