• After witnessing the continued decrease of involvement in the SpotterNetwork staff in serving SN members with troubleshooting issues recently, I have unilaterally decided to terminate the relationship between SpotterNetwork's support and Stormtrack. I have witnessed multiple users unable to receive support weeks after initiating help threads on the forum. I find this lack of response from SpotterNetwork officials disappointing and a failure to hold up their end of the agreement that was made years ago, before I took over management of this site. In my opinion, having Stormtrack users sit and wait for so long to receive help on SpotterNetwork issues on the Stormtrack forums reflects poorly not only on SpotterNetwork, but on Stormtrack and (by association) me as well. Since the issue has not been satisfactorily addressed, I no longer wish for the Stormtrack forum to be associated with SpotterNetwork.

    I apologize to those who continue to have issues with the service and continue to see their issues left unaddressed. Please understand that the connection between ST and SN was put in place long before I had any say over it. But now that I am the "captain of this ship," it is within my right (nay, duty) to make adjustments as I see necessary. Ending this relationship is such an adjustment.

    For those who continue to need help, I recommend navigating a web browswer to SpotterNetwork's About page, and seeking the individuals listed on that page for all further inquiries about SpotterNetwork.

    From this moment forward, the SpotterNetwork sub-forum has been hidden/deleted and there will be no assurance that any SpotterNetwork issues brought up in any of Stormtrack's other sub-forums will be addressed. Do not rely on Stormtrack for help with SpotterNetwork issues.

    Sincerely, Jeff D.

Need some advice on lens

Joined
Dec 18, 2003
Messages
162
Location
White Rock, BC, Canada
I would like to get some advice on what type of lens I would need to be able to take some decent pictures while out on a chase. I just bought a nikon d3100 and got a 20-120mm f4 lens and was curious if that would do the job or do I need something in the 10-20mm range?
 
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I would get the Tokina 11-16 F2.8. I have one for my T2i and I love it. It's great for structure shots up close.
 
I'd go with the tokina 11-16. f2.8 is great in low light. Also, it's as sharp and contrasty as any other wide angle in its class. (perhaps the best for a nikon crop censor) Only other lens I'd think about is the sigma 8-16mm, but that gets no faster than f4.5 . . . still great optics, though.

To answer your original question... yeah, you could make due with that. 20mm is still relatively wide and you'll rarely if ever want to go past 120mm -- the wide angled lenses really are sweet with storm chasing though... (for obvious reasons)
 
If you want to save a couple hundred dollars, the Tokina 12-24 is incredible. Edge-to-edge sharpenss that rivals the Canon 10-22 - IQ is great, and a larger focal range than the 11-16.
 
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That wall cloud was shot with the Tokina 12-24 f/4, the older version. I shot that in the Dixie Alley outbreak last April near the Mississippi River. The storm motion was about 50mph, so I didn't have time to tripod the camera before shooting. The extra stop of the 11-16 f/2.8 would have been welcome, but I still had some room to bump up the ISO and didn't do it even though I should have. The 12-24 f/4 is a more than adequate lens, and a great value for under $400.
 
The sigma 10-20mm should always be in the conversation as well (especially for those looking for a slightly cheaper wide angle option). For the ~$400 (often less) it costs you get a 10mm lens with decent optics. It did however suffer from some quality control issues but it is and always will be a great lens for the money. I would grab a Tokina 11-16 if money permits however.
 
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