hey looking for a wide angle lens for nikon d90 and good suggestions?

paengc on March 15, 2009

nikon’s 14-24 may be very expensive, but it’s really worth the price. we’re talking zero barrel distortion with that lens, even at 14 mm. that’s pretty impressive.

anyways, barring that lens, you could always go for the other nikon wide-angle: the nikkor 12-24 mm f/4 dx lens. it’s not an f/2.8, but it does give you a wider angle. and at $899 from amazon, it’s just half the price of the 14-24 f/2.8.

i heard the tokina 11-16 is pretty good too, but i haven’t had any research on that yet though.

Edwin on March 16, 2009

Hello Chris.

First, you are very misinformed about the suitability of a prime lens with a DSLR. A prime lens will always outperform a zoom although the difference is decreasing. Have you not noticed how often the 50mm f1.4 is suggested as a good portrait lens? Another plus for a prime lens is its superior “speed” – a larger maximum aperture (f1.0, f1.4) compared to a zoom.

I agree with the other answerer who suggested the Nikon 12-24mm f4G lens. Since f4 is just 1 stop slower than f2.8 I doubt you’ll notice it unless you’re shooting in low-light, non-flash situations. If so, just double the ISO (say from 400 to 800) and the f4 will perform the same as the f2.8 at the lower ISO. Yes, f4 @ ISO 800 will yield the same shutter speed as f2.8 @ ISO 400.

Shorty on March 18, 2009

The Tokina 11-16mm has been my dream lens for several months. General reviews are very positive, the lens rates very well against Nikon’s own equivalents. I want to add that the Nikon lens you mentioned, is meant for full-frame digital and 35mm film slr cameras. 14 is not really wide on a DX camera, where the crop factor of 1.5x makes it a 21mm. Nikon also makes another lens specifically for DX cameras. It’s called the Nikkor 12-24mm f/4. It’s cheaper, but still sells for around a grand.

So my recommendation is, get the Tokina. It loses out a little at the telephoto end compared to the Nikkor 12-24, but you don’t get wideangles for that, do you? If you need the ultimate in DX format wide, consider the Sigma 10-20mm.

Especiallly with third-party lens, it is advised that you test the lens in store to check if there are any glitches with the lens before purchasing. Some people may get up to 3 bad samples before they get a decent one.