Nikon 10.5 or normal UWA for trip to Chicago?

[hoousi]

Hello!

This is my first thread, though I've been scanning this forum extensively for at least one year which was extremely helpful thanks to the big and friendly knowledge on this site and which led up to my current gear. Due to having a young family to feed :wink: I must be careful on my choices, another problem is the lust for FF maybe already end of next year, so I'm hesitant about spending much on DX lenses, also reselling in Switzerland is not very profitable, I just sold my 35 F2 for half the price I had bought it one year ago. Unfortunately the 1424 is out of my reach at present.
At present I'm thinking about getting a UWA for a trip to Chicago, but hesitating between the gorgeous fish eye or mainly the Sigma 10-20 (budgetwise). Or should I wait out and be content with 18mm at the wide end for city scape and continue dreaming about a D700 with a 1424.... :Love:
I will be happy about any thoughts and input.
I may ad that the former and present 35 sit on my D60 more than 90% of the time.

Thank you in advance!

 

[Weston]

For city photos, you will want a super wide or a fisheye. Both are great lenses, and if you plan to wait for the D700 with 14-24, you will miss alot of photos between now and then.

 

[TedB]

One other thought is if you could find a used 17-35, this may not only fit your pricing but also keep you prepared for FX. Granted its not as wide as the 10-20 you are considering but if you can buy it for the right price it may work for you.

 

[LSSE]

both are good for cities with tall buildings and other structures, but the normal UWA will serve you for more general purposes after the trip. Some people will defish their fisheyes and call it a day but your IQ will suffer if you do that.

I own the D700 w/14-24 and as incredible as it is, the basic compositions of images I take are also possible with a DX 10-20mm like the sigma. Sure, it won't look exactly the same and if you're pixel inspecting you'll surely find differences but you get all the enjoyment of UWA photos.

On the other hand I get what you're saying about not wanting to invest in DX glass. But unless your move to full frame is within the next one or two years, I wouldn't sweat a lens which you get to use a lot.

 

[adaml]

Chicago is my home and I photograph the architecture here all the time, with either my 12-24 or 17-35 depending upon which body I'm using at the time.

Personally, I find fisheye lenses a nice novelty, but not something I would use for keepsake photoes.

From what I understand, the Sigma 10-20mm is an excellent lens, and I'm sure you would enjoy taking photoes of my hometown's beautiful architecture with it.

 

[Tim W]

See if you can find a used Sigma 10-20 or Nikon 12-24DX and then sell it off later if you move totally to FX. The Sigma is quite an OK lens for casual usage only.

 

[pacent]

How long are you planning to be in Chicago for and what part of the city will you be staying? An option would be to go to Helix Cameras or Calumet Camera (both have downtown locations) and just rent the lens you want to use. A weeklong rental of the 10.5mm fisheye or the 12-24mm is very reasonable at Helix for only 60 dollars a week. I have walked in and rented from them without a problem as long as I leave a credit card number as a deposit. Just make sure to call ahead and confirm that they have the lens you want in stock.

 

[hoousi]

Wow, thank you for your input, that was crazy fast!
I like the idea of renting in Chicago, like that I can even try two lenses maybe. I will be staying at lower wacker drive at the river, so a footwalk from downtown shopping. With renting I can do shopping, eat well and end up with nice photos, which sounds great. Is helix far away?

 

[pacent]

Helix's rental office is at

310 South Racine Avenue
Chicago, IL 60607

If you're by the new Trump hotel, its a little over 4km away.

 

[davidC]

you can buy my 10-20 haha

but the renting option is quite good.