Cheapest way into Wide Angle :Nikon D90

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Riz

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As above, i want a play around. Can anyone reccomennd an older lens i can play around with and then i can think of something more substantial if the need arises.

Im thinking around £100 ish.
 
For £100 you won't get near ultra wide territory. APS-C wide angles are a fairly recent development in the history of lenses so you won't find a cheap *old* lens.

All the cheaper old manual lenses are designed for 35mm film so when adapted to APS-C are rarely wide.

I think the cheapest option would be to find an old manual fisheye.
 
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odd jim said:
For £100 you won't get near ultra wide territory. APS-C wide angles are a fairly recent development in the history of lenses so you won't find a cheap *old* lens.

All the cheaper old manual lenses are designed for 35mm film so when adapted to APS-C are rarely wide.

I think the cheapest option would be to find an old manual fisheye.
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OH ok, I have an 18-200 and a 35mm prime. I wanted something else to play with and im not into macro. Any ideas?
 
If you can find a s/h Sigma 10-20 lens at the right price for you, then go for it.
 
You're looking at at least £250 for a used sigma 10-20 which I'd recommend but that's over twice the op's budget but I agree this is the cheapest option.
 
odd jim said:
You're looking at at least £250 for a used sigma 10-20 which I'd recommend but that's over twice the op's budget but I agree this is the cheapest option.
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Little bit over budget, but looks nice.
 
Oh ok, are there any other cheap lenses i can get into. I had a look at some primes as well...
 
Samyang 14mm - around 250 ukp (london camera exchange)
Fully manual tho (new)


Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 - around 400 ukp (new)
sigma 10-20 f4 (think its f4 - the older version - meant to be crisper) around 250/300ukp (?)


M42 and old screw thread lens - around 140+ukp on ebay...
 
How about a wide angle adapter for your 18-xxx?

I used to have a couple until I sold them here but this 0.45x was a decent little thing and there's lots of them on ebay. All you need is the correct step down ring and check that you are happy with any vignetting. One of these plus ring should be well under budget, probably cost about £30 in all.

IMG_4590-1.jpg


Here it is on my GF1 but of course you can fit one to just about anything.

IMG_3957-2.jpg
 
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You can get these just about anywhere. Some are good and some not so good but if you get one like mine I think you'll be happy with it.

You'll need a step down ring to go from whatever dia thread your lens is to whatever size the wide angle adapter is. Once you know the thread sizes you can get a step down ring from many specialist camera shops or from ebay.

Note though that if you have a lens with a wide dia thread you'll get some vignetting. It didn't vignette at all on my GF1 but lenses have different thread sizes so I can't know how it'll be on your lens but for £30 or so it might be worth the gamble for the fun value alone.
 
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woof woof said:
How about a wide angle adapter for your 18-xxx?

I used to have a couple until I sold them here but this 0.45x was a decent little thing and there's lots of them on ebay. All you need is the correct step down ring and check that you are happy with any vignetting. One of these plus ring should be well under budget, probably cost about £30 in all.

IMG_4590-1.jpg


Here it is on my GF1 but of course you can fit one to just about anything.

IMG_3957-2.jpg
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I was going to suggest the same thing too as I got meself one of those. Cheap and cheerful and does the job. Okay, the image quality won't be as good as a dedicated lens, but after I give the image taken with the adaptor a bit of spit and polish via a paint program, I have been able to get some decent results.
Might be a good way to start. Oh, and check the thread width (for my Nikon D3100 it's 52 mm).
 
I agree they're not as good as a proper real wide lens :D but as a fun thing I think they're worth the cost and it allows you to dip your toe in the water and see if wide angle is really for you and of course the beauty of these is that you can put them in a draw and take them out at any time and fit them to any lens you can get a step ring for.
 
If i added an adapter to my 35mm prime does that make any sense?
 
35 x 0.45 = 15.57. 15.57 x 1.5 (crop) = 23mm.

Your 18-xxxmm =
18 x 0.45 = 8.1. 8.1 x 1.5 = 12.75mm.

I think... :lol::D:lol:

So your zoom + wide angle adapter would give a much wider view than your 35mm + wide angle adapter.
 
I picked up my 10-20mm lens for not much over £200. Check out my London shots on my Flickr account.

It's a great lens and I love mine.
 
woof woof said:
35 x 0.45 = 15.57. 15.57 x 1.5 (crop) = 23mm.

Your 18-xxxmm =
18 x 0.45 = 8.1. 8.1 x 1.5 = 12.75mm.

I think... :lol::D:lol:

So your zoom + wide angle adapter would give a much wider view than your 35mm + wide angle adapter.
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Ok im onto it!!@

cheers
 
I still haven't sorted this. If I get a wide angle adapter etc and in shooting with my 18-200 and I'm at say 100mm what difference will the adapter make?
 
Riz said:
I still haven't sorted this. If I get a wide angle adapter etc and in shooting with my 18-200 and I'm at say 100mm what difference will the adapter make?
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You mean as opposed to just shooting wider, say at, oh, 18mm?
 
You wouldn't use it if you were shooting at 100mm. The only time you would use it would be when you want to go wider than 18mm.
 
Personally I'd avoid the WA adapters, there's bound to be a loss of optical quality, and if you start to do landscapes can you still use filters?

A s/h Sigma 10-20 is probably the best value wide angle you can get for APS-C.
 
Oh thanks I didn't really understand the physics of these things.

I'm not keen on spending £300 on a lens I will rarely use. Is there not a cheap manual focus alternative I could use?
 
Riz said:
Oh thanks I didn't really understand the physics of these things.

I'm not keen on spending £300 on a lens I will rarely use. Is there not a cheap manual focus alternative I could use?
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Can't think of one unfortunately. The trouble is that most manual focus lenses are fairly old and so were designed for 35mm film cameras. Something like 18mm is damn wide on a 35mm camera but isn't going to very wide on your crop body I'm afraid. There are some wide lenses that fit the bill but I can't think of any that are cheap. Maybe take a look at the 14mm Samyang but it's neither especially wide nor especially cheap. As others have said, the Sigma 10-20 is probably your best bet. There is a potentially cheaper Tamron 10-24 alternative but it isn't generally well regarded.

Why not hire one and see how you get on?
 
Quick search on ebay....

16mm micro 4/3rds - you'd need an adapter as well

10mm old lens - not sure of the mount on this though

After these, they increase in price fast.

Probably best to hire one for the uses you need, then save up for a decent lens later on. Plus you can try the hired ones, so if it does what you want, you can note it down for buying later.

Good luck!
 
If you want to "dip" your toe, try the Opteka super wide 0.2x approx £40 i think,
I use it in my tamron 18-200 with a adaptor ring

the quality is not top notch, but your not paying £800+

The two pictures below were taken with the tamron + opteka

goose3.jpg


froggy.jpg
 
Unfortunately, as I see it to get good glass you'll either have to put your hand deeper into your pocket or you'll have to do some serious finger-crossing that you pick up an underpriced bargain.

Those wide-angle adaptors are good fun and give you an idea of what wide-angle can be used for, but I guess that it'll be only a matter of time before you want the same effect AND high-quality optics.

You needn't spend a fortune - you could probably get a lesser-known prime like a Sigma 14mm or one of the Samyang-style manual focus lenses for under £300. Personally, I'd be looking at something like a Tokina 12-24mm f/4, which you'll get for £250 and it really is the cream of the 3rd-party options in terms of IQ and low price. The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 is better optically but carries a much higher price.

There are a million ways to skin this proverbial cat but giving yourself a higher budget will at least assure you'll have the choice available.
 
Thanks chaps.

I know I won't use the wide angle a lot. I just wanted a new toy. I'll have a look at those eBay things.
 
specialman said:
Unfortunately, as I see it to get good glass you'll either have to put your hand deeper into your pocket or you'll have to do some serious finger-crossing that you pick up an underpriced bargain.

Those wide-angle adaptors are good fun and give you an idea of what wide-angle can be used for, but I guess that it'll be only a matter of time before you want the same effect AND high-quality optics.

You needn't spend a fortune - you could probably get a lesser-known prime like a Sigma 14mm or one of the Samyang-style manual focus lenses for under £300. Personally, I'd be looking at something like a Tokina 12-24mm f/4, which you'll get for £250 and it really is the cream of the 3rd-party options in terms of IQ and low price. The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 is better optically but carries a much higher price.

There are a million ways to skin this proverbial cat but giving yourself a higher budget will at least assure you'll have the choice available.
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I m ow what your saying but I don't want to spend £300 on something I may use for 4 days in the while year.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Then you probably need a cheaper hobby ;)
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+1.... Loads of people have given you the options, you just need to make the choice :) otherwise we will just keep going round in circles
 
stokes said:
+1.... Loads of people have given you the options, you just need to make the choice :) otherwise we will just keep going round in circles
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Well if you read the post about 3 up you would have noticed that I am opting for the eBay route for now?!??
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Then you probably need a cheaper hobby ;)
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Don't think I do, maybe I'm just not silly?
I appreciate the help in the thread ( not sarcastic). But I don't use my slr a great deal do justify that spend. Sometimes it's weeks and I haven't even touched it. I just wanted a play around with something else. I know the eBay route is far from perfect but I'm happy giving it a go
 
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