Ultrawide decisions...

[Lonnie Utah]

So I'm in a pickle. I know that I'm going to be picking up the A77 this fall when it comes out. Since it's APS-C and most of what I do is landscape work, I know I'm going to have to get a Ultrawide. The question is, which one.

A couple of factors. I've consolidated my most of filter kit down to 77mm filters. This works well, as I'm usually hiking and this way I don't have to carry redundant filters. I use the lee system with 100mm filters and 77mm adapter ring. I also hope to use this lens on the NEX with the LA-EA1. So, SSM or HSM would be a plus as it would get me AF.

So with those factors in mind, here we go...

The Minolta/Sony offering get's good reviews on dyxum, the native system and 77mm. The down side is it's a F/4.5-5.6 lens and only focuses to 25 cm. Cost for the sony is about $600-$700 US and I've seen the Minolta for about 1/2 that.

The Tokina gets good reviews, goes to F/2.8 has the 77mm filter ring, and the min focus distance of 30 cm. The price is about the same as the Sony.

There is a tamron offering, but the tokina is superior, so I'm skipping it.

There are also two Sigma offerings. Both are HSM, so they would AF with my nex.

Sigma 10-20 F3.5 EX DC HSM: Focuses to 24 CM, but has an 82 MM filter and due to the curvature of the front glass, the Sigma 8-16 F4.5-5.6 DC HSM cannot accept outside filters at all, but goes R E A L L Y w i d e.

Weight on all of these is pretty close to the same, roughly 500 grams.

Right now my gut is to go with the Tokina, and if I have to use the nex, just use focus peaking. This isn't a situation that's I'm going to encounter very often, and I have a feeling I'll be using filters way more often.

Ideas? What would you do?

L

[agorabasta]

There are also two Sigma offerings. Both are HSM, so they would AF with my nex.

No they won't! They only hunt and never lock. Only the Sony SSM/SAM may lock with adapter.

That said, the best UWA are manual primes by Samyang, the 14f2.8 rectilinear and the 8mm fisheye. But in most cases you don't need any AF at UWA, not even to mention that AF precision with UWA is below any imaginable criticism.

[Lonnie Utah]

No they won't! They only hunt and never lock. Only the Sony SSM/SAM may lock with adapter.

This is not my experience. My sigma 70-200 F/2.8 HSM locks just fine with the adapter.

I'm not looking at primes, but thanks anyway for the info.

[agorabasta]

You may have one lucky exception with your Sigma. But try googling for Sigma HSM AF on LA-EA1...

Of those primes compared to UWA zooms, I must say that it's like having twice the pixel count - that huge is the resolution benefit. And it sure compensates for the lack of zoom, as you may zoom by cropping.

[Lonnie Utah]

You might need to google a bit more yourself. It looks like a mixed bag for the sigma lenses. Some yes, some no.

Dave K got similar results as I did. From this site, http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/vie ... 589#p46589

[agorabasta]

It would seem that Sigma teles have a better chance to AF on Nex.

AFAIK, David also checked the 8-16 and it didn't AF, quite as expected. Just search this site.

But just never mind, AF on UWA is close to useless unless you focus very close and get some shallow DOF. Otherwise it's pure harm.

[Dusty]

Lonnie,

I faced this same dilemma, http://www.photoclubalpha.com/forum/vie ... =27&t=5353 and for me, it seems the Sigma 8-16 would be best. But people really rave over the Tokina 11-16, and I would probably get that one if I were in your shoes.

Dusty

[Lonnie Utah]

Seem's like there is one that I missed. The "old" siggy variable app. It 77mm and has HSM, so win, win. It might be worth a look for a used one on e-bay. If I didn't like it, I could always flip it.

Note: Some of sigma's older lenses aren't SLT compatible, but sigma will apparently rechip them for free...

[DrScottNicol]

I recently sold a Tamron 10-24 and replaced it with the tokina 11-16 and am very happy that I did.. but the Tokina is not without its quirks. Its sharp in the centre wide open at 2.8, step it down a little and its sharp corner to corner but the autofocus can be a little fickle - some of my shots were softer than I expected, particularly when focussing on more distant objects. Then I read somewhere that the AF accuracy with this lens was better when it went from close to infinity than focussing from infinity to close up. I haven't done a definitive scientific test of this BUT I've started focusing on my hand in front of the lens before each shot and my AF hit rate appears to have drastically improved. Also, note that it suffers from a bit of flare and CA (the CA is easy to cprrect though) and although its not that old, appears to be an old design (screwdrive AF motor, 6 pins rather than 8 etc).

Overall though, despite its quirks, I'm very happy with this lens - I've haven't tried it on my NEX but it works well on my a55 and imagine it will make a good companion for the a77.

a55, Tokina at 16mm 1/20s f2.8 iso 400 - Natural history museum, London


Scott