my next new lens is going to be the tokina 11-16mm

Qarik

That lens has been getting spectacular reviews. Many claim it's as good as the nikkor 12-24mm and rivals the 14-24mm ...all this at < $600. It is a DX lens but usable on FX at 15-16mm.

Tee Why

I've had it on a Canon mount and can say it's easily sharper than the other ultrawides available for the Canon mount.

Ken Rockwell did a review of it on a Canon mount and found it to be optically superior to the Nikon 12-24 as well, he even has pictures comparing the images with the lenses vs just talking about them as he usually does.

There are some caveats though. The zoom range is very limited so it's more like a prime. The distortion is noticeable at 11mm and it's flares rather badly. Having said that, if I had a cropped sensor body and wanted an ultrawide, I'd get it again.

Qarik

ken is in love with it. His review started ny review search and I have not come across a bad one or even mediocre one yet. Yes..the zoom range is limited..I think that is one of the reasons it is so good though.

Tee Why

Yea, they did it right in restricting the range for speed and optics, but when I was using it, flare control was pretty bad. The distortion can be controlled with post processing in PS fairly easy so it's not a deal breaker. Neither was the flare for me.

It does have excellent sharpness and even corner resolution was very good to excellent, even wide open at f2.8 the optics are pretty darn good. I found that when shooting RAW and then processing, it would yield better detail than my Sigma 10-20.

Here is a nice and long thread with samples of the lens (for Canon mount).
I've contributed some samples there as well.
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=502308

LKN Dave

I rented the Canon 10-22 and loved it at the Grand Canyon. Never noticed a bad flare, but distortion happens at the low end.

System

I have one and love it, although the range is pretty restricting. You almost have to treat it as a prime, or maybe a "variable crop" prime. Manual focus feel for use on my D40 is great. If I shot mainly in broad daylight I'd probably prefer the Nikkor 12-24 f/4 (or the Tokina 12-24) for the more usable range, but a lot of my photography is available and transitional light stuff where the extra speed comes in handy. For museum and other interior type settings where a tripod might not be allowed or appropriate, the extra speed is indispensible. When you're shooting with this lens it's handy to have a GOOD point and shoot with you as well to take care of any normal to long shots, thus saving you the trouble of constantly wanting to switch lenses. Unfortunately that tends to happen for me a lot with this lens, but I need the f/2.8 for other things and can't justify another ultra-wide with more range, so I deal with it and just swap lenses, or use a P&S as a secondary.

ziggy53

S P wrote:

I have one and love it, although the range is pretty restricting. You almost have to treat it as a prime, or maybe a "variable crop" prime. Manual focus feel for use on my D40 is great. If I shot mainly in broad daylight I'd probably prefer the Nikkor 12-24 f/4 (or the Tokina 12-24) for the more usable range, but a lot of my photography is available and transitional light stuff where the extra speed comes in handy. For museum and other interior type settings where a tripod might not be allowed or appropriate, the extra speed is indispensible. When you're shooting with this lens it's handy to have a GOOD point and shoot with you as well to take care of any normal to long shots, thus saving you the trouble of constantly wanting to switch lenses. Unfortunately that tends to happen for me a lot with this lens, but I need the f/2.8 for other things and can't justify another ultra-wide with more range, so I deal with it and just swap lenses, or use a P&S as a secondary.

Steve, welcome to the Digital Grin.

Thanks for the comments.

System

thanks ziggy!

Here's a quick shot from mine.

Nikon D40, 14mm, f/2.8, 1/4s handheld, iso800, straight off the camera.



This is looking down the Singapore River at the skyline and the Boat Quay. Focus is on the buildings in the center of the frame, so the foreground stuff at the edges are way out of focus. This is not one of the best shots, but does demonstrate what you can do with the lens. All of the best shots were stopped down at f/8 or so on a tripod with a long exposure.

anonymouscuban

Love mine
I've had mine for a few weeks now for my D300 and absolutely love it. Very sharp lens. Fast. Built well... feels very sturdy. Focus ring is placed nicely and it's easy to switch from MF to AF.

It's my first ultra wide angle so I am still learning to shoot with it. You get distortion with it but I assume this is to be expected with this type of lens. I actually like it... can add interest to the shot.

I do agree that I find myself having to swap to a normal lens frequently when out and about because I only have one body. Fortunately, my wife is usually with me and she makes a great assistant.

Here are a few shots I took recently using it: