The Sports Photo Guy

Tokina’s new ultra-wide is fast, sharp, and the only game in town at this range and speed.

Announced in January, Tokina’s new fast ultra-wide for APS-C DSLRs has begun shipping to U.S. customers.  Mine arrived yesterday, and I took it out for a few shots today.  So far, I like what I see very much!

Buy the Tokina 11-16/f2.8 ATX Pro DX Aspherical for Nikon
Buy the Tokina 11-16/f2.8 ATX Pro DX Aspherical for Canon

Background.  We all know the trade-offs of the APS-C DSLR.  With its “lens conversion factor” (focal length multiplier) of anywhere from 1.3-1.7, one of the biggest has been the loss of true ultra-wide capability (16-20mm in 35mm focal length equivalent).  While slow (constant f4 or variable-aperture designs from f4-f4.5 on up) zooms in the 12-24mm range are now widely available (even dipping down to 10mm or 11mm on the wide end), those of us looking for an equivalent to the 35mm 17-35/f2.8 lens have had to make do without, until now.  Tokina has taken their highly-regarded 12-24/f4 lens and modified the design to produce an 11-16/f2.8 lens for Nikon and Canon mounts.

Update: 6/22/2008.  Got a chance to try the lens out fitted with a slim Cokin P filter holder and circular polarizer.  Unfortunately, this combination vignettes significantly at 11 and 12mm.  See photo toward end of article.

Update: 7/6/2008.  Took a look at distortion, and summarized my observations in a separate article.  In short, the lens exhibits barrel distortion if you look for it, but it is uniform and fairly easily corrected.

Washington & Lee University.  11mm, 1/160 @ f11, ISO 200.

Specifications.  According to the Tokina web site: 

Handling.  The lens is made to Tokina’s tried-and-true standards, which I call “deceptively well-built.”  The lens does feel solid, but I know from experience that Tokian’s lenses are not quite as well built as they seem.  (I’ve seen a malfunctioning 20-35/f2.8 lens taken apart and repaired by replacing the electrical tape that was used by Tokina to hold key components together!)  In practice, however, Tokina’s lenses hold up to typical use fairly well.

 
Ultrawide Creativity.  11mm, 1/400 @ f8, ISO 200.

Finish and markings are also typical Tokina, highly functional if somewhat 70’s-looking.  The included, petal-shaped plastic lens hood fits securely enough, and a new “pinch” lens cap design is an improvement.  The lens has a filter size of 77mm and it appears that even polarizing filters can be used with the lens hood in place (albeit with some difficulty).  The lens does not have an internal focus motor, though it sports Tokina’s auto-manual focus clutch.  Manual focusing is well-damped and fairly smooth, though with only a very short throw of just under a quarter turn from infinity to the minimum focus distance of about a foot.

Auto-focusing is of the internal type, and typical for an ultra-wide is very quick.  For sports photographers, this lens has great potential for remote mounting behind a basketball backboard or inside a soccer or lacrosse goal.  With the end of the college sports season, I probably won’t have a chance to try out any of these applications until fall.

Lee Chapel.  11mm, 1/2500 @ f2.8, ISO 200.

Performance.  From a handful of initial shots, this is typical Tokina glass: very sharp and reasonably contrasty, not quite up to Nikon standards but quite acceptable for professional use.  Sharpness at f2.8 is not bad at all, with a “sweet spot” of between f5.6-f11 at 11mm.

Bokeh leaves a bit to be desired, even with the 9-blade diaphragm, although this is not surprising for such a wide lens.

Distortion is also quite reasonably controlled, with barely perceptible barrel distortion visible at 11mm.  At such a wide focal length, however, distortion is most noticeable in the compression of perspective typical of ultrawide lenses.

Bokeh.  16mm, 1/2500 @ f2.8, ISO 200.

Infrared.  Infrared capability seems fine, from a few sample shots taken with my D70i.  There is no IR focus mark, although at such a wide angle there’s likely to be little need for one.

 
Virginia Horse Country.  D70i, 16mm, 1/320 @ f10, ISO 200.

Vignetting w/filters.  With the Cokin P system, utilizing the “slim” one-filter holder, the lens vignettes noticeably at 11mm and 12mm (the shot below is at 11mm).

Vignetting at 11mm w/Cokin P

Buy the Tokina 11-16/f2.8 ATX Pro DX Aspherical for Nikon
Buy the Tokina 11-16/f2.8 ATX Pro DX Aspherical for Canon