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ok, heres the deal, i need a WA lens. i have a d300 now and will be adding , (ie: keepng the d300 and DX), the d700 in say 6-9mnths. unless canon blow me away with the DR of the 6d that is but i digress...

i dont do alot of landscapes, i will be using it more for portrait style stuff and some action shots. nothing too demanding. i want the lens to be sharp. i can deal with barrel distortion but i cant handle a fuzzy lens. it drives me up the wall.

so, my options in FX as far as i can see are:
17-35 - very good and i can use filters but imo, not worth the asking price.
14-24 - blows me away, but no filters concerns me a little and the price is scary
20/2.8 - not particualrly impressed with what i've seen so far. and its not really THAT wide.

another option is to pick up the tokina 11-16 and only use it with the d300. the performance to price is excellent. i know i shouldnt be looking at DX lens' but really, i'll be keepign the d300 for a pretty long time so its not tht much of an issue i dont think ?? if i go the tokina for say $750, then i can also pick up the 85/1.4 AF-S, (yes, i'm guessing its gonna be released very soon), for probably the same price as i can pick up the 14-24.

and another option is to wat for nikon to revise the 20/2.8 into something that performs much better.

i think i'm over confusing myself and could do with some chit-chat to clear my head.

What about a second hand Sigma 10-20mm

i sold the siggie recently. loved it but was just not sharp enuf for what i want to use it for.
if i go for a DX lens then it will be the tokina 11-16.

Rooz, if you are interested in a Nikon 12-24mm DX wide angle, I have one still for sale. Available now for only $750.00. Poon's price for a new one is presently $1,154.00. Buy this and you will still be able to afford the 85mm lens.

hmm 14-24 vs Tok 11-16 now this is one that i have to listen in on as well!

I cant afford anything atm, but i reckon that if i got the 11-16 i would love it but be annoyed that i have added another DX lens to my kit, I do want to go FX with my next body and have a few film bodies that I use. Which leads me back to the 14-24.

Rooz maybe you should bite the bullet and get the scary priced, no filter 14-24 cause you will want to use the 14-24 on your soon to be purchased D700.

i done gone done it. ECS looked after me pretty well...i was surprised. i spent the morning experimenting with the 14-24 and 17-35 and the 14-24 just blows it out of the water.
first impressions are that its just so sharp its mindboggling. i cant believe the resolving ability of it. not as big and heavy as i thought it would be either. quite comfortable to hold with a d300.

build quality is superb as you'd expect, AF is so fast and quiet i could not hear it working AT ALL.

thanks for putting up with my stupidity. lol

Rooz, you will not be sorry. Careful you don't cut youself with it though, it is just unbelievably sharp.
I love my 14-24 if you didn't guess.

Cheers
John

I just love problems that resolve themselves. Enjoy that new hunk of glass and don't scratch it.

For the most part, I have managed to get my lust for new lenses fairly much under control, but the 14-24 is one that still manages to get past my defences!

Enjoy the new lens, and I look forward to seeing you post some pics taken with it.

Rooz wrote:thanks for putting up with my stupidity. lol

Serious questions deserve real consideration.

I think that in selecting the 14-24, you dun good.

the resolving power of this lens is astonishing. i've never seen colour, contrast and sharpness this good SOOC with any lens.
this is a 50% crop, (cropped out the right/ bottom). flower positioned top left of frame in corner. look at the centre of the flower hows that for sharpness thru the frame ? by God...lol

something tells me i made th right decision, cant wait to give this thing a real run. the NAS God is hard...but he is fair. lol

http://www.flickr.com/photos/10435080@N ... 0/sizes/o/

60% crop. fully extended, wide open, MFD, ambeint light. no PP, (yes i know the WB is out and its a bit underexposed... ), i stupidley left the incam sharpening on. no matter. this is quite simply the most outstanding lens i've ever used. actually...outstanding does not do it justice....and given my crap landscape skills, i'm afraid i may not do it justice either. lol

if you're not as stunned as i am, then you should be and if you're considering this lens but havent made up your mind....dont be an idiot, go buy it.