Tokina AT-X 165 PRO DX AF 16-50mm f/2.8

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soft at f 2.8, narrow zoom ring, 77mm diameter

I've had the Tokina 16-50 for about two weeks. I chose it over the Tamron based on the build quality and the extra 1mm on the wide end.

I have tried to test the boundaries of the lens to see if it needed to go back for adjustments due to focusing errors and also to test the CA and flare, which was picked on a bit in the Photozone review.

In regard to focus, there are no front focus issues. I was a bit concerned there might be back-focussing at 50mm f2.8, as faces tend to get a sharp earlobe but softer nose, even though the AF area was mid in the face (at f5.6 this isn’t a problem). However, with my Nikkor AF 35mm at f2.8 I got the same results, so I don’t think it’s the Tokina’s fault, its probably the D50 autofocus. Also, this only applies to faces. Other objects come out sharp in the focussing area.

I tried a few shots of palm leaves against the sun to check for CA and found nothing to comment on. I did get quite a bit of flare, so the hood is needed and shots against the sun best avoided (as always, regardless of lens…). I don’t have access to the pictures now, otherwise I’d have posted them here.

In summary, so far I like the Tokina. It’s very solidly built, the AF-Manual pull function is good, focussing is fast in normal light, the picture quality at f4-f16 is good throughout the zoom-range, no distortion to complain about. Colours come out fine.

Negative would be that the zoom ring is much narrower than the focussing ring, so its easy to grab the wrong one when trying to zoom. Also, the 77mm diameter means I sometimes get edge shadows when using a Cokin circular polarizer, as it doesn’t cover the entire lens at 16mm.

Soft wide open and flare/blooming appearance where whites are prominent.

Tried to like this lens as the 50-135 is stellar, but alas, it is not to be. I found the copy I had suffered in a few areas that preclude me form ownership.

Some may be happy, but this was not as good as the Tammy IMHO.

Interferes with internal flash on D300

I recently bought a new Nikon D300 body and this lens as part of a package. I was impressed by its build quality and the its performance in the first few images I took and I am happy to admit that paying a little more for a lens makes all the difference when one tries to get the best from a good camera.

One of the worries I had when choosing a lens was the build quality of Nikkor lenses of the same price bracket. I did not much like the look and feel of the new VR zooms, for instance. The Tokina is much better made and I am certain I do not regret buying a lens with internal focusing motors, when the focus is as quick and accurate with mine. The build quality is much appreciated - the one-touch manual focus switch and control is very useable and smooth. This is one lens I will not worry about when using it in poor weather, which is sometimes the case in the UK.

Also, having a fast lens can only help when composing shots and getting the best out of a digital camera. I like the brightness of the lens and the extra few stops it gives me in low-light conditions.

Overall, I am happy with my lens. One minor niggle is that the lens inhibits the internal flash, for fill-in work, due to its length and breadth. This is, however, mentioned in the lens's instructions.

A very tiny bit of barrel distortion at wide open, but not enough to even concern yourself with

I bought this lens just a few months ago and I have absolutely fallen in love with it. The photos are tack sharp throughout the range.
The build quality is as all Tokina's lenses just absolutely superb.
I recently completed a night shoot in the snow and was taken away with the quality of the photos and the len's abilities at 2.8.
I do have a tiny bit of barrel distortion at wide open but as stated in the cons it is not enough concern as I won't be shooting architectural photos with it.
I am extremely pleased with this lens and it will not be gathering dust in my bag.
If you are looking for a lens in this range you cannot go wrong with this one.

some barrel distortion on the wide end and some vignetting wide open. But nothing that isn't easily corrected. Maybe a little soft wide open at 16 but straightens out soon stopped down a bit.

So far I have to say that I am happy with my decision to go with the Tokina over the Tamron or Sig. issues in this focal length. My copy focus' fast and accurately with minimal noise.
All the controls operate very smoothly and with just the right amount of dampening for my touch.

The dreaded CA really hasn't shown up in the harsh contrast shots I've done. A little wide open but nothing that isn't easily corrected.
Actually there is less CA on this lens than on my AF-S 28-70 or 70-200 that I have to contend with.

There is some vignetting t 16 /2.8, again easily corrected and is gone stopped down 1.

I have 2 shots where the Sun is prevalent One low and one high. There is no flair in the one that's low and a slight flair in the one where the Sun is high. That I didn't fine objectionable.

At 2.8 the images do appear a little soft but again as expected sharpen up one ortwo stops down the cleans up too.

Maybe I'm easy to please but I find the overall performance of this lens to be quite good. I have tried other 3rd.party glass in the past and found them wanting in various areas but this is the first that I can say is nice addition to my arsenal of most used glass.

Don

focus accuracy isn't great, sharpness wide open is hit or miss although this again is likely down to the focus issue I currently have

I really, really want to like this lens, and it does have a lot going for it. When I first received it I was a little disappointed by the sharpness wide open as the reviews I had read online said it was very good, but my copy left something to be desired often when wide open. I then discovered it is back focusing by quite a bit, so I've called Tokina (Kenro in the UK) to have it fixed but they haven't called me back yet and its 3 days later which is a little annoying too. At f/4 it is very sharp and the slightly larger dof is helping to mask the focusing issue I think. Once the focus has been sorted, I think f/2.8 should be a lot better. The other negative is that the exposure seems a little off when I use this lens on my S5 Pro as it wants to over-expose all the time. When I use it on my D200 however, it seem very consistent and accurate, not a deal breaker but nonetheless, my my lenses shouldn't be dictating what body they want to be used on to me.

The build quality is fantastic for the price, and I was surprised by how quick the focus is and in addition it isn't loud at all for a non AF-S/HSM/USM lens. This is probably due to the fact that the focus throw is very small, it focuses very close at just under 1ft and gets to infinity just after 3ft, using manual focus its only about 45 degree turn of the ring from MFD to infinity which does make manual focusing a little more difficult but on a positive not the focus clutch mechanism is well done and the best alternative to full time manual focus you get with AF-S. I am still a little ambiguous about this lens, but once the focus issue is fixed and assuming I get consistent f/2.8 sharp focus then it will be great as the Tamron build quality is terrible as is the particular Sigma alternative to this lens (although some Sigma EX lenses are great) as they both turn their focus rings in AF, so I think I will be very happy in the end. From f/4 on, its already a great lens, but f/2.8 performance is very important in an f/2.8 lens.

Lastly, Tokina really needs to get their act together with lens coatings as CA is their one problem across all their lenses. This lens too suffers from it at larger apertures from 16-30mm. It is easy to fix though, so it doesn't bother me too much but they still need to develop or buy somebody else's coating technology. This lens is very resistant to flare so far, so thats a nice surprise, and 16mm is noticeably wider than 18mm, which makes it a lot more useful.