Best lens to start with

Hi there,

I'm just upgrading to an SLR (Nikon D7100) from my Olympus m4/3 camera, and was just wondering which lens I should start with. I can only afford one lens to start with, and my favourite shots are wide angle. I am thinking the Tokina 10-17 as many people have recommended it to me, although I was wondering whether it would be too wide as the only lens I would take.

I only have one strobe (at the moment) so would the 10-17 be too wide and something like a Nikon 10-24 would be better? I'm going to Egypt at Easter, so I am unlikely to be taking photos of sharks or wrecks, and many people say that rectilinear lenses are not as sharp in the corners. If I get the Tokina, I would put it behind the 4.33" port.

I am not looking for a macro lens at this time.

Many Thanks!

Have not taken mine in water yet but I wanted something that I could use on land and potentially underwater ended up with a Sigma 17-70

Some shots are here

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pandasimages/sets/72157624815401232/with/5002097339/

Thanks for that, it is an interesting choice, and certainly a good lens. The only thing I worry is whether it would be wide enough. I use a wet wide angle lens on my Olympus, which is 100 degree angle, and sometimes I wish for something wider, but I also know that I can take it off if necessary (although I can't think of a time when I have)!

Thanks!

It is not that wide (25.5mm equivalent) but with only one strobe you would use a wider lens only for ambient light I guess

Wod t go with the Sigma 17-70 lens as you only lens. Bit. Bad lens, but something you would want too add to your collection. Mine doesn't come out often.

First 2 lenses, IMHO,with a crop sensor camera, would be a tokina 10/17 FE anda Nikon 60 macro

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The Tokina 10 -17 should be the first lens for WA.

Good luck,

Steve

If you have other ways to take land pictures or are not bothered then a tokina 10-17 does work behind the small 4.33 dome port

My suggestion was based on having one lens for both land and water

http://underwatervisions.wordpress.com/2010/09/14/the-sigma-17-70mm-%E2%80%93-a-lens-for-the-indecisive/

but it does require a larger dome

Also think about a second strobe to cover the wide field of view

The housing cost for the D7100 is huge for now am only using it on land and my next purchase will be a 70-200 zoom lens for land wildlife I am going to try it in water in June

Definitely the tok 10-17, this lens is so much fun for both wa and cfwa. 17-70 not a lens I personally like uw. Single strobe is sufficient for a lot of shots with the tok. However, you will eventually want/need a 2nd strobe.

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Another vote for the tokina.

Sticking with the Tokina then! Thanks everyone!

Hi,

I would go with the Tokina 10/17FE great lens, i have also used the Nikon 16/85 Zoom which I have had good results.

Regards,

Andy.

If your favourite images are WA then you will love the 10-17mm. You will however really be wanting a second strobe, especially when

deeper than where ambient light can assist you. Perhaps you could consider a Magic Filter to use with it until you can stretch out for

that other strobe?

Cheers,

Jim.

If you like Macro, 60mm would be a good first choice.

The throw of the Sigma 17-70 lens is to great and the nodal point moves too much for a dome port to function correctly and have crisp edges. Currently there isn't a flat port on the market that is wide enough to allow you to use the 17mm end without crashing into the port when you zoom to 70mm. IMHO aside form the two lensed mentioned the Tokina 10-17, the 10-17 with a 1.4 tele on it and the 60mm macro another lens to consider is the 18-55 kit lens behind a dome or flat port. The 18-55 nodal point doesn't move much and the throw is very short. The lens is also very inexpensive.

I have the Tokina 10-17 with the Zen 100mm dome, very nice combo for WA. It focuses very close so you can do some CFWA as well. It's a very nice lens.

Thanks everyone, I actually have the sigma 17-70 as my 'land' lens anyway, so possibly in the future i will look to try that underwater!

If you want a bit more options, you might consider the 1.4X teleconverter and a dome extension for your 10-17 and small dome. If you find yourself being too wide for your subjects, that could give you some options. The added gear is not large or heavy and not too expensive.

Just a thought.

Every shot in this trip to Cozumel was shot with that setup but with 2 strobes.

http://www.shiningseastudio.com/Underwater/Cozumel-2010/11273166_rTjBH2#!i=790880931&k=TfBCwxt

Nice photos!

The Nikon d7100 has a 1.3x crop mode, which means that it uses a smaller portion of the sensor, but would it have a similar effect as the 1.4 teleconverter?

Both would magnify, but additional cropping decreases your resolution. Or are you talking about the inherent crop of using a DX sensor? Just to be clear, the Tokina 10-17 will get vignetting if you were to use it on a full frame sensor.

Just to be clear, I actually have a 17/70 behind a flat port that is wide enough and long enough for the 17/70 to function at both ends. You can get both decent wide angle shots (with 2 strobes) and decent semi-macro shots with the same lens. However, If you like wide the 10-17 is the way to go.