What lens would you rent?

[JodyGall]

Hi everyone! I'm so totally stoked! We're heading out to northern California for our yearly trip. This year we'll be going for 18 days. I'm so excited. My hubby is planning on taking me all over so I can take pics (like to the redwoods, ocean cliffs, and I think I overheard him saying something about a castle too). Now there are also tons of vineyards and wide open places close to where his family lives.

So I was thinking I'd like to rent a wide angle lens for part of our trip. Maybe for like 7-10 days or something. Anywhooo....I have a lens in mind...but thought I'd ask on here and see what you all would rent. The main things being for the redwoods and the ocean/cliffs of northern Cali. I'm a Nikon girl, my gear is listed in my siggy, just so ya know. Soooo...what would you rent?

[Chip]

I don't own an ultra-wide, but I do want one.

The Tokina 11-16/2.8 ATX (reviewed here) and the AFS-Nikkor 14-24 mm f/2.8 ED-IF FX (reviewed by one guy here) are both supposed to be fantastic. Both should auto focus on your D200.

The Sigma 10-20mm f/4-5.6 EX DC HSM is also supposed to be quite good, but not quite as fast, if that matters for your trip.

If I had to pick just one, it would likely be the Tokina, because it's fast and almost as wide as the Sigma.

I'm not jealous. Nope. Not one little bit.

[Jim Bryant]

If you are going to rent, get the Nikon brand names. 16-35, or 24-70 and surely a 70-200mm.

[LoveDSLR]

Originally Posted by JodyGall

So I was thinking I'd like to rent a wide angle lens for part of our trip.

Unless you can find a Nikon 10-24 DX (for D200 & D40), you may consider a Sigma 10-20 DC (for D200) or Nikon 12-24 AF-S DX (for D200 & D40).

[mstark70]

Hi Jody, sorry I can not help with your question. You are coming to my neighborhood! I live in Northern CA. I hope you enjoy your visit! I hope you have lots of memory cards or a way to back them up every night because you will take lots and lots of photos! I can't wait to see some of them. Have a safe and wonderful trip!

[inkista]

If it were me? the AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED or a Zeiss ZF Distagon 21/2.8 . But I'm weird and big glass does not scare me. The 12-24 is probably a better travel option, though.

[candleman]

Originally Posted by inkista

If it were me? the AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED .

i'd echo that one ..isnt it 12? ...anyway
you already have an 18mm lens, and a good focal range in your line-up..
but not as wide as a 14mm, or as wide open as an f/2.8.
i think thats a good suggestion

didnt nikon just release a 12mm Dx lens? that could be worth looking into

[Chip]

Originally Posted by candleman

i'd echo that one ..isnt it 12? ...

Nikon makes 2 ultra wide zooms. I think the 12-24 is older and is f/4. The new (and supposedly improved) one is 14-24 and f/2.8. And I'm sure inkista will correct me if I'm off on this.

[inkista]

Being a Canon shooter, I habitually get information wrong when I'm talking about Nikon gear, so relying on me for this kind of info, maybe not so smart.

But yes, Nikon makes both a 12-24 and a 14-24. The 12-24 is f/4 and DX and retails new for about $900. The 14-24 is f/2.8 and FX and retails new for about $1800. Both have AF-S and are G-mount.

I'm only aware of the 14-24 because of the crazies at 16:9 who adapt and test damn near anything for their Canon full-frames to see if they can do better than Canon L glass. The 14-24 was pointed out as one of those rare exceptions that easily outstrips the competition. The closest Canon analog would be the EF 16-35 f/2.8L II, but the 14-24 wipes the floor with it, as well as Canon's 14mm f/2.8L II prime.

The only lens that wasn't bested by the 14-24 was the legendary Distagon 21/2.8 in Contax/Yashica mount. Hence my choices. Which actually makes no sense, since I don't shoot full-frame. Too much reading stuff on the web; not enough going out and shooting. For no really good reason, I keep wanting a Contax Planar 100/2, just 'cause I read this. Maybe if I just go out and shoot the hankering for an E-P1 twin-lens kit will go away, too.

[JodyGall]

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much for all your recommendations everyone. I'm off to look up quite a few of them!

And Michelle, I'm actually going to be a few hours north of you. We fly into San Fran, but then have a 2 hour drive north to my hubby's parents house. They live in Ukiah, CA. We'll be there most of the time, we have a side trip to Redding planned to visit some of DH's friends. And of course, our drive through the redwoods and down the coast (or up, depending on if we do it in a different trip from the Redding one). The furthest north I've been is to Leggit (sp?), and then we drove down the coast on US1 back towards Ukiah, and that was quite awhile ago (in 2007, actually a week after I got my first DSLR). I'm so totally stoked about the trip. Last year when we went, I didn't get to do much 'siteseeing' as DH's mom had a heart attack while we were there. So I'm excited to use my camera gear this trip.