Tokina 12-24mm f/4.0 Lens

Had to return the Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens I've been using since September. Canon actually wanted it back. Can you imagine? Don't they know who I am? :D

Unfortunately, I'm leaving on a very important photo trip today. So I checked the reviews (and my bank balances) and on Friday I paid $50 for the fastest possible delivery. My new Tokina AT-X Pro DX 12-24mm f/4.0 wide angle lens arrived on time, at about 9 AM this morning. I catch a shuttle to the airport in less than an hour, so I am very relieved. It would have been a serious bummer to go on this trip without a super-wide zoom. And based on the reviews, I'm very excited about this one:

Tokina AT-X Pro DX 12-24mm f/4.0 wide angle lens reviews >>

Not only was it a last minute purchase, but it was backordered at all of my usual dealers. I got it from 17th Street Photo, who I found on the "compare prices" tab of the review page. I hadn't used them before. But not only did they have it in stock, their price was lower, phone service was pleasant and reassuring, and it got here in time.

Don't you just love that feeling - getting that package, opening the box - and out comes this awesome new lens!

I've looked at that lens a few times - it's very tempting. However, I'd have to sell my 17-40 which I love, although it's not so wide on the XTi.

Please post some pics........and have a great time.

Liz

You are going to love that lens!

I've had it since Christmas & use it all the time :)

I've used Nikon's 12-24 and heard that this one is very similar. I'm sure you'll love it!

Well I guess you won't want my 10-22 then.
I'm still looking for a good full frame wide angle to replace the 10-22 on all my bodies instead of just using it on the 20D.

I've been looking at that lens and may just make up my mind when I see your review when you get back. I'll hoping for an A+. I have really missed having a good wide. Right now the widest thing I have is the 28-70 and can't really even classify that as a wide on a digital.

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Originally Posted by Old Timer

Right now the widest thing I have is the 28-70 and can't really even classify that as a wide on a digital.

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Even the 20-35 I had when I first got my DSLR wasn't very wide of course - been happy with the Sigma 10-20 but variable aperture lenses can be a bit of a hassle when shooting in manual mode. It was a hard choice between 12mm constant aperture and 10mm variable, but the 15mm equivalent won out... :)

Are you eating oatmeal?


I want a wide angle. Unfortunately, I had to replace my 70-200, so that was $1500 that i wasn't anticipating spending. :(

That tokina is a fine piece of glass! I often considered getting one after selling off my Nikon 12-24. Be sure to post what it shoots on the trip!

17th st. is great...they've gotten me some stuff a few times that was very rare.

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Originally Posted by adina

Are you eating oatmeal?

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He's gotta pay for the lens somehow :D

And here I thought I was Tokina man. Congrats John, If I weren't paying for my son's wisdom teeth extraction, I would have one of those miraculously show up in my bag. Great piece of glass. Have fun with it.

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Originally Posted by adina

Are you eating oatmeal?

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Yep. I love oatmeal. It's tasty and cheap and good for you. I eat it with peanut butter and honey and some ground flax seed. It's delicious and has everything I need to start my day out right. Well, I need some coffee, too :D

Great Lens John..Enjoy. I have the same in the Pentax version 12-24...Sharp as a tack even wide open....

Congrats..

Ben

I just recently added one of those to my bag too. So far I am very impressed, it may replace my 17-40 with me back filling a 24 or 28-70 f/2.8L to cover the mid range. I have always wanted a 28-70 and now's my chance.

So how do you like this lens John? I'm considering picking up a W/A for a trip out west next month, and this and the Canon 10-22mm are my top two choices. Is the the Canon worth the extra $$?

PS: I didn't see this lens listed in the reviews, but maybe I just missed it.

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Originally Posted by mjs1973

PS: I didn't see this lens listed in the reviews, but maybe I just missed it.

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Reviews here.

Not sure how the Canon would compare but, here's a good comparison review of the Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, and Nikon w/a zooms.

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Originally Posted by Photo-John

Yep. I love oatmeal. It's tasty and cheap and good for you. I eat it with peanut butter and honey and some ground flax seed. It's delicious and has everything I need to start my day out right. Well, I need some coffee, too :D

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Never tried it with peanut butter, we like it with pure maple syrup as well. I almost gave my sister in law a heart attack when I told her I've switched from the traditional Quaker to a stone ground organic one. It works better in cookies. :)

I've been putting ground flax seed in everything. Sometimes they notice, usually they don't.

Well I'm convinced now all I need is 500 bucks!!

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Originally Posted by Old Timer

Well I'm convinced now all I need is 500 bucks!!

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Let me know where you find it, cause I need it too. :D

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Originally Posted by mjs1973

So how do you like this lens John? I'm considering picking up a W/A for a trip out west next month, and this and the Canon 10-22mm are my top two choices. Is the the Canon worth the extra $$?

PS: I didn't see this lens listed in the reviews, but maybe I just missed it.

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Here's a link to the review page:

Tokina 12-24mm f/4 lens reviews >>

I like the lens a lot. I'm very pleased with it. I miss the extra two millimeters on the Canon EF-S 10-22mm. Two millimeters makes a big difference with lenses this wide. But I spent $200 less than I would have if I'd bought the Canon. I also like the fixed f/4.0 aperture. The Canon is fast, but not as fast at the long end and variable apertures are just annoying. I think the image quality of the Tokina is as good or better than the Canon. Both are excellent. But I think the Tokina may be a hair sharper. It has no noticeable barrel distortion. So if you want to shoot anything with straight lines, it's no problem. You may have some convergence. But unlike curved walls that you get with a fisheye, these are easy to fix in Photoshop.

I was a little worried about focus, since I think Canon is usually notieably better than third-party manufacturers. But the Tokina's auto focus has performed very, very well. I haven't tried AI Servo. But with a wide angle, you don't really need to. Depth-of-field usually takes care of focus issues withlenses this wide.

So it's a toss up. Save a couple hundred bucks and get the f/4.0 aperture, or et the extra 2mm of coverage. Read the reviews and see what you think. The reviews are excellent and a pretty hard sell for the Tokina. That's why I got it. It's backordered everywhere right now and very hard to track one down. I bought mine from 17th Street in NYC. They were one of the few places I could find it and felt comfortable giving my money to.

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Originally Posted by mjs1973

Let me know where you find it, cause I need it too. :D

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Buy Dig has 'em: Tokina 12-24 Canon Mount. I have had quite a few dealings with them and never had a problem.

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Originally Posted by EOSThree

Buy Dig has 'em: Tokina 12-24 Canon Mount. I have had quite a few dealings with them and never had a problem.

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Thanks EOS, but that link takes me to a different lens. B&H has the lens in stock according to thier site, I need to know where to find the $$$. :D

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Originally Posted by mjs1973

Thanks EOS, but that link takes me to a different lens. B&H has the lens in stock according to thier site, I need to know where to find the $$$. :D

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Oops my bad, I guess that's what I get for posting while half asleep...Buydig no longer has the 12-24.

Adorama has the 12-24 $499.95 :idea:
http://www.adorama.com/Catalog.tpl?page=il_refine_search

They also have it for Nikon
Ken Rockwell has reviews of the Nikon, Tokina, Sigma & Tamoron

http://kenrockwell.com/tech/digital-...comparison.htm

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Originally Posted by mjs1973

Thanks EOS, but that link takes me to a different lens. B&H has the lens in stock according to thier site, I need to know where to find the $$$. :D

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MJS, get a tin cup, some pencils, shades and a white cane then, go sit on a corner where it is busy. :rolleyes:

hey PJ, i thought I would bring this up just to ask about the AF system of the lens. I'm considering getting one because I don't really have a WA lens except my 16mm fisheye, and I'm looking at this. But one thing that's important to me is the AF. You said it has been reliable, but do you have any comments on it versus canon's USM drive. The 24-70 siggy I have is fairly unpredictable AF and it's LOUD. You can hear all the motors spinning. Is it a fairly quiet lens? Thanks.

It is quiet and I haven't had it let me down as far as focus goes. I expected to be making a focus compromise when I bought it. But that doesn't seem to be the case. Plus, focus isn't as big of an issue with a wide angle lens. I'd be more concerned if it was a long lens. Then I might expect to see some performance differences. The only issue I've had is that I do miss the extra 2mm of view that the Canon EF-S 10-22mm lens has. But I can live without it.

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Originally Posted by mikeb380

MJS, get a tin cup, some pencils, shades and a white cane then, go sit on a corner where it is busy. :rolleyes:

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Just don't bring the camera. Might be a bit of a tip-off to your potential contributors... :)

Sorry, I forgot to mention that. You could get one of those russian spy cameras, the ones which look like a pack of cigarettes. :D

I was able to give this lens a pretty good work out over the last couple of weeks, and I'm pretty happy with it. The AF system seems really slow tho. Not sure if that would change on a different body or not, but I found it a little dissapointing, but something I can live with.

I didn't even look at the Sigma lens when I made this purchase, and at the time, I wish that I had. I think the extra 2mm would have been pretty nice. But then I had to deal with Sigma's customer service when I sent in a different lens for repair. That experience made me very happy that I didn't get the Sigma lens. What a nightmare of dealing with people who don't have a clue what's going on with your gear once you send it in...