judders Loc: Rugby, United Kingdom

I have a set of three lenses I use with my Nikon D5100.

A Prime DX AFS 35mm 1.8G an all round lens I use for portraits mainly.
An 18-70mm 3.5 DX AFS Zoom and a DX 55-200mm Zoom both really
useful and flexible for groups, candid shots and townscapes.

I should like to add a Sigma 10 - 20mm f3.5 EX DC

Would this cover every aspect for me? I think the wide angle
lens would be useful addition for interiors landscape/townscape shots.

Are they also good for wedding groups or will they give too much distortion?

Any comments and tips on using these lenses would be of interest.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

You have good selection of lenses up to 200mm focal range, so it is obvious you don't do long range photography of wildlife. I also own the 35mm you have. There are good selections of wide angle lenses in Sigma, Tamron, and Tokina.Some are designed for crop sensor only. Nikon has an upcoming new wide angle lens for DX bodies. A 10-20mm, for $306. Search, review, and decide. Remember the crop sensor factor on these lenses too. Good luck.

CO

The only reservation I would have about the recently announced Nikon 10-20mm AF-P lens is that it has a plastic lens mount. I would go for the Nikon 10-24mm AF-S DX lens.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

Take a look at the Tokina 11-20mm f2.8.

https://www.amazon.com/Tokina-11-20mm-cameras-Sensors-International/dp/B00SXU9RRQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496777443&sr=8-1&keywords=tokina+11-20mm+f+2.8+nikon

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I believe Nikon just announced a 10-20mm lens, but I think it will cost $1,300.

When I was shooting DX, I had a nice Tokina 11-16mm. Now I have the Tokina 16-28mm.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

This Amazon ad says this lens is the International Version. Is that another phrase for Gray Market? This lens is less expensive than a new one from B&H.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

In 1995 I purchased a Canon EOS Elan camera; the lens kitted with it had a plastic mount. I used that lens off-and-on for the next 11 years, and then used it occasionally with the Digital Rebel that followed it {also kitted with a plastic-mount lens}. Eventually I lost it when I tripped over a root when my camera bag was open because of frequent lens changes, and that lens rolled down into a canyon {for all I know, squirrels could still be using it}. Even the last time I used it, it mounted snugly and worked well.

I would have no concerns at all for a plastic mount if the lens is not one that would be frequently on-the-off the camera.

WayneT Loc: Paris, TN

I got mine from B+H.

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1084644-REG/tokina_at_x_11_20mm_f_2_8_pro.html

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

An ultrawide is a very specialized lens - and very likely not going to be your most used lens. You will get more mileage using a longer focal length lens and doing stitched panoramas. I suggest you explore that possibility before spending $450 on a lens that will be lightly used. When you use an ultrawide lens the images are prone to extension distortion, which when used for real estate results in a false perspective. Extension distortion is mostly not correctable in post processing, though DXO Optics Pro Viewpoint does a decent job at correcting volume anamorphosis, which is another distortion that widens things as they get close to the edges.

When very wide lenses are used for landscape, you end up cropping out lots of sky and foreground, or you tilt lens up to get more sky and less foreground, and end up making corrections in Photoshop to compensate for keystoning.

Lastly, the Sigma has a legendary quality control issue. I went through 6 different copies until I found one that had negligible centering problems. It was damned sharp, and a great lens, The other five were awful. I suspect they have gotten a handle on this issue, but I would still buy from a retailer that doesn't mind working with you to help you get what you want, or deal directly with Ronkonkoma, NY.

Some reading for elaboration:

https://petapixel.com/2016/10/27/stitching-panorama-forget-wide-angle-lens-home/

https://photographylife.com/panoramic-photography-howto/


And this is why shooting groups with an ultra wide is not a good idea, and how you can partially correct the volume anamorphosis in software.

http://www.dxo.com/us/photography/tutorials/understanding-volume-deformation

https://www.alancarvillephotography.com/lesson-1

Carville's advice on focal length is golden - (#2 under Solutions).

I am not saying ultra wides are bad, you just have to know when they are appropriate, and if you do a lot of general, landscape and street photography, that might only be 10% of the time. If you do real estate, you might bump that to 20% if you shoot a lot of small spaces where you have no alternative but to shoot with an ultra wide.

Good Luck! Don't spend money until you are abosolutely sure there is no other way to do what you want.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

That's almost a $100 more than the Amazon ad. So, Amazon is in the Gray Market business, it looks like. But I do realize that Americans are not their only consumers.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Doesn't panorama also create distortion?? Each component is taken at a different angle {you're basically rotating your camera with your body as the axis} so each component will have a {slightly} different perspective.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

I guess you are thinking about parallax, which is not distortion. Yes, if you have elements in the foreground that obscure things in the background, as you turn the lens you will get parallax error. You can counteract that by using a prime lens (you can do it with a zoom, but it is a pain to identify the no-parallax point to use as a pivot) and a nodal pano head.

http://www.johnhpanos.com/epcalib.htm

You don't need a tripod and you don't need a nodal head or rail if you are just doing casual panoramas. But if you are doing real estate interiors, a pano head will help.

Here are some panos I've done, some on tripod others hand-held

45mm hand held

(Download)

58mm, on a tripod

(Download)

45mm on a tripod

(Download)

100mm, on a tripod

(Download)

24mm hand held

(Download)

mborn Loc: Massachusetts

I use a Tokina 17-35 mm lens and it is very sharp

bull drink water Loc: pontiac mi.

because i'm a hobbyist I have more lenses than I need. I have a1-80mm Zeiss for my dx camera and a 24-70mm for my fx camera. I also have a 5.8mm and a 8mm, I bet i'm not alone.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Nikon just brought out a new 10-20, you may want to check this out.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1341603-REG/nikon_20067_af_p_dx_nikkor_10_20mm.html