Has anyone done a comparison of the Tokina ultra wide 13mm rectilinear fixed focal length lense vs. the much more expensive Nikon 13 mm rectilinear lense. I have a D-1 and shoot panoramic scenes in Quicktime. Is the difference, (if there is one) worth the difference? Can the difference be equalized in Photoshop?

-- Scott Sherman (interactivephotos@home.com), May 14, 2000

Answers

I agree with Darron - you don't get something for nothing. That said, he's also right that it's ultimately up to your pocketbook. If you can find samples of both lenses locally, it'd be very worthwhile to shoot a couple of test shots to see if you notice any difference. - Darron's also right that there's no cure for poor sharpness after the fact.

We tested a range of lenses on the D1 when we had it here, and I confess to being surprised by how obvious the differences in sharpness were between the high-end Nikon glass and lower-end products from either Nikon or third parties. - My Nikkor 35-85mm consumer lens was significantly softer than my 105mm F/2.8 Micro Nikkor, which was razor sharp. Likewise, my Tamron 28-300mm "vacation lens" was clearly a *lot* softer than the pro Nikon lenses.

I think that digicams are tougher on lens quality than film photography, both due to the "sampling" that the CCD pixels do, and to the very small size of the pixels themselves.

Ultimately though, there's no substitute for a test: On the one hand, you're paying partly for build quality, partly for optical quality, and partly for the Nikon name. On the other hand, based on other lens tests we did, it certainly does look as though the D1 benefits from having the best optics you can afford. (Pretty equivocal, but hopefully still of some use.)

-- Dave Etchells (web@imaging-resource.com), May 15, 2000.

When it comes to lenses you get what you pay for. PhotoShop cannot add sharpness that does not exit on the original image. Whether the Nikon is worth the price difference is entirely up to you and your bank balance.

-- Darron Spohn (dspohn@photobitstream.com), May 14, 2000.