Hey guys,

I'm taking my first trip back to Las Vegas since I've gotten heavily into photography. I am wanting to rent a wide angle lens for the trip. I currently dont have one, in fact...the widest lens of mine coming with me will be my 50 f/1.8. I can make do with the 50mm for the candid stuff and general picture taking. And I also have a 70-200 that I also plan to bring. So who has experience with these lenses? how much distortion am I lookin at with each one? I know an f/4 will do me outside but how about inside? There are some solid photographers on here, I trust your advice.

NOTE: cropped sensor (D300)

1. Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8

2. Nikon 12-24mm f/4

3. Nikon 14mm f/2.8

4. Tokina 12-24mm f/4 pro

 

The only wide zoom I have experience with is the Sigma 10-20. Here are some shots taken at the 10mm setting, showing a range of "distortion" depending on what you're shooting:

 

Thanks!

Where is that 3rd pic taken at?!?!

 

That f2.8 lens ought to be decent indoors. Remember the 1/focal length rule really works in your favor at these focal lengths. You may not be able to shoot quite that slow but 1/20th should be doable. The only thing to worry about then is security. Casino security heavily frowns on photographing on the casino floor.

 

All of the photos were from a trip to Alaska last summer. The shops along the water, as well as the totem poles, are in Ketchikan. The first picture is of Mendenhall Glacier outside Juneau, and the landscape is from inside Denali National Park.

 

as to the lenses you mention, here's a good review of the Nikkor 12-24:
http://bythom.com/1224lens.htm

on the other hand ken rockwell, who generally has to be taken with a grain of salt, is in love with the Tokina 11-16 f/2.8.
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm

for the extra stop of light, and given that most of what happens in vegas happens at night, this could be your best bet.

 

Man, Rockwell is in love with that Tokina isnt he?

With the way he has it laid out, im not sure how he could pull off a decent review of the Nikkor? lol.

 

Decided to go with the Tokina 11-16 f/2/8, it came down to these two lenses but I decided Tokina for these reasons....


The Nikon 12-24 f/4 has been reviewed to be a bit soft near the edges, I dont recall anyone saying it vignetted very bad just a bit soft. Its also a bit more expensive to rent, but this is all trivial, the real reason lies here...

The Tokina reviewed better, this probably has to do with the price point, but it has been rumored to be just as sharp as the Nikon center, and sharper at the edges. The f/2.8 is a main factor as well, although I dont see myself shooting wide open that often in Vegas with this particular lens. But again, all this is trivial, here is the real reason...

The Tokina is a lens I would consider buying, the Nikkor is quite a bit more pricey and a bit out of my range for all I'd use it for. So I'm going to be using this as a test drive so to speak.

www.borrowlenses.com
www.lensrentals.com

Are the two sites that I'm gonna use.

 

after the rental post up your thoughts

 

Ended up renting the Sigma 10-20 f/4, when I went to rent the tokina both places would'nt have it back til the 11th.