Nikon wide angle lens question

[nelsonal]

I hope this is in the right area:

I am a new upgrader to SLR on a pretty tight budget. I decided to take the SLR plunge last fall and have been trying to get things to try as many different things as I could, even if they are pretty far from nice.

To that end, I have a D70 body, nice 50mm f1.8 (this has been my favorite lens so far), 300mm f4.5 (manual-to give you an idea of the budget constraint) for long stuff and have been looking at a wide angle lens. I’ve narrowed it down to one of two potential wide angles for something new.

The first is a Nikon auto focus 28mm. I like that I’ll have metering, but have lived without it with the tele lens. I’m a little nervous that using this on a DX sized camera means I won’t really be too far into wide angles.

The second is a Sigma autofocus 18-35mm f3.5/4.5. I’ve never used a non-nikon lens, preferring to go old or manual vs going off brand.

So, I guess my question is, is one of these substantially worse/better, is there something in the $100-$200 range that I would be better off waiting to find, I don’t mind being patient if there’s a good reason, these just seemed like a pretty good choice.

Thanks, all.

[orionid]

I picked up one of these used from B&H for $220, and it’s my favorite lens. It quickly replaced my 18-55 kit lens as my walk-around, and is still razor-sharp wide open. If I go out and have only my pockets to hold lenses, I actually lean towards carrying this and the 60mm micro rather than any of the nikkor zooms.

I don’t think I can recommend any other lens I’ve used (save for maybe a fisheye for that purpose) as a general-purpose more than this one.

Sigma used to make great glass. I can only repeat hearsay about there newer stuff. I will say this, though. For extreme macro, I use a circa-1982 sigma 200mm tele-macro, originally fitted for pentax, that I modified for my nikon. And it fellates me every time I take it out.

In the high-end wides, I’m also looking at This, and IIRC, Soosh repeatedly whoops our asses with nighttime Alaska shots with The canon mount version of this.

Oh, and welcome!

[sleeping]

On a DX camera 28mm is a normal not a wide angle, and the AF 28mm 2.8 does not have a great reputation (the 28mm F2.8 AI-S is better). I would recommend taking a look at the 18-55mm VR Nikkor as a decent, cheap wide angle option – even if it is kind of slow and plastic-y, the optics are pretty decent.

[Curious]

I would recommend taking a look at the 18-55mm VR Nikkor as a decent, cheap wide angle option – even if it is kind of slow and plastic-y, the optics are pretty decent.

neisonal i have a 18-55mm nikkor that was the kit lens for my D3000. wanting something a little longer got a 18-105mm. net result i have a barely used nikon lens i could sell you.

i don’t want to get rich from this and it’s sitting on a shelf right now. ebay used $$ is around $100.00.

[nelsonal]

Curious,
Thank you for the offer, but I actually found a deal on the Tokina Orionid reccomended.

[Curious]

Curious,
Thank you for the offer, but I actually found a deal on the Tokina Orionid reccomended.

that looks like even better for your wide needs. i wasn’t sure how high you were willing to go. glad you found one you like.

[Author]

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