Which lenses?

Hi there

I own a Nikon D7100 with a Sea&Sea housing on the way. I already have some ideas about which lenses I will buy (I already have 60mm Macro). I will also buy a 105mm (I also need this for my D700), but what about WA. Previously I had the Nikon 10,5 for my old Nikon D80, but now I'm also looking at Tokina 10-17 and Sigma 15 (last one so I also can use it for the D700).

Any suggestions? Well I know you all do, but please let me know :-)

Have a nice day

Andreas

Hi

the Tokina 10/17 FE is a excellent lens & a lot Wetpixelers use this lens most of the time. Prime fisheye lens would be great for your FX camera.

either the sigma or the nikon are great lens. I find that I use my 105mm Micro a lot more than my 60mm Micro now, but both have their uses.

I also use the 12/24mm WA lens which is great for using inside wreaks if you don't want the fisheye effect. But i know a lot of people use other

wide angle lens with great results.

Regards,

Andy

Andreas I would be suggesting that if you have the 60mm AFD Nikkor that you buy a Kenko pro300 1.4x Teleconverter and give it a try before you buy the 105mm. Because its alot cheaper and you can also use it with the Tokina 10-17mm for CFWA and it costs around $150.

Regarding Wide angle I suggest the Tokina 10-17mm as its a versatile lens and one of the best performing wide angle lenses out there especially of DX cameras like the D7100. People are also using it often on their FX cameras in Dx mode. The 15mm Sigma is the choice if your only using Fx cameras but it wont be wide enough when your using it with the D7100 it would be like shooting with a 22.5mm when you factor in the DX crop.

Personally if it was me I would sell off the Nikon 10.5mm FE and put the money towards the Tokina 10-17mm and the Kenko TC. The Tokina is as sharp or if not sharper than the Nikon 10.5mm but with the verstaility of being a zoom and workins well with the Teleconverters.

Regards Mark

Andreas

I seriously doubt that the Tokina 10-17 is sharper than the Nikon 10.5 fisheye. I'd go further and suggest that even a somewhat cropped image from the Nikon fisheye on your D7000 would be sharper that an uncropped image from the Tokina lens covering the same field of view.

We've had posts on Wetpixel comparing the sharpness of images that were crops of Sigma 15mm vs the Tokina and the Sigma lens crops were clearly superior.

Adding a tele-converter, particularly a "budget" converter like the Kenko, to a third party zoom lens like the Tokina, will result in images that are even less sharp.

But it all depends on what you want to do with your images. If all you will do with them is post them online as small jpgs, you may not see any difference. But if you want to make quality use of the images - letter size prints and bigger, you will.

Fred

Hi Andreas,

I second Fred. No way the Tokina is sharper than the Nikon 10.5. I had both of them and sold the Tokina. I lost some versatility against better sharpness en less CA.

just my 2 cents.

Rob

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=49728&p=327452

If you decide you want rectilinear rather than fisheye, I have the Nikon 12-24 $450, and the Sigma 8-16 $550, for sale.

I've wondered about the utility of this lens on FX a lot, set at 14-17mm. I've seen imatest results that suggest that the resolution of 10-17 is just above the D800, so while it is nearly resolution limiting, it isn't yet. Worth a test, though...

 

Tokina 10-17 at 14mm

 

Sigma 15mm at 15mm

 

10-17 at 14mm Center Crop

 

Sig 15 Center Crop

 

10-17 at 14mm Lower Left

 

Sigma 15 Lower Left

 

Draw your own conclusions, but I wouldn't run out and buy a new lens.

A Comparison of the sharpness between a Sigma 15mm and Tokina 10-17mm on D800

 

Does this help? Tokina is on the left:

 

attachment

Sharpness Compariosn between the Tokina 10-17mm and the Nikkor 10.5mm FE

The reason why people use Kenko "Budget" Teleconverters is because they work with the Tokina 10-17mm, 10.5mm Nikon, 60mm AFD Nikon macro where as the Nikon TC dont. I bet if you did a pole on who have used the Nikkkor 10.5mm FE and the Tokina 10-17mm you would find the majority of these people would have chosen the Tokina 10-17 as it has about the same level of sharpness of a prime lens and that has the versatility of the a zoom.

So going back to OP. I still recommend the Tokina 10-17mm over the 10.5mm Nikon for the Nikon D7100.

Regards Mark

 

A Comparison of the sharpness between a Sigma 15mm and Tokina 10-17mm on D800

Surely neither lens is that useful, as you have to use DX mode?

From the comparison on the D800 shows the Tokina 10-17mm @14mm is on par if not better than the 15mm Sigma shot in FX. Now for the OP who has a Nikon D7100 and a D700 wouldnt it be easy to say that the Tokina 10-17mm is the most useful lens available as one its sharp as the Nikon 10.5mm (from the test pic above) and it as sharp as the Sigma 15mm FE when its zoomed to 14mm on FX cameras like D700 and the D800. Not bad a for a non Nikon zoom lens at a cheaper price. I guess its not the price of the lens but how you use it.

Regards Mark

Budget doesn't mean they're bad. If you can read German ( or let google do the work) this site has tested several kenko sigma and canon converters ( no nikons)

http://www.traumflieger.de/objektivtest/open_test/telekonverter/overview.php

Hi,

I would go for the Tokina 10-17mm for DX UW. You might get it cheap used, as well.

I own the 15mm and use it for FX UW, but I would not use it for DX.

/Erik

^{I would not be overly concerned with sharpness underwater--water quality (and your proximity to the subject) makes a larger difference than any difference between these three lenses.}

^{I have the Sigma 15mm and find that it is the goldilocks lens on DX. Just wide enough to get super close, just narrow enough to keep extranious elements out of the frame, and the narrow FOV cuts down the fisheye effect. I personally like the focal length better than the 10.5mm. Still, for very big subjects and expansive reef scenics I still like the 10.5mm. But you really need to be much more careful with how you use it than at 15mm. Its easier to get a good shot with the Sigma, and now I use it on full frame too while my 10.5mm sits in the drawer waiting for that very special case. I do like the freedom of not having the zoom control to worry about and F2.8 is faster to focus and better with filters than a slower zoom.}

^{However if I had the choice of the tokina when I bought these, I'd go with the zoom. I think this is a miricle lens underwater. While I think it has limited utility topside, I think it really is the only WA you need underwater. Also think about carrying less gear when you travel as dives are limited and so is luggage. This lens really does it all.}

Obviously, opinions vary concerning your choices for a wide angle to compliment your Nikkor 60mm. I opted for the Nikkor 10-24 rather than the Tokina 10-17. Many like the fisheye effect the Tokina can produce, but I prefer the straighter lines produced with a rectilinear wide angle lens.

I also opted for a Nikkor 60mm. So far, I've been happy with it.

-Tinman