Buying a Wide Angle Lens (Nikon)

[TWiTCHY]

So it's my birthday tomorrow and my parents have taken notice of my interest in photography. They're letting me choose a lens for my D60 as a present, and since this morning I have started researching. Within their price range are the following lens:

Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM - $455


Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX AF Wide Angle - $457


Here's the situation. After reading several reviews, people have concluded that the...

Sigma
-has a short warranty
-has short range of f stops
-isn't as well built as the Tokina, physically and mechanically
-has the widest angle offered for digital SLRs
-is bad in low light

Tokina
-currently doesn't offer auto focus on D40/D40x/D60
-produces sharper images
-competes well with the original Nikon 12-24mm lens
-is built like a tank
-has a long warranty term
-has a newer version being released next year with auto focus for D40/D40x/D60

So now, it's a matter of whether I want auto focus but crappy quality construction from Sigma, or no auto focus with construction equal to or better than the Nikon from Tokina.

I'm so confused!

Are there any other lenses that you would suggest, that have auto focus on a D60 but isn't built out of leaves?

Right now I'm leaning towards the Sigma... Help me out!

[drZ]

hi mate..i have that sigma 10-20 lens and i have to say its not too bad..i have to agree with the low f range and the bad quality in low light but wide angles are usually used mostly for scenery outdoor photography and for the price its quite reasonable..love the autofocus on it too..this was mostly the reason i didnt get the tokina..and the nikon 12-24 was just ridiculously expensive..nearly 1.5times more..at the end of the day it depends on how long you plan to use your current camera i guess..

[Speedtrap]

Go for the Tokina...its fast and from experience, I find it better than the Nikon.

[TWiTCHY]

Thanks for your opinion drZ, it helps out to know that there are customers out there that like the lens.

Speedtrap, what do you mean by fast? There's no auto focus on that lens if I get it for my D60. The only reason I would consider getting the Tokina is because of its warranty and build quality.

[UdubBadger]

I have a 10-18mm tokina for my canon... good stuff from them

[Sniz]

get a new body, pick up a used D80 and get the Tokina.

[TWiTCHY]

I don't think I'll be changing cameras for quite a while. I guess I'll go with the Sigma then.

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by TWiTCHY

I don't think I'll be changing cameras for quite a while. I guess I'll go with the Sigma then.

I would too, not have AF is tough. if your not going to have autofocus, a wide angle is probably the best lens though, your not going to be doing any action photography w/ that lens.

[Teshi]

Why not hold off wide angle for now and think about picking up something else?

[TWiTCHY]

Well I went to Tall's Cameras today and I tested out a Tamron 10-24mm and the $1.3k Nikon. The Nikon is super fast at focusing, but for the price, I would step down for the Tamron at $500. It's slow, and a little loud when focusing, but wide angles are meant for stationary objects, or set scenes, so no biggie.

So in the end I got the Tamron. The sales guy was telling me not to go with the Sigma based on its short warranty and non-existent customer service. I thought the Tamron was better anyways, as it offered a range of 10-24mm instead of 10-20mm. It has 6 years of warranty coverage, which is one more than the Nikon, so I feel pretty confident that I made the right choice.

[i2iSTUDIOS]

I had the sigma, worked great! I choose it because I wanted to go wide and 10mm is WIDE!

I now have the 12-24 on the D3 but I hardly ever use it.