[Z3F]

Looking for sharp wide lenses, I have nikon but can of course consider addon mounts, was looking at the 16-35 but pretty pricey. Was also looking for any voigtlander or zeiss. You have any experience with ultra wide sharp lenses?

[lcburns]

From somewhat-wide to ultrawide:
28mm ai-s (not ai) version is sharp
20mm f3.5 voigtlander
The 16-35 has too much barrel distortion at 16mm but is sharp
14-24 unbeatable if you have the money
14mm samyang is relatively cheap and sharp but has horrible distortion too
manual focus nikons 15mm f3.5 or 5.6 are quite hard to find but have almost zero distortion.

[Scottbad]

Nikon 10-24 is apparently quite good if you're using DX format. Minimal distortion and sharper than most around the edges.

Although, if you're using FX format then I highly recommend the 14-24mm 2.8, its apparently got next to no distortion and is sharp from 2.8 throughout.

[Z3F]

Thanks for the support and advice!

Now I can't decide between the Voigtländer 20mm f/3.5 and the Voigtländer 40mm f/2 which I was expecting to buy for a few days ago. Now I can't decide between those or the Nikon 28mm f/2.8 AI-s and the Nikon 20mm f/2.8 (NIKKOR AI-s).

If you compare at http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/comparis.../index.htm you see that the latter (Nikon 20mm f/2.8 (NIKKOR AI-s)) has the advantage. Im a bit confused. What do you say?

[lcburns]

First hint. Pixel peeping far corners of wide lenses wide open is essentially fruitless. Why?
1) Corner performance wide open doesn't necessarily translate to stopped-down performance
2) If you care much about absolute corner to corner sharpness for large prints - you will likely be both a) Using a tripod and b) Stopping down
3) If you're trying to go with some kind of shallow DoF deal, you'll be like 12 inches from your subject and the corners are going to be out of focus anyway
The Voight' is giving you the most information in those examples and (maybe too) contrasty to boot.
So - pixel peep these things at like f/5.6 - f.11

[Z3F]

Thanks man, I don't plan to print huge or pixelpeep on the ends. But a quick question, which one would you prefer?
Voigtländer 20mm f/3.5
vs
Voigtländer 40mm f/2
vs
Nikon 28mm f/2.8 AI-s and the Nikon 20mm f/2.8 (NIKKOR AI-s)
The reason I included the 40mm is that its somewhat better for low light than the 20mm variant.

[lcburns]

I tend not to care about autofocus, particularly with wider lenses. With that said, the 40mm would be my favourite from that group. Caveat being I like that focal length and it would be used more.

The C/V 20mm would be 2nd choice and would make me happy to be using the advantages of an FX sensor at a great price point with a really nice rendering.

If you're planning on being a working photographer and just needed to hit shots for a living, go with the Nikkor.

[J0nes]

What you want is the 14-24 nikkor, it is the sharpest wide angle zoom pretty much on the market of any maker. Don’t waste your money on anything else I would advise regularly checking for used or refurbished lenses on Amazon.

[Z3F]

Well that 14-24 is pretty neat but the price tag compared to the others we talked about is .. huge. And I also doubt that that this Nikkor 14-24 would be much sharper than the 40 mm Voigtlander. Or is there any comparison? I should send that kenRockass a mail and ask what he thinks about all this, since he has tested or apparently have more experience than us with these lenses.

[Toad]

Voigtlander 20 would be my choice from that group - but I don't actually have the lens so my opinion is worth what you paid for it. Zig has done some amazing work with a 21mm and could add real value to this discussion. Zig?