Arrghhh Googled to death with lens research...

[spenny_b]

Evening chaps,

Need to hear some voices-of-reason please.

Have a Nikon D100, currently with 2 lenses; a Nikkor 24-85 and a Sigma 50-500.

What I'm trying to do is buy a lens to cater for my wide-angle needs (fairly rare, but want to cover all options).

The 3 I'm looking at are:

-Tokina 12-24 (seems to get good write-ups wherever I look, and v reasonably priced)
-Sigma 12-24 (being a bit of a Sigma fan, I'm tempted...middle road in terms of price, HOWEVER, can't fit a filter to the front...would prob only need a circular polarizer and a UV for protecting the lens)
-Nikon 12-24 (which is out of my price range unless I buy it off fleabay from these guys http://stores.ebay.com/Hong-Kong-Supplies ...just shy of £500 inc the p&p)

A few of the enthusiasts I've chatted to at work over a coffee pretty much say that they would have Nikon every time over and above Sigma. Has anyone used these eBay'ers before?...or recommend an eBay seller?

The Tokina is very appealing due to its price and very good build quality...and I can fit the "cluts" filter to protect it.

The Sigma, barring one slightly odd (biggoted?) review I found, also gets rave reviews.

Dammit, someone decide for me please!...I'd really like to have the lens before leaving for Le Mans on thurs (so obv the HK dealer won't achieve this..but...)

Most of my shooting is motorsport with the telephoto lens, but now taking more and more family pics catching the little person growing up...and the 24-85mm lens I have is sometimes frustratingly narrow (equiv to 38mm in DSLR?)

Any help gratefully received!

Cheers
S

Edited by spenny_b on Saturday 9th June 22:34

[Andy M]

Get a quote from Ian @ [e-mail]

Many recommend him here

[fergusd]

What about the sigma 10-20, seems to get good reviews . . . mate of mines has one and it seems to produce very nice results . . .

. . . aaanyway . . .

I have a Nikon 12-24, bought it second hand (like most of my lenses) and it is very good, taken a fair few images I like with it . . . small and light too . . .

Fd

[spenny_b]

Thanks chaps...just found another rave review for the Tokina...doh!

Andy M said:

Get a quote from Ian @ [e-mail]

Many recommend him here

Andy, what brand kit does Ian deal in?..can he give options for everything?

Many thanks again
S

PS...now well-chuffed, John Hindhough (sp?) has just mentioned me on Radio Le Mans coverage for the N24 race...beer-time!

[Andy M]

Canon primarily, but I think he's able to provide both Nikon and Sigma.

Nothing to lose by e-mailing and asking...

[spenny_b]

Okay, will do, cheers Andy

[Elderly]

I needed a wide angle zoom urgently and decided that the Tokina looked excellent value for money but I couldn't find one in stock at a good price in time .... so I hired a Nikon 12-24
for the occasion - it was very sharp, but had more barrel distortion than I expected for a lens of that price.
If I buy, I would get the Tokina for under half the Nikon's price but be aware that the
Tokina is not AF-S.

IIRC the Sigma 12-24 is a full frame lens .... or am I mixing it up with another make?

[jason-l]

I owned a Nikon 12-24 briefly on my D200. It was awful, so soft in the corners and on near-infinity subjects. I sent it back Judging by others' better experiences it was probably a dodgy sample.

Recently tried the Sigma 10-20 and am *very* impressed with the results - and the extra 2mm makes a HUGE difference of course

..but I bought a 10.5mm fisheye instead

[spenny_b]

Thanks again everyone,

Elderly said:

....If I buy, I would get the Tokina for under half the Nikon's price but be aware that the
Tokina is not AF-S.

Elderly, presumably this is only an issue for the D40 bodies, isn't it?....the D100 won't have any autofocus issues, will it? (sorry, havent yet googled the D40 spec)

Cheers
S

[Elderly]

spenny_b said:

Thanks again everyone,

Elderly said:

....If I buy, I would get the Tokina for under half the Nikon's price but be aware that the
Tokina is not AF-S.

Elderly, presumably this is only an issue for the D40 bodies, isn't it?....the D100 won't have any autofocus issues, will it? (sorry, havent yet googled the D40 spec)

Cheers
S

I'm just saying 'be aware' - some say that non AF-S lenses are slower and noisier
to focus and maybe you might want to share your lens with somebody who has a D40,
and who knows what direction Nikon are taking with their bodies?

[fergusd]

jason-l said:

..but I bought a 10.5mm fisheye instead

fish-tart ;-)

Fd

[VxDuncan]

Sigma 12-24 would seem to be overkill as opposed to the 10-20 (which is HSM btw - sigma eqiv of AF-S).

I can only vouch for the 10-20, but I'm impressed so far with it.

[RobDickinson]

Heres a recent shot with my sigma 10-20:

Link to biggy:
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/robdickinso...

[spenny_b]

Oh bu99er...thought i was decided on the Tokina, read nothing but great reviews, but now do I need to consider the Sigma 10-20 as well?....some good opinions being posted above ^^

Thanks guys (I think?!)