DannyJS Loc: St. Helena Island

Hi Desert Gecko, I'd suggest perhaps look at one or two Sigma Lenses. The Sigma 10 - 20mm f3.5 is a wee bit pricey; (around $649.00) but has come out on top in all the lens reviews I've seen on wide-angle lenses over the last 18 months. (I have the cheaper Sigma 10-20mm version, which I use on my Nikon D5100 & D7100, - which is STILL a great lens). The Sigma 8-16mm is also darned good if you want to go even wider. Happy shooting.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

The 11-16mm is especially popular for night sky photography. Some photojournalists like it for available light work, too. Otherwise, there's not much reason for most people to need f2.8 on an ultrawide. The trade-off to get that larger aperture is the increased tendency to flare and the extremely narrow range of focal lengths.

That said, the difference between the Mark I and Mark II versions is minor for most mounts. With both their 11-16mm and 12-24mm, Tokina made the biggest changes in the Nikon mount version, adding a focus motor to the lens itself (AF-S, in Nikon terminology). In other mounts such as Canon and Sony there is little difference between Mk I and Mk II, they already had AF motors in all of them (and cost a little more than the Mk I Nikon mount version)... probably just got minor changes to the coatings in the Mark II versions.... Which in turn was probably just Tokina consolidating manufacture because they were making the Pentax branded versions of these lenses too (never offered a Tokina branded version in Pentax mount, and justifying the much higher price of those as due to having "better coatings". That was at the time that THK (Tokina-Hoya-Kenko) owned and operated Pentax, too.

If the 11-16mm is too prone to flare, you might consider the Tokina 12-24/4 instead (now superseded by the 12-28/4). A wee bit less wide, but much less prone to flare, much broader range of focal lengths and an excellent lens. All of these Toki UWA lenses are very well made, feel a lot like a Canon L-series.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Thanks Kymarto, Bamboo, Danny and amfoto – again to those I already thanked.. This turned out to be a nice little thread with good advice and examples, and I really appreciate. I’ve shooting almost 40 years, but I am still learning, much of it from the friendlies on the hog.

Bamboo - Yes, full frame is far superior but alas, it’s not in the cards at the moment. I love your star/coast shot, and my first thought was wondering what WB got you that captivating color. My two cents on the trails is that they are not trails. You shouldn’t have any at 11mm and 20 seconds. If you look again, you’ll notice that the stars in the center of the image have no trails, but those in the corners appear to have. This, I think, is due to some lens shortcomings. Here’s a link I came across with some good advice on star shots and it includes a 500 Rule chart (which basically says to divide 500 by the ff focal length, so on your 7D at 11mm, it would be 500/17.6, or about 28 seconds before trails appear.) My Sony’s sensor is slightly bigger, so I get 30 seconds with this lens compared to 20 with my 16-50 2.8. That’s the primary reason I wanted it. Anyway, the link is http://www.davemorrowphotography.com/p/tutorial-shooting-night-sky.html

Danny and amfoto, I really wanted to stay with f2.8 for the night shots, so I didn’t consider losing 2/3 of a stop with the 10-20 f3.5 Sigma, nor a full stop with 12-24 f4 Tokina (plus, the Sigma is running a few hundred dollars more than I paid for the 11-16 Tokina).

Thanks again for all the comments. From what I’ve read here I think I’ll be very pleased with the lens.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

Now that you're in a spending mood, check out DxO ViewPoint 2 for correcting distortion. $79 but they have a 31-day free trial.
http://www.dxo.com/intl/photography/dxo-viewpoint/wide-angle-lens-software

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

One more question, if I may. After reading all your replies and seeing some images, I suspect I'll use this lens for some daytime landscapes, so I'll have to put a polarizer on it. Although it uses a very broad 77mm filter, as wide as it is will I need a thin polarizer to avoid vignetting or will a standard one be okay?

And thanks for the software recommend, Oddjobber. I've bookmarked the link so I can give it a try later.

OddJobber Loc: Portland, OR

You don't particularly need or want a CPL on an ultrawide lens. I couldn't rationalize spending a hundred bucks for a good (Hoya, B+W) CPL that will give uncertain results. Please read: http://havecamerawilltravel.com/photographer/polarizing-filter-wideangle-lens

blairt Loc: Utah

I have been using a standard width polarizer on mine and have had no problems. I also use a rather thick variable ND filter without any vignetting.

Here is a (low res) sunset I took using my Tokina 11-16mm at 12mm using a variable ND filter. No crop, just a bit of clarity and sharpen.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Thanks, blairt. And beautiful shot! I anticipate capturing more foreground interest using this lens, as you did so well in that sunset. Do you use a hyperfocal distance calculator? There are many free apps out there, at least one of which I like very much (for Android; presumably ios as well): Hyperfocal Pro.

blairt Loc: Utah

Thanks!


I also use HyperFocal Pro. Great app. :thumbup:

bettis1 Loc: Texas

It's a very nice lens. Get it and enjoy it. Here is quick shot straight from the camera without any post work.

Bob

pmackd Loc: Alameda CA

I really like the lens...have the II version on a D7000. Here's a shot of Cefalu Cathedral in Sicily taken at 11 mm and F5.6

Cefalu Cathedral, begun in 1131

(Download)

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

Update to all who helped me decide on this lens, assuming you're still getting new-reply notifications:

I did buy the lens, or perhaps stole it - $342.02 was my net cost, manufacturer refurbished with warranty from Tokina. I now use that lens as much as my normal go-to lens, my walkaround Sony 18-135.

I love it for shooting night skies & stars, but I am disappointed by coma on the edges wide open, and typical softness in the corners, like most zooms. Still, I love the lens and at standard-sized photos, those defects aren't significant (of course, as wide as it is I can always crop a bit). And, with my new a77ii body (on the FedEx truck for delivery today!) I might try stopping down a full stop for my stars shots, thinking it will still collect plenty of light at f4 while sharpening the edges a bit.

This is a pic I got a week ago, not the best I've taken of a night sky but one of my favorites (and taken with the Tokina). You can see the coma, enhanced by a slightly too long exposure that caused a bit of trailing.

Thanks again for the info and advice - I am very, very pleased with this lens!

Tokina 11-16 Pro

(Download)

pmackd Loc: Alameda CA

Curious who you bought the lens from.

Desert Gecko Loc: desert southwest, USA

From an eBay seller in my old stomping grounds of Huntington Beach. PayPal payment went straight to Tokina and the sealed box was Tokina brown. The price had dropped for just a few days and the seller sold 2 or 3 of them and kept relisting before I got mine, then the price went back up to $449. I got in at the right time, much like my new a77ii, which just went back up to $1,049 (I got it for $200 less through eBay from Cameta Camera.)

I just looked and the Tokina is back to $399. Other mounts and lenses are available, so if you're interested just search for listing 281497442132 to find the seller.

pmackd Loc: Alameda CA

Thanks. I already have the II version. Bought new from B & H.