wide angle lens recommendations

[cyclone]

Hi would like to find out from current users on the following lwide angle zoom lens
that I am interested.
Currently holding D70 DSLR and wondering how much would these 3rd party lens compare to Nikon 12-24mm lens.
1) Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC
2) tokina AF 12-24mm F4 • AT-X124 AF PRO DX
3) tokina AF 10-17mm F3.5~4.5 • AT-X 107 DX
4) tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical (IF)

Also which has a better performance for macro?
Tamron DI 90mm or Tokina 100mm ProD?

Thx for the inputs

[yyD70S]

Have not personnaly tried them but there's some comparison with regard to your (1), (2) & (4) ...

http://www.nikonians.org/html/resour...out/index.html

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/re...ssage=15802765

http://shutterbug.com/equipmentreviews/lenses/0206indy/

... and not forgetting another shootout by a certain Ken who doesn't Rock-very-well but I have forgotten the link and didn't bother.

In any case, there are many members here who have personally tried them and I'm sure they can offer better real-life feedbacks as against any write-ups.

[vii_haven]

I'm a Canon user, but from what i hear from my friends, the Nikon 12-24 is an excellent lens though a little pricey.

A good alternative to the Nikon 12-24 in terms of sharpness and image quality would be the Sigma 10-20.

The Tokina 12-24 is suppsoed to hvae excellent build, and is the cheapest of the lot. The image quality is not as good as the Sigma or Nikon though.

No mention of consideration of the other two lenses from my friends. I personally enjoy my Canon 10-22 a whole lot. It's almost permanently mounted on my camera. Hope you find the Nikon equivalent that works for you! =)

[calebk]

Originally Posted by vii_haven I'm a Canon user, but from what i hear from my friends, the Nikon 12-24 is an excellent lens though a little pricey. A good alternative to the Nikon 12-24 in terms of sharpness and image quality would be the Sigma 10-20. The Tokina 12-24 is suppsoed to hvae excellent build, and is the cheapest of the lot. The image quality is not as good as the Sigma or Nikon though. No mention of consideration of the other two lenses from my friends. I personally enjoy my Canon 10-22 a whole lot. It's almost permanently mounted on my camera. Hope you find the Nikon equivalent that works for you! =)

IMHO the Sigma is good as long as you get a good copy, otherwise, be prepared for quite a few trips to Sigma Service Centre.

Personally, I've tried the Tokina 12-24. While not sharp wide open, it improves considerably by f/5.6. If you're shooting landscapes, you'll be shooting at f/8, and usually nothing wider, so it should be fine. The Tokina also handles distortions pretty well, and resolves quite well. It's weakness is CA, which shouldn't be much of a problem because there's quite a lot of CA correction software out there.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by calebk IMHO the Sigma is good as long as you get a good copy, otherwise, be prepared for quite a few trips to Sigma Service Centre. Personally, I've tried the Tokina 12-24. While not sharp wide open, it improves considerably by f/5.6. If you're shooting landscapes, you'll be shooting at f/8, and usually nothing wider, so it should be fine. The Tokina also handles distortions pretty well, and resolves quite well. It's weakness is CA, which shouldn't be much of a problem because there's quite a lot of CA correction software out there.

95% of the time i don even bother/see CA from my 12-24. infact my 80-200 has got way much more CA than 12-24...

[cyclone]

Thx for the shared info so far!!!
Actually intend to buy one for my trip on sat but don't want to rush into it unless I am very sure.

[calebk]

Originally Posted by ExplorerZ 95% of the time i don even bother/see CA from my 12-24. infact my 80-200 has got way much more CA than 12-24...

Wow. To be honest, in the short time I used it, I didn't see it either, but probably because it wasn't a real grueling test of the lens.

However, the fellows at photozone say there is a noticeable amount of CA.

[ExplorerZ]

Originally Posted by calebk Wow. To be honest, in the short time I used it, I didn't see it either, but probably because it wasn't a real grueling test of the lens. However, the fellows at photozone say there is a noticeable amount of CA.

i skip those mtf chart... or wateva chart... as long as i don see it, its good.
i take photos for myself and not for those charts.

the only time where ca is really noticable is when there is extreme contrast... easily more than 3stops off my camera dynamic range
but then again, its nothing if you have seen the CA problem of fuji f30... etc

[totoro17]

Originally Posted by calebk IMHO the Sigma is good as long as you get a good copy, otherwise, be prepared for quite a few trips to Sigma Service Centre. Personally, I've tried the Tokina 12-24. While not sharp wide open, it improves considerably by f/5.6. If you're shooting landscapes, you'll be shooting at f/8, and usually nothing wider, so it should be fine. The Tokina also handles distortions pretty well, and resolves quite well. It's weakness is CA, which shouldn't be much of a problem because there's quite a lot of CA correction software out there.

what does CA means? Another question is that Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM, Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) and tokina AF 10-17mm F3.5~4.5 • AT-X 107 DX can be used only on 1.6x cropped dslr camera or full frame and 1.3x cropped dslr camera too?

[calebk]

Originally Posted by totoro17 what does CA means? Another question is that Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM, Tamron SP AF11-18mm F/4.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) and tokina AF 10-17mm F3.5~4.5 • AT-X 107 DX can be used only on 1.6x cropped dslr camera or full frame and 1.3x cropped dslr camera too?

CA stands for Chromatic Abberrations. In layman's terms, it refers to the purple fringing that occurs between betwen a dark and light surface.

DC, Di II and DX lenses can only be used on 1.6x crop sensor cameras. You may use them on 1.3x or FF, but you will get a varying range of vignetting from lens to lens at different focal lengths.

Please go read up. You've asked on the DX/Di II/DC lens on different bodies more than once already.