Looking for a good wide angle lens (D60)

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Empty_Quarter

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About 8 months ago, I bought my first dSLR, a Nikon D60, and i must say, im really pleased with it. It came with the stock lens which didn't take long for me to realize that the stock lens was absolute crap, so I intend on getting new ones. One of the lenses I plan on getting is the good all-rounder, the 18-200 VR lens, that way I don't need to lug two lenses around.

I'm also a really big fan of wide angle shots, but being a newb at this, I don't know much about wide angle lenses. I'm looking for something in the range of 10-24, and for it to be under $500 w/ shipping. I don't care so much for the brand of the lens so long as it's actually decent.
 
yeah, I'm really into wide-angle as well. Nikon has some great wide-angle zooms: the 12-24 is supposed to be amazing, but it's over $800. I ended up going the prime route: bought the 10.5mm f/2.8 AF and the 24mm f/2.8 AF. Both are great lenses; you just have to deal with the hassle of changing the lens a lot.

ouch! the price of the 10.5mm has gone way up - got this one for just over $500 on amazon in January
k - maybe it's just B&H - thought I payed less than $200 for the 24mm not too long ago...

Guess I'm also interested to hear what people might recommend in a good low-cost wide zoom.
 
from the Nikon, you have two obvious choices. either the 12-24 or the recently released 10-24, both in the ~$900 (by B&H). at ~$600 Nikon has a 16-85, but IMO, 16mm on a DX camera ins't wide enough to even bother with this lens.

so then we go to the third party lenses, and we've got Sigma 10-20 at $479, Tamron 11-18 at $519, and Tokina 11-16 at $599. while i've heard some good things about the Sigma lens, i can't recommend either one of them because i simply never used any of them.

http://www.photozone.de/ is a good site to look for some decent lens reviews. there's another good site, but i can't find it right now.

@madFive, Nikon increased the pricing on all of their lenses on February 1, IIRC up to 20% on some of them
 
If you're looking for something under $500 that is of decent quality, I'd go for the SIgma 10-20mm.
 
I guess what I was really asking is which of the after market brands would be best. The Nikon lens would be nice, but is out of the question, so I guess I'll have to go the Sigma route.

Thanks all :D
 
I'm thinking about selling my sigma 10-20mm because I never use it. PM me with an offer.
 
For 3rd party, the Sigma mentioned above is popular. I would also take a look at the Tokina 11-16 2.8, which has an outstanding reputation (but I'm not sure if it has a built-in focus motor, and if it doesn't, it won't auto focus on your D60.)

I recommend you visit a local camera shop and try out all of these lenses before purchasing. 10mm is ultra wide on DX (15mm on full frame / film) and even if you're really into wide angle photography, you may find anything below 14-16mm a challenge to frame well. The Nikon 16-85 VR is Nikon's best mid-priced general zoom for DX (outside the heavier, pro-built/pro-priced 17-55 2.8.) 16mm equates to 24mm full frame, which is actually quite wide (and will be noticeably, if not hugely wider than the 18mm you have now.)
 
Hulk said:
I'm thinking about selling my sigma 10-20mm because I never use it. PM me with an offer.
Click to expand...

Yeah so I'm selling the sigma yet I have not received any PMs yet. If you buy it on ebay you have to pay paypal fees, etc.

PM me with an offer.
 
Hulk said:
Yeah so I'm selling the sigma yet I have not received any PMs yet. If you buy it on ebay you have to pay paypal fees, etc.

PM me with an offer.
Click to expand...

The person who is purchasing does not have to pay any fees.
 
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