15mm-??? super wide angle zoom 2.8 or less- who makes it?

[hahnphoto]

I'm looking for a 15mm-?? (I don't care, as long as it has a little zoom) super wide angle lens with f2.8 or less.

Or something similar, 12-??? as long as it starts at 15mm or less and has some zoom. Don't forget that f 2.8 or less, I don't want any of those f4 lenses!!! They dont do me any good!

Does this lens exist? If so, who makes it? I am open to any and all suggestions. My credit card is ready and willing, $5-$1000. I want something that has been reviewed well, and is SHARP. Wedding photography. I am motivated to purchase before my next wedding.

 

[DBrim]

No. All of the wide angle zooms that I know of are f/4 or worse.

You can get a 14/2.8 for ~$1500

http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/nikkor_14_28/index.htm

 

[SP77]

Just curious, what are you trying to do where you need both a very wide angle and a large aperture?

 

[hahnphoto]

Indoor low light wedding shots.

At times I'm not ALLOWED to use flash.

 

[MParker]

You have two bodies that do high ISO pretty well. The Nikkor 14/2.8 is around $1400-1500 and the Sigma 14/2.8 is around $800-900.

 

[hahnphoto]

I do set the iso high on the D200's when necessary, but then you get into noise and lots of post processing. I'd rather get nice glass. I thought about the 14mm's, but I like having the ability to zoom for this particular lens use.

I'm already getting the nikon 10.5 fisheye, if it ever gets off backorder

I also have a tamron 28-75 on order, so I'm looking for something to fill the gap. I don't like my current sigma 15-30mm 3.5-4.5.

I thought about a tokina 16-50 2.8??? $650
It overlaps my tamron a bit, but is still very usable.

the Tokina 12-24 would be PERFECT, but it is f4. Not "totally" off my list of possibilities....

And to add to my confusion, there is the tamron 17-50 f 2.8 for $440. Is it really worth $200 extra to go from 17mm to 16mm (see above $650 option).

 

[hahnphoto]

at what mm do you start getting distortion of people? I know this is obvious in the 10.5mm fisheye... hasn't been obvious in my 15mm sigma when used for large group formal portraits (tight spaces)...

 

[TimK]

There are two others that you can consider, not really wide enough for groups but could be useful for portraits - Nikkor 28 f1.4 and 35 f1.4.

 

[hahnphoto]

mmmmmm... f1.4... nice. I'm-a-thinking I might neeeed one of those. I was thinking about a f1.4 50mm to replace my 1.8 50mm, but I can't bear to part with the 1.8, it has been so good to me. It was my first nikon lens and is still kickin on my digital bodies! Still a regular performer! And I read mixed reviews about the sharpness of the 1.8 vs 1.4 50mm. If I get one of your suggested 1.4's I won't have to part with my 50mm.

 

[hahnphoto]

Do you think the 16-50 or 17-50 would be wide enough for large groups in tight spaces?

I am just cautious... I suffered buyer's remorse from a "wide angle" I bought a few years ago that didn't seem even slightly wide when attached to today's digital bodies. I can't remember what size it was... it was sent back.

 

[ultimind]

The 10.5mm fisheye + the Fisheye Hemi plugin (which just got released for Mac. Yay!) works perfectly for big group shots. The plugin was DESIGNED for photographing groups of people with a fisheye and not distorting anyone especially at the edges of the frame where the original image is distorted the most.

 

[hahnphoto]

So I could buy the fisheye, and buy this hemi plugin, and it would work for my group shots without needing to acquire anything else? How much is the hemi plugin and how does it work? Do you have any samples?

 

[ultimind]

$30. I don't have any good group shots on my Macbook, sorry. Their site has some decent examples though. Check it out: http://www.imagetrendsinc.com/products/prodpage_hemi.asp

 

[ultimind]

Ken Rockwell has a decent writeup of it as well:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/fisheye-hemi.htm

Has some good background in regards to Image Trends and their history as Applied Science Fiction.

 

[Clix Pix]

The 28mm f/1.4 has been discontinued by Nikon, and therefore is hard to come by -- and when one does find it, usually it's pretty expensive! EBay sometimes has it....

 

[ultimind]

It's certainly the most affordable ultra-wide "group shot" lens. The problem with shooting with a rectilinear lens is that you're not going to be able to put people at the very edge of the lens without them distorting. A fisheye is the only way to capture a scene with no "distortion".

 

[hahnphoto]

I don't put them at the edge anyway because I have to allow room for common 8x10 crops. How do you figure, a fisheye will capture a scene with no distortion??

 

[ultimind]

Someone can correct me if I'm incorrect, but from what I gather, your vision is not rectilinear. The fisheye is distorting it in the sense that it's taking what your eyes can see and wrapping it up into a 3:2 aspect ratio. Properly unwrapped, a fisheye is not distorted.