UKH

Got a basic Nikon D310 DSLR lying there doing nothing, and want to stick a wide angle on it for mountain photography. Don’t want to spend much, any suggestions?  Will go second hand. 

Sigma 10-20mm f3.5 EX DC HSM Lens in a Nikon fit, can get them for around £100 second hand from the quick search that I did. 

The other thread on the Nikon film camera got me thinking I’m needing to get rid of my Nikon camera stuff. One possibility maybe for you to think about is an old model Nikkor or similar lens?

Since it’s landscape, if you are happy with say manual focus, or manual aperture setting, etc, depending on the spec of the lenses, the old Nikon lenses would be cheap and good value for money if only for occasional use. Probably still get through the lens metering depend on the camera lens compatibility (but obviously manual settings on lens of some nature).

Just a thought. I’ve not used Nikon for years so can’t suggest a wide angle lens, sorry. 

Not that it is wide angle, but I am going to be getting rid of a AF Nikkor 35-70mm which is an AI-S spec lens.

I had the Sigma 10-20 lens mentioned above but I found it a bit soft so went for the Tokina 11-16m f/2.8 which is definitely a bit sharper. I got mine 2nd hand quite a few years ago and feel it performs very well so was good value for money.

I see there's a used one on MPB at the moment for only £149 which is a steal. I'm sure I paid round about £250-280 maybe 10 years ago.

UKC a bit wonky right now and lost my

reply. short version. Wide angle filter cheap and cheerful

I presume you mean the D3100. This does place a few restrictions on any older lenses as this camera will not drive lenses without their own motor. I always find going too wide makes landscape photography a bit flat, so 18-24 mm on a DX camera would be my choice. 

https://www.thediaryofanomad.com/best-nikon-d3100-lenses/

Ive used the Tokina 11-16mm lens in the past on Nikon DX camera's and it is a brilliant lens, Tokina are vastly underrated and much better (at that time) optically than sigma, They have rather agricultural bodies but very good optics.

https://www.mpb.com/en-uk/product/tokina-11-16mm-f-2-8-at-x-pro-dx-nikon-fi...

In 2016 I bought the Nikon 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5G ED AF-S which has been a fabulous lens which I still use today. Was expensive back in 2016 but it’s a lot cheaper now. I wrote a review about it whilst comparing it to other rival lenses available at the time. I’ll add the link below (if it works) but you’ll easily find it on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/customer-reviews/RQ4T7NGBC9NHX/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_r...

That's a very helpful and detailed review! And after reading it and seeing the current price of the Nikkor, if I were looking for an UWA lens I'd probably get that rather than the Tokina. Having said that, the Tokina is f/2.8 and I do shoot a lot of interior shots, fully wide open so with today's prices, that might make the decision a bit less one-sided!

But to the OP, if you're using a D3100 body and are short on cash, I'd probably still go for the Tokina.

You are too kind Although I don’t know the current price of the Nikkor 10-24mm, I’m sure it's quite competitive to that of the Tokina. For me personally, I wanted the widest lens available at the time and at any cost, providing it performed well in all outdoor conditions. Although it was originally purchased, and well used for my many trips in the Alps, it’s still an amazing lens for internal shots. 

Here is a link to my Flickr account for both readers of this thread and the OP to see some of the pictures I’ve taken using the lens.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/154809313@N04/
 

I don't think I'd personally want to go too wide for mountain landscapes (speaking generally); I think I'd only see use out of the Nikon 10-24mm (or similar focal lengths) at the long end of the range. I've just walked through the Pyrenees with a 27mm prime (on an APS-C sensor) with good results; I'd recommend something in the 18-50mm ballpark, though I can't give you good advice on specific lenses.

 Too wide generally results in a flat frame that contains many mountains but little interest, in my personal opinion. I always wanted the Nikon 10-24mm, but for climbing photography rather than mountains.

Are you interested in trying a Nikon 24mm f2.8 AI-S lens? I have one I don't use much

It'll work on your DSLR (hoorah for f-mount compatibility) but you'll have to manually focus and expose. 

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts. I was talking rubbish about the camera: it’s a Nikon D3200. I’d had my big Sigma lens glued to it until I got a second hand d810. I’ve found the lens it came with and will give that a bash. I’ve done very little mountain photography with my dslr, but plan on doing more walking, and hence more hill photography. Will see how I get on and may invest in the Tokina. 

I agree with this. A good bit of advice I was given is that that a wide lens is not to get lots of mountains in, but rather to get one mountain in when you are close to it. There are plenty of exceptions though! I carry a 10-24, an 18-55 and a 55-200 in the mountains, but if I only took one it would definitely be the 18-55. And photos can always be stitched.

My favourite lens (because I am lazy) is the Nikon 18-200mm VR (I or version II, think I have V1) (<600g) . It does everything with great optics. The 18-300 is similar size and weight, but fetches a bit more. I can't imagine needing less that 18mm in the mountains as you're rarely going to be that close, so sure you might get a lot of mountains in the shot, but the viewer won't be drawn to them.

But if you really did want to get closer, then I would probably go for the Nikon 12-24mm (<500g).

I wouldn't want to carry both and change in the mountains (again, lazy).

I've used a Tokina 12-24mm (ATX Pro ii, I think) which can be got relatively cheap, sold mine for about £100. Really useful focal range and took 95% of my photos with this lens, loved it. Decided to upgrade to the newer and highly rated Tokina 11-20mm f2.8, but I've not had chance to use it in anger yet.