Ed Chu wrote:
anyone use them ?; I am considering one for my Nikon D810 ( but, even Canon users can respond ); in the close, cramped quarters particularly of some European cities, are they beneficial enough to be worth lugging them around; they look heavy, and, are expensive ( I know, I could rent one )
They're not particularly heavy, but they are expensive. I have the 24, 45 and 85 and use them almost all the time while traveling. You have the right idea renting, though. Don't waste your money on the Rokinon ones - they are ok, but not as good as the Nikkors.
This is a quick comparison between a 14mm (14-24) lens, and a 24 PC-E with 4 images shot and merged as a stitched panorama. You can see the volume deformation and extension distortion I always complain about with the 14mm lens, and how much less it is with the stitched image. I used lateral shift to get 3 of the images, than rotated the camera a bit to get the last shot.