Also add the Tokina 12-24 to the list, but only the II version has a built in AF motor.
on the Tokina 12-24, I had one on a D90 a wee while ago tis an awesome lens.... TBH I much prefered it over the Sigma 10-20mm that I had previously.....Fair point - but it's so easy to focus an ultra wide angle lens, I can fully understand it with a 85mm f/1.4 prime say but manual focus isn't the end of the world at 10mm.
I'm not so sure. I think that things only look sharp if they're relatively small in the frame and that'll be just as true for an 85mm. If you zoom in or make something big in the frame then focus will be important. Wide angle lenses can be used for getting a sweeping vista in shot but another good use for them is to get up close to something and be creative and if you are doing that things will be big in the frame and any focus error will come to light quickly.
Do you find the quality is ok on the Tamron?