Which wide angle lens? (D3100)

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D3100-Dan

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Dan
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So i am in the market for a wide angle lens as i want to start shooting some landscapes / seascapes / sunsets.

I currently own the kit 18-55, 50mm 1.8 prime (Love it) and the 55-200 non vr and am very happy with all 3 so far.

My budget is around £400 but could stretch a bit further if there is good reason to do so.

The 2 obvious options that i can tell are:-

1, Sigma 10-20 f4-5.6

2, Tamron 10-24 f3.5-4.5

3, anything that fits my budget that i am missing?

Does anybody have any advice on the above lenses or any others that fit my budget that i have overlooked? Also would the above lenses perform well enough on a tripod shooting sunsets / sunrises?

Thanks in advance.
 
The Sigma is what I had on DX and it was fine, it will do everything you need it to. Avoid the Tamron, it's rubbish.
 
I realise it wouldn't auto focus on your camera, but you should also maybe consider the Tokina 11-16 2.8. I beleive it to be the best DX ultra wide angle available to Nikon users bar none. Manual focus would be no issue at all as the depth of field is so big with wide angles that I often used to just leave my Tokina at F/5.6 and focussed at 3 feet in the knowledge that everything from about 2 foot to infinity would be in focus. Worth considering at least. The Tokina 12-24 is also a nice lens but only the gen 2 one has built in AF motor.

One thing though, are you sure you really want an ultra wide angle? Most people, myself included, gravitate towards them for Landscapes at first but the truth is that you often end up filling your images with lots of tiny stuff and nothing particularly interesting. You really have to be very creative with composition to make them work well, i.e. very strong foregrounds... You might prefer trading your kit lens in for something like a 16-85 VR. It's still wide but is maybe more useful. Just a personal opinion of course.
 
The Tokina 11-16 is a great starter for WA use. It's slightly sharper than the Siggy and is a little more contrasty. Needless to say it's about £100 more expensive.
 
gad-westy said:
One thing though, are you sure you really want an ultra wide angle? Most people, myself included, gravitate towards them for Landscapes at first but the truth is that you often end up filling your images with lots of tiny stuff and nothing particularly interesting. You really have to be very creative with composition to make them work well, i.e. very strong foregrounds... You might prefer trading your kit lens in for something like a 16-85 VR. It's still wide but is maybe more useful. Just a personal opinion of course.
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I totally agree with the above, I have a Sigma 10-20 which I hardly ever use due to it being so difficult to fill the frame. I 'll give it another go, but it might be in the classifides soon in fact due to lack of use.

Aled
 
You should be able to pick up a used Nikon 12-24mm for a wee bit over your budget. The Tokina 12-24mm is also excellent
 
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