Tokina Lens

[Jay Bell]

Hey all!

Just a curious question....I shoot Nikon, and I know most on here shoot Canon, but this applies to both. Does anyone on here shoot the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 and/or the Tokina 12-24 f4? I am up in the air between the two tying to decide. I am most interested in those who have shot BOTH in the storm environment. My hangup is this....The 11-16 won't autofocus on my D40, and the 12-24 isn't as fast. Any thoughts??

Thanks!

Jay bell

 

[Jeremy Jones]

Good evening Jay,

I shoot with my D200 Nikon, and have rented the Tokina 11-16mm. I love it...Simply put!
Great lens for the price! Really IMHO, you don't need a super fast lens for chasing. Its nice don't get me wrong, but a must...No. I have the 28-105 f3.5 -5.6 on my cam 95% of the time chasing. It's shot some outstanding photos for me. And it's great for lightning photography. I just wish I had a wider lens. I haven't used the 12-24 yet, so I can't speak for that one.

BTW, I am currently saving for the Tokina 11-16 F2.8
Bhphotovideo.com has about the best deals out there.

That's just my opinion, others on ST may have a better review on both lenses...

I hope I was able to help a little!

EDIT: My profile pic was shot with the Tokina 11-16mm....

 

[Michael O'Keeffe]

I have the Tokina 12-24mm for my Nikon D40 and it doesn't autofocus either but I never autofocus when chasing anyway because more times than not the camera won't autofocus when you are pointing it at a storm. I have never tried the 11-16mm but I love my 12-24mm and I'm guessing the 11-16mm is even better since it is a bit wider and faster.

Bottom line the Tokina 12-24mm is a great lens even without autofocus.

 

[Jeremy Jones]

Also, when I am chasing, I have my lens set to infinity, and manual focus....Come to think about it, the last time I changed it was to do some Macro Photography. So, for me, the auto-focus not working wouldn't bother me at all.

 

[Allan Jeffers]

I use a 11-16mm f/2.8 on my 30D. It is on my camera often...
let me dig up a couple pics:

 

[Christopher E. Kincaid]

I have the Tokie 11-16 that I used on my old XTi and now my new T2i. I love it! I just wish it had more reach, but it's lack of reach my be why it is so sharp corner to corner so I can live with it. The colors are great! I am so glad I sent those Sigma 10-20s back to Amazon.

11mm F7.1 1/125 ISO 100 Camera XTi

11mm F5 1/125 ISO 100 Camera XTi

11mm F8 1/250 ISO 100 Camera XTi

 

[Jay Bell]

Hey thanks everybody! I should have been a bit more specific...I know both lenses are great...I am just wondering about the tradeoff of giving up the autofocus for the faster speed. I have been shooting with f3.5 lenses chasing for years, but I need something wider. I also only use infinity when chasing, but I do other photography as well where it is convenient. I like the new 12-24 DX II with the internal motor, but I am not sure about the corner to corner sharpness, and it is a touch slower at f4.0. If only Tokina would crank out the 11-16 with a motor! I just saw they are going to release a 16-28 f2.8 FX lens....maybe that will help me decide.....maybe.

Jay