lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

I think you are being quite hard on yourself.
For 18mm these are very acceptable, quite good images.
But you are right, an ultrawide does make these sort of scenes "sing" a little better.
It is the ability to have near foreground and horizon in focus that gives them this.
Ignore the long end performance of these lenses.
You buy these purely for their performance at the wide end.
And they are not purely for "getting it all in" although they do that very well.
Where they really shine is when getting up close and personal and still having that mountain framing the view.
Turn it portrait and you have leading lines everywhere.
Looking at the shots you took at 18mm, you will take to these lenses like a duck takes to water.



And this is the one I also recommend as well.
I used to shoot it on a D90 and it did magic work.
And aside from what kymarto says below, I found its flare resistance to be very good, even with the full sun in the image.



kymarto has tried them all so he has the benefit of direct comparison and experience.
If he says the 8-16mm is better than the rest, then I would believe him.
I know of no other poster on UHH who has tried them all.
Having said that - if night skies and Milky Way shots are something you wish to do, then the aspherical element and F/2.8 of the Tokina 11-16mm is probably your better option.
Version 2 has an internal focus motor so should autofocus with your camera.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

I have both the Sigma 8-16 for DX and the 14-24 for FX. The 14-24 is a fabulous lens, with sharpness second to none and an amazing clarity. That being said, it has some drawbacks--it tends to flare easily and 14 is just not that wide on DX. I have shot comparisons between the 14-24 and the 8-16 on DX and FX respectively, and until rather large sizes there is not a big difference. Also the Sigma is wider, going to the equivalent of 12mm on FX.

dcampbell52 Loc: Clearwater Fl

I have the Tamron 10-24 for my D7100 and it is pretty good. You just have to remember that at 10mm it will give a little curve or fisheye but Lightroom takes it out (or most of it) if you put the lens type in when developing. The lens was about half the price of the Nikon 10-24 but the Nikon does NOT fisheye. (NOTE: both Nikon and Tamron lenses are for DX cameras). The Tamron also will close focus to .3 meters (about 1 ft.) so is nice for flowers etc.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I used the Tokina 11-16mm on my D7000. Nice lens, but with a spread of just 5mm, it's a stretch calling it a zoom.

Op3thian

I HIGHLY RECOMMEND the Tokina 11-16mm ultra wide pro!!

I purchased one about 8 months ago for a Noel Kerns Workshop I attended and it RARELY COMES OFF OF MY CAMER!!! Can't say enough about it!! It is a fantastic lens!!!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

For what you are suggesting, I would recommend the latest Tokina 12-28mm f4 . Go to Ken Rockwell's site to see his glowing review of this lens. Cost? about $600

WereWolf1967 Loc: Knoxville, TN

Well, to put my two cents into this thread, I'll just draw on a 70's saying, "different strokes for different folks". Basically it's whatever works for you.

MtnMan Loc: ID

The Nikon 10-24 is the ticket for your camera. You might find a used one within your budget.

MtnMan Loc: ID

The Nikon distorts also at the wide end. If you shoot in RAW, as I do, the camera correction isn't applied. (Or if I use it on my Sony NE-7, which I am now able to do with an adapter.)

So I too use the Lightroom lens correction with the Nikon 10-24.

MtnMan Loc: ID

PS: If you like the nifty fifty you'll love the f1.8 35mm, which is the more appropriate "normal" prime for your sensor size.

GeorgeH Loc: Jonesboro, GA

I've been really pleased with my K mount Sigma 10-20 f4. Really sharp, and with the Lightroom lens profiles such distortion as it has is pretty well removed.

While a fisheye would be fun, I can't imagine using it very much, certainly not enough to justify typical prices.

kymarto Loc: Portland OR and Milan Italy

For more objective comparisons of all these lenses go to lenstip.com and photozone.de. On the latter site check crop lenses for both Nikon and Canon.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

No Photozone test for the Tokina 12-28 ......maybe - too new

lycaean69

Please, also try Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art/HSM and see if it meets your purpose. Can't get any wider field of view than that and it blows the competition away! Excellent for landscape, portrait, studio and street photography. Costs between $300 to $400 so you have a lot of spare changes.

photoninja1 Loc: Tampa Florida

You didn't make your pix downloadable so it's harder to analyse, but pic 1 is just blocked up in the shadows. That's an exposure/processing issue, not a lens problem. Number two could have a little more DOF and more contrast. Again probably not a lens issue.