Papa j wrote:
I have read so much about the Tokina 11-16 F 2.8 and its sharp focus. I have been debating for awhile to buy a used lens. My question is the Tokina 11-20 f2.8 is also considered a good choice. Do any hoggers have any hands on experience with these two lens. Thanks as always
Joe
The Tokina 11-16mm is a very sharp lens... and for a long time was the only choice if you had to have an ultrawide with f/2.8 aperture (most people really don't). But it has its short-comings. First.... and obviously... it has a VERY narrow range of focal lengths. The Tokina 12-24mm f/4 that sold alongside it offered a much wider range of focal lengths, while being approx. the same size and weight.
More problematic is the 11-16mm is VERY prone to flare. Sun or other bright light sources in or near the image area will cause all sorts of veiling flare and ghosts.
Nikon users also need to be aware that the original Toki 11-16mm (and their original 12-24mm) are "motorless" lenses in that mount. No autofocus on a lot of Nikon bodies. Only D7000-series, D500 and up... which have a focusing motor in the camera body... can provide AF with those lenses.
Nikon users who want to use it on a D5000, D3000-series or some other bodies might want the "II" version of either lens, which has a motor built in and will be able to autofocus (in other mounts that were offered there's almost no difference between the original and the II versions of either lens).
The newer Tokina AT-X Pro 11-20mm f/2.8 DX that superseded the 11-16mm solves much of the problems with the earlier lenses. It's a lot less prone to flare, has better contrast and color saturation in challenging lighting conditions AND it has a nicely wider range of focal lengths. It's also a bit larger and heavier (for example, uses 82mm filters while all the other lenses use 77mm). Tokina introduced the 12-28mm f/4 along with it. Both these lenses have built in motors for all mounts offered, including Nikon.
I'd only ask... Do you REALLY need f/2.8? Are you doing a lot of night photography or photojournalism that might call for it? If not, you may want to consider the 12-24mm f/4 or 12-28mm f/4, both of which are considerably less expensive than the f/2.8 lens.
All of them are DX or "crop only" models, designed for use on APS-C sensor cameras. All these Tokina seem very well built. I think they compare well to some premium Canon L-series I've used. My Tokina 12-24mm f/4 reminds me a lot of a Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L USM that I used in the past.
Like most Tokina lenses, they use a somewhat unusual "focus clutch" mechanism. The focus ring slides slightly forward or backward to switch between manual and auto focus. When set to AF, there's no manual focus override possible (as there is with some systems such as Nikon's AF-S "Silent Wave", Canon's USM "Ultrasonic" and similar HSM from Sigma or USD from Tamron). Disengaging manual focus when set to AF "protects" the lens' micro motor mechanism from possible damage that can occur when that type of focus drive is overridden. (Ultrasonic type focus drive tolerates overriding without concern. I think Tokina has one or two lenses using some form of ultrasonic drive... but most don't.)
Tokina lenses also rotate their focus and zoom rings "Nikon style"... That's the opposite direction of Canon and some others. It's a minor thing, that you may or may not even notice.
BTW: Back when the 11-16mm and 12-24mm were in production, THK (Tokina/Hoya/Kenko) was the parent company of Pentax, too. They never offered any of the Toki lenses in Pentax mount... but "rebranded" several as Pentax and charged almost double for them! Supposedly the Pentax versions used different coatings, but they sure looked identical to me! Now that Pentax is owned by Ricoh, who knows.... As of yet, there aren't any Toki lenses being offered for them. Maybe there's a "non compete" clause in the sale contract.