Does light-weight wide angle lenses exist?

[zoossh]

I'm trying to find one to replace my heavy lost 10-20mm sigma. what i want is only a prime and very narrow range. perhaps about 12-13mm, with a crop factor, that will be 18-19mm at 35mm equivalents. if i can shave the weight, i can shave my versatility.

looking at tokina 11-16mm, and nikkor 14mm f/2.8. these are all monsters in weight and size. nothing is below 300gm. and becos i do want to use filter, those fisheye are out, and really leave me with nothing to choose from.

alternatively use my non DSLR to shoot like the way i do for DSLR... but even for my m4/3, with a crop factor of 2x, i can do with a 9 to 10mm lens, but the current shortest focal length non fisheye is 14mm. that will make it a 28mm at 35mm equivalents, which is too far off.

am i missing some rarer field or older lens to choose from. or technically impossible stuff for either DSLR and m4/3 formats, so i cannot be a light weight lens for my desired wide angle range for they simply dun exist.

 

[Kit]

You probably will be stuck with M4/3 for now. Take a look at this.....http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/panasonic_7-14_4_o20/ Its 300g, compact BUT doesn't have a filter thread and its expensive.

Alternatively, you can mount this..... http://www.chiifcameras.com/site2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=137&Itemid=140 onto an M4/3 body with an adaptor. Small, takes filters but you end up having a 24mm.

Don't think there's anything which fits your bill 100% right now.

 

[brapodam]

There are no DX wide angle primes, all of the UWAs/WAs are zooms, so none of them are light.

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

the Tamron 10-24mm DX felt noticeably lighter than my Tokina 12-24/4, though I doubt it weighs in at under 300g.
The weight loss probably due to more sparing use of metals and more liberal use of plastics.

 

[Baracus]

The lightest UWA prime I can think of from the top of my head is the Pentax DA15/f4 Limited, weighing in at 212g.

I have the Sigma 10-20 and love it, but the size bothers me at times. The DA15 would be a nice replacement, but I feel that 15mm still isn't wide enough. :think:

 

[henry soh]

Mine is a 10-22mm on 60D that is light weight enough for me to carry about shooting whole day. I gave up carrying a sigma 12-24mm on a FF around my neck for a few months and ended with neck pain.

 

[alzidaney]

what about the samyang 14mm? its not like 300g light but i think comparative to the rest?

 

[shelomoh]

An alternative is Nikkor 10.5mm fisheye, and then de-fish during PP.

 

[benchan21]

The lightest UWA prime I can think of from the top of my head is the Pentax DA15/f4 Limited, weighing in at 212g.

I have the Sigma 10-20 and love it, but the size bothers me at times. The DA15 would be a nice replacement, but I feel that 15mm still isn't wide enough. :think:

I replaced by Sigma 10-20 with the DA15, mainly due to the reduced size and weight.

You should try out the DA15 - good compact build, very resistant to flare, sharp and has nice starbursts. Downside is the lost of 5mm, which is huge in the ultra wide world.

 

[elgkh]

What about the Olympus mZD 9-18mm?

 

[alantkh]

What about the Olympus mZD 9-18mm?

yup. m4/3 seems to have some really light and WA lens.

Personally I don't like the DR of m4/3. Looking at the recent APS-C sensors, it seems that m4/3 should be able to achieve a comparable sensor of maybe 10meg pixels.

dunno why they never do it.... if they can do it, I will immediately get a m4/3 body with a WA zoom.

 

[elgkh]

yup. m4/3 seems to have some really light and WA lens.

Personally I don't like the DR of m4/3. Looking at the recent APS-C sensors, it seems that m4/3 should be able to achieve a comparable sensor of maybe 10meg pixels.

dunno why they never do it.... if they can do it, I will immediately get a m4/3 body with a WA zoom.

Don't quite understand this part. Do you mean if they can come up with a 10mp sensor with comparable DR?

The latest Panasonic sensors are still 1 generation behind in terms of DR - the D7000 really raised the bar.

 

[wilb87]

I replaced by Sigma 10-20 with the DA15, mainly due to the reduced size and weight.

You should try out the DA15 - good compact build, very resistant to flare, sharp and has nice starbursts. Downside is the lost of 5mm, which is huge in the ultra wide world.

Agree, the DA 15 Limited Lens is very compact and lightweight and extremely resistant to flare. There are many images by people shooting into sun producing images with starburst effect.

 

[zoossh]

Agree, the DA 15 Limited Lens is very compact and lightweight and extremely resistant to flare. There are many images by people shooting into sun producing images with starburst effect.

i forgot to mention that i'm using nikon. does that mean i can only rely on adapters (if there are) and do a manual focus and manual metering, since i think they won't relay electronic info?

 

[tirza]

i know this is an old thread. but check voigtlander 20mm 3.5
its a full frame and 20mm and light, so i think it meets ts' criteria

 

[pinholecam]

Pentax DA15/4, probably the smallest native WA for APS-C.

Else, there are the MF Voigtlanders 12 and 15mm M-mount (so beautiful too)

The above 3 don't work with Nikon mount though due to the flange distance difference)

If you are using Nikon, I think the 10.5mm fisheye is pretty good sized. (but fisheye)



Have you considered a NEX5n or GXR with said M-mount?
If you have m4/3, then the best you can go for will be the 7-14 or 9-18.
They are not that small though.

 

[shierwin]

How about this one:

Tamron SP Adaptall-2 17mm F/3.5 Model 51B

 

[Parka]

The widest for m43 is the 7-14mm lens. 300g. Plus body will not go over 700g total.

If it's just to save weight, m43 is the winner.

There's also the 9-18mm lens but performance not as good as the Panasonic 7-14mm.

And yes, I also feel that the dynamic range for m43 is not as good as larger sensors. Need more postprocessing.