Wide Angle Lens

[bobski1]

Currently have a Nikon D3300 and have been using a Sigma 18mm-300mm telephoto lens which has met my needs until now. I have found myself doing a bit more landscape photography as well as people at events.

Question is what kind of lens is best to buy which would suit those. I didn't get the camera with the 18mm-55mm lens (starting to think I should have) but I have been looking at something like this:
https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/used-equipment/used-phot...

I have also seen some fixed lenses (primes?) and have seen this 35mm:
https://www.argos.co.uk/product/8491006?cmpid=GS00...la-482695215018|crid:86885962010|nw:g|rnd:797016898427860871|dvc:c|adp:1o2|mt:|loc:9045999&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvo2sl4uT4AIVz73tCh1OYAYXEAQYAiABEgIJqvD_BwE

Not sure if fixing at 35mm is the right lens though? Any thoughts/input please?

[eltawater]

It depends on what you consider to be wide-angle. Bear in mind that you're on a crop sensor so your field of view is already restricted compared to full frame.

Many purists stick rigidly to the idea that anything around the 16-35mm length is wide angle, whereas others like myself prefer to go below 16mm.

If you're like me then you'll want something like a Tokina 11-16mm, although you'll be wanting the DX II version with the built in autofocus motor as your D3300 lacks the inbuilt motor. Autofocus is not really a huge issue at this range as you'll most likely be taking pictures of static scenes where you'll have plenty of time to compose and manually focus if need be.

One thing to be bear in mind is that as you head towards the 11mm end is that perspective distortion can get quite weird around the edges. It's not quite fisheye but it can take some getting used to.

The 35mm is a fine lens but it's not what I would normally consider for landscape photography on a crop sensor as it's far too closed in. Just adjust your existing lens to 35mm and have a look to see what it would be like.

Edited by eltawater on Tuesday 29th January 14:06

[Vintage Racer]

I'm using the Tokina 11-20 f2.8 and it's a superb lens and great value for money!

see: https://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/tokina-at-x-11-20-pr...

review: https://kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-20mm.htm


.
my photoblog: https://imageweaver.blogspot.com

[eltawater]

You may also wish to consider a compromise such as a Tamron 17-50 f2.8 on the second hand market which will run rings around the 18-55 kit lens. I'd imagine the 17-55 Nikkor is probably a bit too much out of your price range even second hand.

[Gad-Westy]

Since you already have such a huge range covered with the 18-300, an 11-16 or 11-20, as the others suggest seems to make perfect sense. They're really nice lenses and decent value and would seem to complement what you already have very well.

[cherie171]

The 35mm isn't really wide angle, and although 18mm on the kit lens is fairly wide, I still found I couldn't quite get the shots I wanted with it. I've got the Nikon AF-P 10-20mm, it is compatible with the D3300 with a software update, although it seems the AF-P lenses with your camera won't allow the use of the manual focus when you're in autofocus mode.

Alternatively, I was looking at the Sigma 10-20mm, which I only passed up due to the lighter weight of the Nikon option.

Anything shorter than 10mm, you're straying into fisheye territory, which is a different thing entirely.

[Kewy]

cherie171 said:

Anything shorter than 10mm, you're straying into fisheye territory, which is a different thing entirely.

I'm presuming we're talking when used with a crop sensor? Because I have a 15mm Sigma on a D750 and its very much fisheye!

[Gad-Westy]

Kewy said:

cherie171 said:

Anything shorter than 10mm, you're straying into fisheye territory, which is a different thing entirely.

I'm presuming we're talking when used with a crop sensor? Because I have a 15mm Sigma on a D750 and its very much fisheye!

Someone is propbably going to tell me I'm completely wrong but I think the widest rectilinear DX lens is the Sigma 8-16 and FX is the 12-24. In my opinion both are wider than is strictly necessary!

[Kewy]

Gad-Westy said:

Someone is propbably going to tell me I'm completely wrong but I think the widest rectilinear DX lens is the Sigma 8-16 and FX is the 12-24. In my opinion both are wider than is strictly necessary!

Necessary for what :P

They all have their uses, if only for a bit of creativity.

Rectilinear thats the word I was looking for! My 15mm certainly isn't rectilinear... I'm presuming the flagship Nikon 14-24 is?

[cherie171]

Kewy said:

cherie171 said:

Anything shorter than 10mm, you're straying into fisheye territory, which is a different thing entirely.

I'm presuming we're talking when used with a crop sensor? Because I have a 15mm Sigma on a D750 and its very much fisheye!

Yes, as the D3300 the OP has uses a crop sensor, that's what I was referring to in the whole of my post.

[Kewy]

cherie171 said:

Yes, as the D3300 the OP has uses a crop sensor, that's what I was referring to in the whole of my post.

Gotcha

[SCEtoAUX]

Don't fall into the trap of wanting a wide angle lens to "get more into the shot". Uncle Ken Rockwell is wrong about many things but he's spot on with this:

https://kenrockwell.com/tech/how-to-use-ultra-wide...

By the way, people tend to refer to lenses wider than 24mm (on FX) as "ultra-wide".

[StevieBee]

The Nikon 35mm 1.8 is a cracking lens. It's the cheapest lens Nikon make yet one of the best. As others have said, not really wide angle though. More akin to a 50mm lens on a film SLR. But, once you master it, you can get some really good stuff from it, particularly in low light situations. Regardless of any other requirement, I'd have one of these in the bag anyway.

cherie171 said:

I was looking at the Sigma 10-20mm

Again, a very very good lens for the money. Can get a bit mushy at the extremities but rarely an issue. What's often overlooked on this is the very good correction capabilities in Lightroom should you find the distortion too much.

[Heres Johnny]

Maybe look at a Samyang 14mm manual focus. The focus is no real issue on wide angle, and will produce sharper results than any zoom, certainly in the low £100s. They’re well reviewed for the price. You can always crop in a bit if it’s too wide

[bobski1]

Thank you all for the lens suggestions which was what I was looking for.

I think I may have caused confusion by using the term wide angle, but what I mean is that my telephoto often feels flat when it comes to photos I taken say when I walk around town It's difficult to get all the shot into the frame and usually need to either step further away which loses the shot, so would an Sigma 11-20 or even the Tamron 17-50 help with this as those are the two I have my eye on.

[Tony1963]

There’s absolutely no way you’ll ever have enough lenses to cover every eventuality AND want to carry them. Do you really need to get everything in? You may well do, but a part of the art of photography for me is learning to leave out as much as possible. In fact, I use my 70-200mm on a full frame body for much more urban and landscape photography than my 16-35mm.

Getting everything in with an ultrawide just makes everything look far away. There’s an art to using them to give photos impact.

[bobski1]

I don't think buying a standard 18-55 will give me anything which the telephoto doesnt already except maybe a slightly better F stop hence why I was thinking of something wide angle

[eltawater]

If you don't have someone near you in your part of the world who will let you borrow one, consider renting one instead:

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/product/tokina-n-at...

[Craikeybaby]

If you're finding the 18mm end of your zoom lens too restricting you will need to go for an ultra wide angle lens, something from say 10-12mm to 20mm.

[bobski1]

So having done some searching I have settled on 2 lenses.

For portraits and shooting the small human a 50mm f/1.8 nikon lens

For city/landscape going for a Tonkia 11-20mm

I think they're within budget and will give me what I want, this along the right lines?