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Review Date: Apr 6, 2008
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Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $650.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Good build quality, solid feel, good range, good performance from f4 onwards
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Cons:
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soft at f 2.8, narrow zoom ring, 77mm diameter
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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.
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