Tokina 11-16mm

D

DDirector

Veteran
I heard a lot of great things about this lens. I am considering on buying it, but now that I think of it, I don't know.

The reason I want this lens is so that I can film underwater. This lens would be an ideal focal length for underwater shooting. However I will still be using this primary for short films and photography. But isn't it too wide?

Here is the issue.
I currently own only two lenses; Canon 28mm f/1.8 & a Canon 50mm f/1.4. To get the Tokina, I would have to sell my 28mm to get the Tokina as I wound not be able to afford the other gear I need. But, with the Tokina as my primary lens, would this not be too wide of a focal length for me? I don't know if I will be able to make short films with such a wide lens and a 50mm.

I haven't even seen anyone else make a short film with the Tokina lens as their primary lens. All I've seen the Tokina being used for is photography.
 
See if you can rent it in your area, or even from online so you can see what you're about to buy.

16mm to 50 mm is a pretty big jump.
 
A ton of threads already on this lens dude. Try a search and you'll find some good info and tests.
 
I owned this lens for half a year. It's not "too wide" because there are certain situations in which it comes in handy, namely shooting in close quarters and grabbing big things without the need to back up so much. I believe it may be in your best interest to compare the wide end of a 17-50 zoom, like the Tamron, with what the Tokina can give you. You may find that the zoom gives you all you need (as I did, in most cases). The benefit of determining this could be the acquisition of a much more useful and practical lens (at a lower price).
 
DDirector said:
I heard a lot of great things about this lens. I am considering on buying it, but now that I think of it, I don't know.

The reason I want this lens is so that I can film underwater. This lens would be an ideal focal length for underwater shooting. However I will still be using this primary for short films and photography. But isn't it too wide?

Here is the issue.
I currently own only two lenses; Canon 28mm f/1.8 & a Canon 50mm f/1.4. To get the Tokina, I would have to sell my 28mm to get the Tokina as I wound not be able to afford the other gear I need. But, with the Tokina as my primary lens, would this not be too wide of a focal length for me? I don't know if I will be able to make short films with such a wide lens and a 50mm.

I haven't even seen anyone else make a short film with the Tokina lens as their primary lens. All I've seen the Tokina being used for is photography.
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Beware there is a lot of distortion at 11mm. I would test one out before buying.
I did and decided against it. A lot of people love it, but we all have different requirements.
 
It used to be my go to lens, and still is for certain shots. The problem I've found with the lens is that around 11mm, if there is movement across the frame it looks unnatural. 16mm it's fine. So it's great for establishing shots and shots that are static without a lot of movement across the lens. You'd get more use out of a 17-50mm. It's better suited for the 7D or 550D sensor and will provide less distortion across the frame.
 
Hmm. Thanks for the input.
The 17-50mm sounds be better for me. This will require a lot of deciding.

I'll do a little more research on the 17-50mm and see how the results come out to.
From what I know so far, it is a little bit cheaper cheaper, has a longer range, and does have a constant f/2.8 - which is all good.

Thanks.
 
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jscottprice said:
Am looking for the same lens. Is it this one:

Tamron 17-50mm f/2.8 XR Di-II LD
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Yes. I wanted the Tokina but there is a thread around here with pictures from a test between the two lenses and the Tamron is sharper all round. Color is about the same. Search the lens forum.
 
It also depends on which camera you use.. is it full frame? I use it with T2i. with the crop factor, becomes 17.6-15.6mm. There're some distortion but minimal. I used it 2 days ago at a real estate walk through. taking video and photo. I showed the realtor he was impressed how I make the tiny bathroom looks so big!

I don't have a lot of experience using different type of lens. But from what I read from other owners, it's a great lens. I jumped on it. And when you found out it's out of stock everywhere, it says something. I bought at $599 eBay seller h1photo. The same company I bought a few items from h1photo.com. Very reliable.
 
WhiteMonkey said:
Yes. I wanted the Tokina but there is a thread around here with pictures from a test between the two lenses and the Tamron is sharper all round. Color is about the same. Search the lens forum.
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Any sharpness advantage will only be noticeable in stills. Both are plenty sharp for video.
 
I got to play with the Tokina 11-16mm, the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8, and the Tamron 17-50mm 2.8 VC today.

I have to say without a doubt that for the time I had with them the Tokina was a much better lens.

All three were great quality, but I really didn't like how the Tamron lenses' zoom rings rotate in the opposite direction as the Canon and Nikon lenses I have, and, more importantly, their was a lot of play in the Tamron focus rings, which scares me for critical focusing.

The Tokina, however, had plenty of resistance without being sticky. And the "clutch" idea - where you have to pull back on the focusing ring to get it to pop into manual focus and thus exposes more of the ring to be in your grip - is just genius.

Overall, from an ergonomics standpoint, I thought the Tokina was just a better piece of gear.

I'm torn because I would still like to find a wide angle lens with a good range, namely with 30-35mm to get close to normal on my 7D, and the Tokina does seem a little limiting when I could get a lens that could double as my WIDE and NORMAL.

Either way, time to start saving up cash...
 
Am I being really vain in that, the thing that puts me off most about the Tokina lens is that awful italicised times new roman font on the lens?

Heh, although this would be the next lens I get. Can't seem to rent it from any of the places in London anywhere??
 
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