Not sure which wide-angle lens to get, help needed.

Wail

Wail

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I am looking to buy a fast wideangle lens, and have narrowed things down to these. I have included prices in brackets, these are the best prices from non-grey imports as suggested today by Camera Price Buster, for comparative measures: -

Sigma 20mm f1.8 (£ 275.49 Jessops)
Sigma 24mm f1.8 (£ 227.99 Jessops)
Sigma 28mm f1.8 (£ 218.49 Jessops)
Sigma 30mm f1.4 (£ 265.99 Jessops)
Nikon 35mm f2 (£ 201.95 Warehouse Express)

I know that the Sigma 30mm and Nikon 35mm are not wideangle, but they are wide enough for what I need, especially since the widest fast lens (under f2.8) I have is a 50mm f1.8

So, which of these should I be looking at more closely, and why? Or, is there something else out there that I have missed? I don’t mind at all if it is to be manual focus just so long that the image quality is superb, weight & size are reasonable, and of course the price has to be within what’s listed above.

Thanks for any feedback.
 
The 30m f/1.4 is the only one of those I have used, the only caveat if you plan to use it wide open is that the dof is very narrow and they do have a reputation for front focussing on the likes of the D300 - I returned my first one for that very reason, but the replacement had no such issues -hit n miss Sigma qc is something to bear in mind if going for any of their glass.

What about a 28mm f/2.8 Nikon? Around £170 for a new UK lens. There was one on the sales forum recently for £100 too. If you're feeling really flush there's always the f/1.4 version ;)
 
Flash,

Thank you for the feedback.

I really am in the market for something faster than f2.8. I have the Nikon 24-70 f2.8 (a fantastic lens, but there are many times when I want somthing faster). That's why I am looking for under f2!

I've just checked out the Voigtlander 40mm f2, it seems a bargain at just over £200 tht includes the hood and a close-up filter .. of course that's manual focus; but I am not sure a 40mm is wide enough.

I am worried about Sigma QC, it does seem to have a lot of negative press .. may be unfairly, as there are many Sigma users, and I know if I buy locally then I can always return it for a better lens (without any focusing issues).

Then I come to think of things, and I wonder if, even a 30mm is wide enough? Hence why I've put the 20, 24 and 28 f1.8!

I wonder if you have had any experience with any of these?
 
The Sigma 30mm stands out from your list.

The 35/2 is excellent, but I think you have a 24-70 and tbh it'll probably be sharper when both are @ f/2.8

The fast Sigma lenses are HUGE, and reports are mixed. I wouldn't bother.

I'd get the 30mm as its the fastest lens in your group, and it probably has the best IQ.

The Voightlander is lovely, but only consider it on a D3 or D700, as you'll need a big viewfinder to manual focus. Optically its a stunner... but not wide at all.
 
The Sigma 30mm stands out from your list.

The 35/2 is excellent, but I think you have a 24-70 and tbh it'll probably be sharper when both are @ f/2.8

The fast Sigma lenses are HUGE, and reports are mixed. I wouldn't bother.

I'd get the 30mm as its the fastest lens in your group, and it probably has the best IQ.

The Voightlander is lovely, but only consider it on a D3 or D700, as you'll need a big viewfinder to manual focus. Optically its a stunner... but not wide at all.
 
Thanks Flash :)
 
puddleduck said:
The Sigma 30mm stands out from your list.

The 35/2 is excellent, but I think you have a 24-70 and tbh it'll probably be sharper when both are @ f/2.8

The fast Sigma lenses are HUGE, and reports are mixed. I wouldn't bother.

I'd get the 30mm as its the fastest lens in your group, and it probably has the best IQ.

The Voightlander is lovely, but only consider it on a D3 or D700, as you'll need a big viewfinder to manual focus. Optically its a stunner... but not wide at all.
Click to expand...


It seems I may well go for the Sigma 30mm, more so now that you recommend it over the other wider Sigmas which I know are huge, but for the wide field of vision, I was ok with them being huge; but I don't want to get something like that only to get questionable image quality. I also like the fact that the 30/1.4 autofocuses with the D40 ... I have that body too, which I use a lot as my P&S.

The appeal of the 35/2 is its price ... at just around the £200 mark that lens is very cheap.

Why do you say that the Voigt. 40 needs a full-frame to focus? Is there something there, and is this also applicable to the Voigt. 58? I ask because I have the 58/1.4 and have been very happy with it ...it is not very easy for me to focus, but I am thinking of getting Katzeyes to help with the focusing.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
Why do you say that the Voigt. 40 needs a full-frame to focus?

I find the bigger viewfinder really helps - D700 with DK-17m :love:

Actually I really mentioned the full frame thing as I just don't think 40mm is at all wide.

I found I could MF reasonable well on my D60, but on DX viewfinders I find it a bit hit and miss.

The 40/2 is sharper than the 35/2 wide open if thats important.
 
Thanks :thumbs:

I think I am going to go with the 30/1.4, at least it is somewhat of a wideangle compared to the others that I haven't discounted (Nikon and Voigt.).

Basically, I wanted to get some input on the Sigma wide lenses (20, 24, and 28) and it seems though they are fast, they are not up there with regards to IQ ... so, that narrows down things a bit.
 
Out of curiousity, and a bit of change of topic here, is there such an add-on for the D300 as the DK-17m? I use an angle viewer at times, which does give me a 2X magnification, but to get one without the angle would be helpful at times.
 
Ignore my last post, sorry! A simpe Google got me what I wanted :)
 
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