New ultrawide zoom

[Christian Neumann]

Hi all,
finding good wide angle lenses for DSLRs posessing no full-frame sensor is not easy. For instance, I use a Canon EOS 40D (crop factor 1.6). With this camera, I currently use the Canon EF-S 10-22 mm 1:3.5-4.5 zoom, which is a really nice lens.

However, there is a new ultrawide zoom available now, the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X.
Advantages of this lens are (1) the excellent sharpness and fastness due to the short focal range (less lenses!) and (2) an aperture of 2.8 throughout, which makes this lens excellent for working under low-light conditions. Not necessary to mention that this is especially important for photographing storms!
I wonder if there is anybody out there who owns this lens already and could share his/her experiences?

Bests from Berlin,

Christian

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

Wie Gheits, Herr Neumann
It is interesting to note that the Tokina has half of the available focal range as the Canon 10-22mm. And yes, this means less internal lenses that can contribute error. I personally would trust Canon with their wider reaching lens than the narrower Tokina simply because of the brand. A good brand does much to keep up the integrity of their product, as Canon does. But it is your choice and money, so if you feel that it is well-spent and are happy with that purchase, then you have done well!

As far as the aperture is concerned, that is a door that opens both ways. I also prefer lenses that have the largest possible aperture for low light conditions (my favorite lens is my Canon 50mm f/1.4 prime lens-amazingly sharp and versatile!). But one must remember when using the widest possible aperture on a storm; that it will inherently affect your depth of field. So you must be even more careful when composing a shot - to include the best sense of depth for the composition.
Sample shots of my 50mm at f/6.5 - 38 Km away:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_asmcQuUCJwc/SKXsIPXWAAI/AAAAAAAAADM/0dZ-X-KbbWI/s1600-h/IMG_1066.jpg
http://picasaweb.google.com/trebor171/StormChaseIowa#5247219076030806594
Sample of 10-22mm at f/11 at 38Km - twenty minutes later
http://picasaweb.google.com/trebor171/StormChaseIowa#5249330552788541842

My 50mm has a aperture that is effectively half of my 10-22mm; I sent it on f/6.5 for a long range shot and it just comes up with sizzle! But with uber-wide-angles and wide-open apertures - getting that desired sweet spot may take some extra consideration and extra frames for solid exposures. Bracketing you shots will give you some insurance to the final choice when in PhotoShop. Chromatic aberrations is another important consideration when dealing with wide angle lenses. Vignetting also can reduce the effective aperture settings as well.
What are the Tokina's specifications concerning chromatic aberration?
What are the specs on its Vignetting?

 

[Dan Robinson]

B&H has the Tokina listed at $140 less than the Canon. Given that minimal price difference, I'd personally go with the Canon.

DSLR lenses are pretty low on my new equipment wish list, but the 10-22 would be the first new lens I'd buy if I had the opportunity.

 

[Gene Moore]

I don't have this particular Tokina lens, but I've owned Tokina's in the past and still have one for my film cameras. They are built better than other third party lenses like Tamron and Sigma and better than the inexpensive Canon lenses. Also they don't seem to have the focus issues of some Tamron and Sigma lenses. Not all Tokina lenses are top drawer through, the much awaited 16-50mm initially tested very sharp, but later production copies were not nearly as good and sales collapsed.

Ken Rockwell has an interesting test of the Tokina 11-16mm at:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/11-16mm.htm

As for wanting a faster wide angle lens, I certainly can sympathize with you on that. There were a couple of instances last spring were I stepped out of the vehicle to grab a nice wide shot as the storm was approaching and could not get steady with the Canon EF 10-22 mm.... a great lens, but unfortunately a bit slow for deep under the cloud base. Also, most lenses other than the most expensive are not at their best wide open. The EF 10-22 is no exception, although mine sharpens up nicely at 5.6, it's best on a tripod. With f 2.8 you can likely get some hand held shots near the meso that won't be all dark with back light. I've been looking at these lenses myself so keep us posted on what you decide.

 

[Dick McGowan]

I've owned the Sigma 10-20 f/4-5.6 EX DC lens for almost 2 years now and couldn't be happier. The silent, quick HSM motor is as good as what Canon makes and the full time autofocusing is a great feature to have as well. The color and contrast seem to be on the money and the distortion at the wide end isn't as bad as what Canon's is. It sells for $569 (free lens hood and case too ), but luckily I purchased mine for $450 brand new in January 2007. It seems B&H is high on their lens prices any more and their discount codes are hard to find too. I'm not sure I could sacrifice even that 1 mm with the Tokina for the f/2.8, I often wish they could somehow make a non-fisheye 6mm sometimes for storms up close...and that 1 mm would be a BIG 1 mm to me.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

I'm gonna be getting rid of the 17-70 and getting something much wider. Personally I have been leaning towards the Canon, though looking over Dicks frequent praise for the sigma I might end up going that way, I do agree with Dick and I doubt I'd sacrifice width for the 2.8 that the new tokina has.

 

[Rob Wadsworth]

After looking at the specs on both the Tokina and Canon, I saw some interesting points.
Tokina had 11 lens groups; 13 lenses. Its widest/narrowest angles are 104-82 degrees.
Canon had 10 lens groups; 13 lenses. Its widest/narrowest angles are 107.5-63.5 degrees.
So, there is loss of 3.5 degrees on the wide end. Not exactly a catastophy.
The Tokina f/2.8 aperture has 1/2 stop faster advantage on the Canon 10-22mm @ f/3.5, while losing ~2mm at the wide end.
The Tokina looks pretty good...