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dkmiles1
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Registered: Nov 19, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 503
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Review Date: Mar 19, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $629.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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2.8, Sharp, Sharp, Sharp! My real estate clients think I am a genius, price, AWESOME Tokina build quality!
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Cons:
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Some CA on the edges
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I use this lens regularly for my real estate shots. My clients see the pictures afterwards and think I am a genius! What you lose in range, you gain in quality! 11-16mm is very useful and the image quality compares favorably with primes. You can also use this lens on the FF 5D and 5D Mark II (but only at 16mm) - which is wider than the 1.6 crops the lens was designed for and the photos look great. I sold my Canon EF-S 10-22 (which is an excellent lens) to buy the Tokina (which is that much better, really, it is - MUCH MUCH sharper on the edges) - if you're on the fence, buy it, you won't regret it...
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 Mar 19, 2010
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saxologist
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Registered: Feb 9, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 19
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Review Date: Mar 6, 2010
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Recommend? |
Price paid: $599.00
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Pros:
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tokina 11-16 is a wonderful lens. I too am impressed and it stays on the camera.
Build quality is awesome
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Cons:
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large filters. I bout cheap circ-pol and works nicely.
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Rate it now a 9
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Mar 6, 2010
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tmonzon
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Registered: Oct 8, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 12
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Review Date: Feb 22, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $535.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Absolutely sharp wide open, wonderful color reproduction, fast autofocus
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Cons:
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focal range is a little lacking, but nothing a few steps forward or backward can't fix. Also, would like the minimum focus distance to be shorter.
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I absolutely love this UWA lens. Once you get the hang of the exaggerated perspectives on the edges, or correct the slight distortion in post, this lens will probably stay on your camera for a while. I've used it for landscapes, group photos and low light situations and events, even portraits, and this lens does a bang up job of them all. Once zoomed out to 16mm, the distortion is hardly even visible to the naked eye.
After having tried both this and the Sigma 10-20mm, I'd have to stick with this one. While the 10-20 has a longer focal range and a closer focus distance for some really exaggerated portraits, the sharpness and low light ability of the 11-16 make it my preferred choice of lens.
If you're looking for a reasonably priced Ultra Wide, go with this one. And don't worry about the fact that it's not made by Canon/Nikon/whoever. Even though Tokina is a third party lens maker, their build quality is amazing. No plastic bodies and flimsy rings here.
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Feb 22, 2010
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blassox
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Registered: Jan 31, 2008
Location: Italy
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 18, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Awesome lens in every aspect. Sharp @ f/2.8, ULTRASHARP @ f/4. It's the best lens in its class!
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Cons:
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None. Really none!
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I've changed my lens bag a lot of time, but this always funny and useful lens is always inside. You can't imagine how many incredible pictures you can take with it before you try.
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Feb 18, 2010
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David Collomb
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Registered: Nov 23, 2007
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 110
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Review Date: Feb 18, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Impressed by the sharpness. Built quality is very good. AF is fast and sielnt enough
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Cons:
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Great to have such a lens, the focal length and the max aperture f/2.8 really open new horizons to creativity. CA are present in certain conditions but not a pb for me.
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Feb 18, 2010
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saxologist
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Registered: Feb 9, 2008
Location: United States
Posts: 19
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Review Date: Feb 13, 2010
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $599.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Very well built. Sharp Sharp!
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Cons:
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Not sure how to use flash with this lens?
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excellent lens I will keep it for a long time
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Feb 13, 2010
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kresearch
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Registered: Apr 19, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 6
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Review Date: Nov 9, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Fast, razor sharp, massive build, relatively light, works on FF
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Cons:
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nothing considerably big to mention
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I figured out it is very good for low-light photography as well. At ISO3200 (5D2), it makes very sharp and nice looking night pictures on the city streets or indoors. I also used it in a cave where distances are frequently very short and light is low. It made very nice pictures. I prefer it before EF-S 10-22mm for its faster and constant aperture.
For a UW lens it takes some learning as the techniques to take pictures are different from the ones used with normal to tele lens. You have to frequently get very close to your subject in order to fill in the frame the way you want it. It can turn you into a nosy paparazzi before you know it. Also, you can use the resulting lens distortion in your advantage after some training. It can help you in getting different artistic or funny effects. For instance, try shooting at 1/25 while moving towards your subject. It will create the StarWars light-speed acceleration effect (or a dreamy one depending on your composition and speed).
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Nov 9, 2009
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timpdx
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Registered: Feb 1, 2005
Location: United States
Posts: 1608
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Review Date: Sep 11, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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A super-wide zoom at F2.8! Sharp.
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Cons:
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Wish it were built for FF, but can be used on 5D at 16mm. But as a F 2.8 prime on FF, well, it works pretty darn well.
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Thought about selling this many times, as I already have a 5D and nice copy of Sigma 12-24, but can't bring myself to sell it. F 2.8 is the reason, the Sigma simply isn't great until F8. So it is a niche lens on my 40D backup cam, and it stays in my bag. Distortion is low, focus on the 40D is very responsive. There really is nothing at this f-stop that can match it. I find it better than the 17-40 F4L that I had once. So it goes, limited use, but when I need it, its priceless.
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Sep 11, 2009
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Capeachy
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Registered: Aug 18, 2009
Location: Canada
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Aug 19, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $660.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Fixed aperture, decent price, decent build, AF/MF clutch mechanism.
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Cons:
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Color fringing wide open at the edges
Distortion near the edges
Too bad it only works on a DX.
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This is a great lens for those fun ultra-wide angle shots. The large and fixed aperture makes it a very good combo for low light work. The build quality feels solid for a 3rd party lens, much better than my Sigma 18-200 OS. AF is pretty good because of the f/2.8 aperture. The only down side is that it isn't a USM but the motor is pretty quiet: much better than the nifty fifty canon 50 f/1.8.
The AF/MF switching is done via a "clutch" mechanism, that means when it's spinning in AF, you don't have to worry that you'll jam up the motor or grab the wrong ring and hear that dreaded focus motor grinding noise  The included lens hood is always a bonus but it's kinda big so sometimes I leave it at home so I don't take up all my space in my bag.
There's a bit of distortion that you can see if you put a straight line (like a staircase) right near the edges of your images. Try to keep lines out or correct them afterwards if you like. The problem is with this wide of an angle lens (small movements can have dramatically different image effects) and with non-100% viewfinder coverage of a DX camera that you will miss this but I wouldn't sweat it.
An ultra-slim UV filter isn't a requirement, (although I did order one, be careful as the lens cover has a hard time hanging onto a threadless ultraslim.) I've tried my friend's 77mm UV filter off his 24-70 f/2.8 lens and I can't see any vignetting.
I would definitely recommend this lens.
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Aug 19, 2009
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scooterapd
Offline
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Registered: Jun 21, 2006
Location: United States
Posts: 14
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Review Date: Jul 19, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $579.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Ultra-wide angle, quick focus, very sharp, great colors.
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Cons:
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Lens hood does not lock in place very well.
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My EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 has been my wedding workhorse for a couple of years now. It's an excellent lens on many levels, but on more than one occassion, I've needed more real estate. I pondered several options, from fisheye to other Ultra-wide zooms/primes, but when I happened upon this lens and checked the reviews, I called my local shop and they had two available, so I snagged one. A few test shots at home at ISO1600 and f/2.8 convinced me that this lens was quite sharp. So I brought it with me to my wedding on Saturday and it performed so well that I found myself shooting almost all the getting-ready shots and reception shots with it instead of my 17-55mm. In fact, at 11mm this lens has less distortion to contend with than my 17mm.
I was able to snag this shot of the couple leaving their reception at 11mm and f/4.5. It was pretty dark in the reception hall and the lens had absolutely no trouble nailing the focus.
http://charlotte-nc-photography.smugmug.com/photos/595283401_rTrcc-L.jpg
Only negative I have found is that the lens hood kept sliding off throughout the day. I'm not sure if it was the way I mounted it or if that will be par for the course with this lens. I did not have time to play with it yet.
I highly recommend this lens to anyone that needs a fast Ultra-wide. You won't be disappointed.
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Jul 19, 2009
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Arki_AJ
Offline
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Registered: Jun 24, 2009
Location: Philippines
Posts: 5
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Review Date: Jul 1, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $640.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, Good colors handling is good
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Cons:
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Exterior finish and texture of the body.
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Got my Tokina 116 yesterday. I really wanted to see the hype about this. Testing it immediately i now know what the fuss was all about. At 2.8 sharpness at the focused area is really good and handy at low light in door situations. Stopped down at outdoor shoots gives its potential.
If your a landscaper i'd really recommend that you get this lens. Its built is a solid performer.
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Jul 1, 2009
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Enche Tjin
Offline
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Registered: Jun 14, 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Jun 17, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $600.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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built quality, image quality, sharpness, perspective, f/2.8
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Cons:
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color fringing wide open and 11mm
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This is the best super-wide angle lens up to date. The build quality of the lens is very good. The image quality is excellent in any aperture and focal length. Auto focus is fast and quiet.
Unlike Canon EF-S which have a smaller aperture of f3.5-4.5, and also is not compatible with full frame body, Tokina 11-16mm have a constant aperture of f/2.8 and compatible with full frame body up to 15mm which is great. It is also slightly cheaper.
The constant aperture of f/2.8 made this lens great for low light and also good enough to create shallow depth of field.
The limitation of this lens will be the zoom length. 11-16mm definitely shorter than Canon EF-S 10-22mm, Sigma 10-20mm, Nikon 12-24mm, and ultra wide lens from Tamron. (Tokina is available for Nikon cameras as well).
There is also no manual focus override, you need to push-pull the focus bar to change focusing mode.
Overall this lens is great in super wide angle category. If you are in love with the ultra-wide coverage for landscape, architecture (outdoor and indoor), and some of photo journalistic work (close crowd shots), then this lens is a must have.
Please visit my blog www.radiantlite.com for sample pic and video tour
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Jun 17, 2009
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Mike Mahoney
Offline
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Registered: Mar 8, 2004
Location: Canada
Posts: 5434
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Review Date: May 13, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Great optics, build, and price. Fast aperture.
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Cons:
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CA and flare.
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I'd read all the major glowing reviews like Photozone who concluded "The Tokina AF 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro DX is currently the best ultra-wide angle zoom lens for Canon EOS APS-C DSLRs"
Pretty heady stuff so I decided to get one and see what all the fuss was about. Now I see.
Image quality is superb, except some CA which is an easy fix in post-processing.
Sharp, sharp, sharp right through to the extreme corners. I've owned the Canon 10-22 and the Sigma 10-20 and the Tokina is sharper throughout the range than either.
Handy to have the 2.8 aperture for some types of work.
Build quality is top notch, and price is very competitive .. Tokina has quite simply hit a home run with this lens.
It does tend to flare somewhat, but so does the Sigma .. the Canon is best for flare performance. I do like the higher number of aperture blades versus the Sigma .. makes nicer (and more) star points when shooting straight into a light source when stopped down.
Overall I agree with what everyone else says .. a standout lens at a bargain price.
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May 13, 2009
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sankeycottage
Offline
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Registered: Jun 29, 2008
Location: United Kingdom
Posts: 0
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Review Date: May 2, 2009
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Recommend? no |
Price paid: Not Indicated
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Pros:
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Solid feel - good range - easy to switch from af to manual - IF you can get a good copy!
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Cons:
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The 11-16mm has problems which are widely known, namely - failure to maitain close focus and at 16mm overexposes!
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The Tokina 11-16mm could have been a very good lens but too many of them are proving to be faulty. I returned 3 lenses and then gave up. They struggle to maintain a focus lock between 2-5 metres and tend to default to infinity. If you take a photo at 11mm it is ok but when you zoom to 16mm it overexposes by 2 stops! It did this with both my D90 and D3x, all my other lenses are fine. Photo review sites all full of comments on these issues. In future I will stick to quality Nikkors and not sub-standard and cheap 3rd party lenses!
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May 2, 2009
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luddify
Offline
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Registered: Mar 26, 2009
Location: Samoa
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Mar 26, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $550.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, sharp sharp!
Good build quality
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Cons:
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Flare and CR
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Really all that people have said. Stunning sharpness, great build - just feels solid. Flare is something of a problem even for shots not including a light source. Really bad Blue/Yellow CR, but easily correctible in PP. Highly recommended and a bargain at the price.
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Mar 26, 2009
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Sensor
Offline
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Registered: Mar 25, 2005
Location: Australia
Posts: 0
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Review Date: Feb 19, 2009
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Sharp, Great Build Quality, Great Color
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Cons:
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I did not buy it sooner
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Just got this lens today after much research looking at the Sigma 12-24 and Canon 10-22. Very close call between this and the Canon. Went for this due to f2.8 and (reported) slightly better sharpness across the Zoom range. From my initial tests in Store and at Home the Tokina does seem to have better sharpness and it seems to work well on my 40d. If you like Wide - Buy it!
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Feb 19, 2009
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Reviews
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Views
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Date of last review
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60
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125285
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Feb 3, 2013
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Recommended By
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Average Price
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90% of reviewers
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$591.86
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Build Quality Rating
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Price Rating
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Overall Rating
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9.39
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9.14
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9.2
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