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Archive 2010 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?

  
 
Alf Beharie
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p.2 #1 · p.2 #1 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


kakomu wrote:
I've noticed some of the 17 f/3.5 lenses take 67mm filters and others take 72mm filters. Just different body designs or different versions? Tokina, for instance, released a version with 67mm. Vivitar has both a 67mm and 72mm version.



The Tokina 17mm f3.5 RMC takes 67mm filters but the Tamron SP 17mm f3.5 does'nt have a filter thread on the front of the lens so you have to use 82mm filters on the optional Tamron lenshood...I did'nt like this solution, firstly because the hood is as rare as rocking horse droppings and secondly 82mm filters are much rarer and cost a lot more than 67mm filters, so I took the glass out of an old 67mm skylight filter and epoxied the metal filter body onto the front of my Tamron so I can use 67mm filters and hoods on it, just like my Tokina RMC.

Edited on Nov 15, 2010 at 11:14 AM · View previous versions



Nov 15, 2010 at 11:02 AM
Alf Beharie
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p.2 #2 · p.2 #2 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


m-a-x wrote:
Cogitech: It is easy to attach a step-up ring (e.g. epoxy it to the outside, there where the diameter is largest).
If you step up to 82mm, there is no vignetting with utra-slim filters. The original hood will not fit any more, though.



I have epoxied a 67mm skylight filter with the glass removed onto my Tamron and I dont get any vignetting...However I'm only using it on crop format so I have no idea if would vignette on FF.




Nov 15, 2010 at 11:09 AM
dfresh
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p.2 #3 · p.2 #3 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


I tested my Vivitar/Tokina 17/3.5 against a copy of the 151B recently in a thread, and found the Tamron to not perform nearly as well as the Vivitar (at least in terms of sharpness). Flare and CA looked better with the Tamron. I strongly suspected the sharpness difference to be a result of an adapter issue though based on the praise the Tamron gets. Hopefully Cal will be able to verify this since he's the new owner


Nov 15, 2010 at 02:02 PM
jcolwell
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p.2 #4 · p.2 #4 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


dfresh wrote:
I tested my Vivitar/Tokina 17/3.5 against a copy of the 151B recently in a thread, and found the Tamron to not perform nearly as well as the Vivitar (at least in terms of sharpness). Flare and CA looked better with the Tamron. I strongly suspected the sharpness difference to be a result of an adapter issue though based on the praise the Tamron gets. Hopefully Cal will be able to verify this since he's the new owner


The adapter is very important for very wide and ultra wide angle lenses. I was pretty unhappy with my Voigtlander Color-Skopar 20/3.5 when I first started using it with a generic eBay adapter. Then, I noticed that it was very sharp on one side and very dull on the other. Turned out to be an adapter thickness asymmetry problem. It got much better when I started using a Fotodiox Pro adapter, and it's even better with the Nikon to EOS Leitax kit that I just installed.



Nov 15, 2010 at 04:28 PM
dfresh
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p.2 #5 · p.2 #5 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


jcolwell wrote:
The adapter is very important for very wide and ultra wide angle lenses. I was pretty unhappy with my Voigtlander Color-Skopar 20/3.5 when I first started using it with a generic eBay adapter. Then, I noticed that it was very sharp on one side and very dull on the other. Turned out to be an adapter thickness asymmetry problem. It got much better when I started using a Fotodiox Pro adapter, and it's even better with the Nikon to EOS Leitax kit that I just installed.


That was the consensus I got from feedback on my test thread It was probably worth it to try a better adapter but ultimately the 82mm filter size coupled with the fact that I came across a good deal on the Tamron 17-35 made me sell the 151B



Nov 15, 2010 at 06:03 PM
cogitech
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p.2 #6 · p.2 #6 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


dfresh,

I also owned the Tamron 17-35 for some time and while it was a very nice lens, the copy I had couldn't come close (at 17mm) to my copy of the Tamron SP 17/3.5. Particularly in the corners. Not at any aperture.

I'm not saying this to be argumentative, just to conclude that if you are happy with the 17-35 and you weren't happy with the 17, then there was an issue with your 17.

Or, perhaps my 17-35 was not a good sample. I don't think this was the case, because I shot it against a friends 17-40L and I preferred the Tamron 17-35 at the time.



Nov 15, 2010 at 08:11 PM
CVickery
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p.2 #7 · p.2 #7 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


Since I bought dfresh's Tamron SP17/3.5 I guess I better check it out thoroughly. I haven't really shot it much with the 5DII but have been using it on the Fuji S5Pro. As such the only adapter I'm using is the Adaptall2, which is probably better made than a basic ?>EOS adapter. So far I've been very pleased with what I've been seeing, but this is a 1.5x crop body, so any issues will likely show up when I move it to FF.

Here's a wide open shot on the S5Pro
http://i.pbase.com/o4/46/550846/1/130377865.uJzSl24t.DSCF05632.jpg



Nov 15, 2010 at 08:58 PM
CVickery
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p.2 #8 · p.2 #8 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


Here's 100% of the upper right corner:
http://i.pbase.com/o4/46/550846/1/130377996.oNF0rrsk.DSCF0563crop.jpg



Nov 15, 2010 at 09:08 PM
kakomu
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p.2 #9 · p.2 #9 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


How is manually focusing the Tokina AT-X Pro?


Nov 15, 2010 at 09:26 PM
cogitech
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p.2 #10 · p.2 #10 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


Looks pretty decent to me, Cal. Maybe dfresh did have adapter issues, as discussed already.

It should be super sharp in the centre wide open. Is it? Have you shot I much at f8-f11?



Nov 15, 2010 at 11:16 PM
CVickery
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p.2 #11 · p.2 #11 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


cogitech wrote:
Looks pretty decent to me, Cal. Maybe dfresh did have adapter issues, as discussed already.

It should be super sharp in the centre wide open. Is it? Have you shot I much at f8-f11?


I'm satisfied with the center, but I haven't shot a lot wide open. I've shot a mainly at F5.6-f8

Here's one at f3.5 and slow shutter:

http://i.pbase.com/o4/46/550846/1/130377866.3aAYFMtj.DSCF0573.jpg

Here's one at f8

http://ic2.pbase.com/o4/46/550846/1/130381364.TNnyMATh.DSCF05953.jpg

(didn't like the color that LR3 gave me on this one, so here's a resized jpg from the camera.)

Postprocessing done in LR3. Don't forget that the S5Pro is really a 6mp camera so it doesn't have nearly the resolution of the 5DII.



Nov 15, 2010 at 11:56 PM
Chococat
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p.2 #12 · p.2 #12 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


I have the Tokina RMC. I have always gotten decent results out of it, and I have tried it against much more expensive, newer lenses, and it has always held its own and sometimes proven better. It was better than my 17-40L. I also once had an opportunity to try it against the Tamron in question, and the Tokina was clearly superior. I think it is important to remember though, when comparing some of these lenses, that they are old--so variation fro copy to copy can really vary widely. But from what I have seen from my copy, it is a very good choice for the money, but all of this with the caveat that I am talking about its use stopped down--at 3.5 it has decent center sharpness but the picture falls apart pretty severely as you move away from the center. Another point of potential concern with that lens is it can produce a fairly hefty amount of barrel distortion. I have used it on Olympus OM film cameras (it is an OM mount) and on a Canon 5d2 (via OM to EOS adapter).


Nov 16, 2010 at 01:40 AM
jcolwell
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p.2 #13 · p.2 #13 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


kakomu wrote:
How is manually focusing the Tokina AT-X Pro?


It's pretty good. The lens has a clutch on the focus ring, pull for MF, push for AF. It's not silky smooth, as you can feel the motor turning, but it's well damped and has no slop.



Nov 16, 2010 at 06:31 AM
cogitech
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p.2 #14 · p.2 #14 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


Cal, that f8 shot seems to show the lens performing as it should. I say "seems" due to the fact that it is a web-sized JPEG and there's only so much one can tell.


Nov 16, 2010 at 07:33 AM
e6filmuser
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p.2 #15 · p.2 #15 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


It's all very well posting comparative shots and specifying the aperture but there is a limit to the value of the results unless:

a) the camera was on a tripod or

b) the shutter speed is specified

Edited on Nov 21, 2010 at 11:26 AM · View previous versions



Nov 16, 2010 at 07:43 AM
dfresh
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p.2 #16 · p.2 #16 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


cogitech wrote:
dfresh,

I also owned the Tamron 17-35 for some time and while it was a very nice lens, the copy I had couldn't come close (at 17mm) to my copy of the Tamron SP 17/3.5. Particularly in the corners. Not at any aperture.

I'm not saying this to be argumentative, just to conclude that if you are happy with the 17-35 and you weren't happy with the 17, then there was an issue with your 17.

Or, perhaps my 17-35 was not a good sample. I don't think this was the case, because I shot it against a friends 17-40L and I
...Show more

I didn't mean to imply that the 17-35 is a better performer than the SP, I actually never tested them against each other. Its just that at a rarely used focal length for me, it wasn't worth it to buy a new adapter and filters to fit it. I was using stacked adapters (Adaptall -->OM & OM-->EF) which really seemed the likely culprit rather than a poor copy- especially since the center sharpness looked so good.

In the end though I doubt any amount of 'measurebating' or scrutinizing I do would actually have a real world impact I could see in print. The only thing I did learn from my tests though is that the Vivitar/Tokina is quite good



Nov 16, 2010 at 09:16 AM
CVickery
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p.2 #17 · p.2 #17 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


e6filmuser...The full exif is available in the images. I use Opanda's software to view the exif of online images and I recommend it. The wide open outdoor shot is a 1/800 and the f8 is 1/160. At those shutter speeds, with a wide lens and at web sizes I don't think a tripod would add much. If I was trying to accomplish an intensive technical analysis I would agree with you.

cogitech...I agree about the size of the shots. I am happy with the full size results on this body.



Nov 16, 2010 at 10:28 AM
Peire
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p.2 #18 · p.2 #18 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


Have any of you had problems with decentering (soft one side or upper/lower corner of the image) in case of Tokina 17/3.5?


Nov 16, 2010 at 03:42 PM
jcolwell
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p.2 #19 · p.2 #19 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?


Peire wrote:
Have any of you had problems with decentering (soft one side or upper/lower corner of the image) in case of Tokina 17/3.5?


Not with the AT-X, but then it's an EOS-mount AF lens, and so there's no adapter problems.



Nov 16, 2010 at 04:18 PM
abqnmusa
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p.2 #20 · p.2 #20 · 17mm f/3.5 Primes: Are they all the same?



Gary Clennan, beautiful images from your Tokina 17



Nov 16, 2010 at 04:46 PM
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