jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

OK, I've defended my walk around lens (Tamron 16-300) for my d7100 for ages and I still like it. However, I'm going to Morocco next month. We will be in cities, mountains and out on the Sahara so will have multiple types of photo opts. I and be using my Tamron for most of the time but I'm now concerned that I could use something faster as it will be getting dark earlier and around town at night and inside some of the old buildings there will be a lot of interesting stuff. I'm looking at the Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 16-80mm f/2.8-4E ED VR Lens but it's a bit pricey so I want to see what experience any of you have with this lens or if something else may be better. I will only take two lenses as I travel light and no flash equipment. Any help will be appreciated.

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

It's a REALLY good $500 lens.
Unfortunately it costs $1000.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

Thanks--that's about my analysis. Now my problem is do I want a really good $500 lens for $1000?

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

One for the price of two!

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"I'm now concerned that I could use something faster..." Jay since you mentioned a desire for a "good" $500 lens for your Nikon D7100 have you considered the Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8 EX DC OS HSM Zoom Lens for Nikon?
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/689623-REG/Sigma_583306_17_50mm_F2_8_EX_DC.html
I have & use this optic on my D7100 and D7200 for location fashion... It is a constant f/2.8 aperture and regularly allows me to exceed client expectations...

"I travel light and no flash equipment. Any help will be appreciated..." Jay your built in flash on the D7100 is a superb tool with a guide number of 39. I deploy it frequently for subtle fill and even as a key on back-lite scenarios... You can use exposure compensation for both the image sensor and flash output independently... The results can be exceptional if you use iTTL and dial in the precise compensation to generate a pleasing aesthetic. Please explore it's potential...

That said without a considerable investment in experimentation you'll not likely realize even a fraction of what it is capable of... Ultimately you'll likely want to migrate to full manual mode on both the D7100 and the built in flash... However start with iTTL and throttle back the flash to about -0.7 EV that should get you close...

Hope this helps or is at least food for thought... I wish you well on your journey Jay...

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Yes, $1,000 is considerable, but there are alternatives. The $00 Sigma looks good. Look for comparisons of specific lenses.

http://www.techradar.com/news/photography-video-capture/cameras/best-wide-angle-lens-1307770/2
https://shotkit.com/best-wide-angle-lens/
https://www.lifewire.com/best-wide-angle-lenses-to-buy-for-dslr-4071591
https://wiki.ezvid.com/best-wide-angle-lenses

What to do with the W/A once you get it -

https://digital-photography-school.com/5-ways-to-get-creative-with-a-fisheye-lens/
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/wide-angle-lenses.htm
http://photography.tutsplus.com/articles/a-beginners-introduction-to-wide-angle-photography--photo-3765
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/how-to-use-ultra-wide-lenses.htm
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons/ultra-ultrawides.htm
http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-your-wide-angle-lens/

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

You have a conundrum Jay, been there done that too. The latitude of Marrakesh and Casablanca are similar to San Diego so the daylight hours will be similar to what you are use experiencing at home. From my experience, using my 18-200mm f3.5-5.6 Nikon DX lens on my D7200, the slow maximum aperture just does not get the job done in the twilight hours and the 18mm wide end is not wide enough to capture the scenes I want to photograph in narrow streets and inside buildings. My 35mm f1.8 DX Nikon lens on the other hand is able to deal with the low light resonably well if I use the ISO capabilities carefully, however the focal length is not wide enough in tight spaces. As you may know from using your 16-300mm lens, 16mm on a crop sensor camera is not really that wide and therefore for what you anticipate photographing, I would suggest you consider a wider aperture lens and if budget will allow, a much faster lens than a f2.8 that quickly becomes an f4.0 lens as you zoom to the longer focal lengths. Such is the case with the Nikon 16-80mm f2.8-4.0 lens. Just my opinion based on recent experiences trekking around Cairo Egypt which as it happens is almost the same latitude as Casablanca, Marrakesh and San Diego and therefore has much the same lighting at the same hours of the day.
Have a great trip and do post some photos when you return.
Best regards,
Garth

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

Thomas - Thank you for very good ideas. I will look at the Sigma and start playing with my flash. I admit I've been slow to learn that feature so now is a good time to start.

CO

I had that lens. I was disappointed with it and ended up returning it. It's overpriced. Mine had severe back focusing issue on all of my Nikons. I review I read mentioned that also. That's due to manufacturing tolerances and every copy may not be that way. I now have two of the Nikon 16-85mm f/3.5-5.6 lenses. I think it's just as good with a slightly slower max aperture.

jaycoffman Loc: San Diego

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

I'm curious, did you try resolving your back focus issue by fine tuning the lens when you owned it? Was it back focusing on one or all of the focal lengths?

Regards,

Garth

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

The Sigma 17-70 2.8-4 C is a good $500 lens for $450 ......and do not forget the Sigma 18-35 f1.8 - a good $1000 lens for $650 ....

CO

Yes, I did the AF fine tuning. I think I had to set it to -15. That wasn't enough to correct it. I checked it at different focal lengths. It seemed to have that issue at all of the focal lengths. AF fine tuning will go from +20 to -20. All of my other Nikon lenses need only about -3 at the most. Nikon states that large AF fine tuning values can interfere with the autofocus.

Tigger1 Loc: Surrey, BC Canada

Thanks for the reply. I too had been looking at the 16-80mm f2.8-4 but had read many reports that it was an over priced lens with some AF issues. Think I will continue to keep looking for a zoom in the same range.

Garth

pmackd Loc: Alameda CA

I have been very pleased with the Nikon 16-80mm that came with my D500. No focusing issues on D500 and D7100. Yes at $1000. it would be overpriced. With the D500 for $2400. total I figure the 16 - 80 cost me $600., a fair price more or less. So there you go. To get the 16 - 80 at a fair price wait for Nikon to discount the D500 + 16-80 to $2400 again!