D40 Wide Angle question

[erickaye]

Buying my first wide angle lens for my D40x in an Ikelite housing, and a little unsure of which way to go. From what I can tell, there are 4 options that will autofocus with the D40, and they all seem to have some drawbacks.

Nikon AF-S DX 10-24mm f/3,5-4,5 - main drawback being the price. Almost double the others.
Sigma 10-20mm - this apparently has no zoom control in an ikelite housing. How big a deal is this? Does lack of zoom control defeat the purpose of this lens, or would I keep it fixed at 10mm 99% of the time?
Tokina 12-24 f/4 AT-X 124 PRO DX II - this needs a separate port from the standard 6" dome, which costs an extra $200
Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-4.5 Di II LD - this lens apparently has the weakest optics of the 4

Any thoughts? Do I really need to spend $800 for the Nikon, or is the Sigma fixed at 10 (or 12) a decent option?

Help!

Eric
D40x, Ikelite Housing, Ikelite DS-160 strobe, Nikkor 60mm, Nikkor 18-55mm

 

[mike_s]

I've got the Sigma 10-20mm HSM and use it on a D40 w/o problems.

however, I've not used it in a housing.



Is the nikon lens better? probably. is it $400 better? no, not in my opinion.

If you buy any Sigma lens for use with the D40, just make sure it's HSM so that auto-focus will work. HSM on Sigma is the same as AF-S on Nikon.

as for the Tokina and Tamron lens you noted above, I don't know if they have the focus motor internally to the lens or not, but you need to verify that before buying if you want auto focus.

 

[erickaye]

All 4 of the models listed will autofocus on the D40.
Has anyone used any of them underwater in an Ikelite housing?

 

[Mariozi]

Nikon 10-24 as an alternative to he rectilinear ones.
TOkina 10-17 against the 10.5mm?

 

[erickaye]

But neither the Tokina 10-17 nor the Nikkor 10.5 will autofocus on the D40. Hence the problem...

 

[Larry C]

The 10-17 will focus from about 3" to infinity. I wouldn't worry about auto focus.

 

[Chuck Tribolet]

FWIW, Adm. Linda uses the prior Nikon 12-24 with her D40 in an Aquatica
housing, and it works. Mostly she shoots it at 12mm, or regrets that she
didn't.

Howard Hall said (roughly): To take good pictures underwater, first
remove as much water as possible between the lens and the subject.

That translates: go as wide as possible and just get close. REAL close.

My favorite WA lens on my RS is the 13mm (that's an 8.66 mm for you
crop sensor folks) (and oh, BTW, it was designed with the water as an
optical element. TACK SHARP, CORNER TO CORNER.

 

[scottfiji]

hey Larry - that's the range of focus, but not necessarily the depth of field, which depends on the aperture.

 

[Larry C]

hey Larry - that's the range of focus, but not necessarily the depth of field, which depends on the aperture.

Pardon my ignorance of the D40, but AFAIK you can adjust aperture even without a focus motor, can't you? Since the focus of the camera is on the virtual image, and the lens can focus close enough to focus inside the dome, AF shouldn't matter, should it? Not trying to be contrary or anything, so please correct me if I'm mistaken.