Tokina 12-24/4.0 AT-X 124 AF Pro DX Zoom Lens f/ Canon EOS Digital USA by Tokina
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Digital camera reviews of Tokina 12-24/4.0 AT-X 124 AF Pro DX Zoom Lens f/ Canon EOS Digital USA
Digital camera Review: Magic Lens
Summary: 5 Stars
I have had the Tokina 12-24mm for 3 years and it is an amazing lens. Incredibly well built, sharp and great contrast. All my other lenses are Canon L -- and this one keeps right up with them. The ability to go super-wide (past 17mm) is a lot of fun -- -enables a lot of creative shots and adds a great sense of depth to landscapes.
I have compared the Tokina directly to the Sigma 12-24 and Canon 10-20mm lenses. I thought the Sigma was nearly as good in picture quality, but not nearly as well built as the Tokina. The Sigma may have even been a touch sharper, but the color saturation and slight warmth of the Tokina create strikingly beautiful images with very little retouching. The Tokina lens is nearly all metal with great grippy dials -- the Canon and Sigma are mostly constructed of plastic. I also liked that the Tokina is a fixed f4 in aperture - enabling more flexibility in exposure. The Sigma is only f4 at 12mm, and then you lose a stop to f5.6 if you zoom in at all -- requiring more light for the same exposure.
The extra 2mm of vantage that the Canon 10-20mm provides (over the 12-24mm Sigma and Tokina) is attractive, but I thought the barrel distortion ("fisheye" effect) was pretty pronounced between 10-12 mm. It's not too tough to fix the distortion in photoshop -- but considering the significant extra expense for the Canon and the great images I got out of the Tokina I decided to stick with the Tokina tank. Only downside of Tokina is that the autofocus is slow -- but I rarely am trying to catch anything in motion with a super-wide angle lens anyway.
Anyway -- even from a Canon L devotee, I say this lens is a 6 out of 5. Especially when you take the price into consideration -- worth every penny.
Some samples are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/stoneman
Digital camera Review: Pro quality at an amateur price
Summary: 5 Stars
This lens is astonishingly good value. Price, build and optical quality really shine with this beauty.
Normally I am less than impressed with zoom lenses, I prefer primes. However I had owned Tokina lenses before with total satisfaction and so bought the 12-24mm for ultrawide shots on my Canon 400D.
Quite honestly I am hugely impressed with this lens. In my opinion it is very sharp over the whole frame by f5.6 (all my photography is done on a tripod for maximum sharpness). The build quality is easily as good as the best maker's lenses, the whole package exudes confidence and quality. At this price point the lens is a serious bargain, a keeper for sure.
Digital camera Review: Seemed great but had to return
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this lens from beach Camera on Amazon. When the package arrived i could hear a rattling in the package. The lens cap wasn't on. And after looking at the glass in sunlight i could see a defect on the outer edge of the glass. My guess is the lens cap did it. I emailed Beach Camera and they are taking it back. I did take the camera out for a few shots and was impressed. The sharpness and color saturation was very nice.
But i think i will get the Canon lens after reading the June 2. 2006 review above. It costs a lot but they do demand a much higher value when selling used.
I think many people would be happy with the Tokina lens that's why i gave it five stars.
Digital camera Review: Sharpest Lens I Ever Owned
Summary: 5 Stars
This is an amazing lens. I never owned a Canon L lens but I think this lens must be equal in quality, or close to it. The quality of this lens makes a big difference in the outcome of my photos. It's a little heavy compared to my other lenses but well worth the bother to have it along. A very high quality lens in all respects and a bargain at this price. A comparable L lens would cost at least 2x as much.Digital camera Review: Truly wonderful lens
Summary: 5 Stars
I've used only one Tokina lens prior to this one, but it was one of my most beloved lenses, the 80-200 f/2.8 from some 15 years ago.
So I had no qualms about buying another Tokina to fit the ultra-wide slot in my lens lineup.
I can't say enough about this lens. Well-built, sharp as all get out, easy to use, minimal distortion. It's a joy to use, even if a bit heavier than comparable lenses.
I've had a few dogs among my third-party lens purchases over the years, but this isn't one of them.
It's built like a tank. The push-pull system to switch between manual and auto focus is very well done (My Tamron 90mm macro had a similar system that worked really well, too) and a far cry better than Canon lenses.
If I could give it six stars, I would.