Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I use it as an extra lens (Sony A77 comes already with a 16-50mm zoom kit)
Perfect for those small places where you'll need to capture a wider angle.
Very good for shooting videos in small ambients!

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

This is a very well built wide angle lens. The quality of the images it produces is great. I would recommend this to other photographers looking to purchase a lens of this type.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

This is a nice wide angle zoom. Surprizing little distortion for as wide as this lens is. A great addition to your lens kit.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

Great scenic and landscape lens. Distortion is minimal for the focal length range, colors are clear and bright. Perfect lens for the price. I would buy it again and again. Now if Tokina would just make more alpha mount lenses...

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I use this lens for interior real estate shots on my Sony Alpha 77. Its built very well, solid, sturdy, quick auto focus speed and crystal clear video. I would highly recommend this lens.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

This is very bright and sharp across the frame.
It would be perfect if it started at 10mm like Sigma.
I don't really like the clutch mechanism to switch between manual focus and autofocus. Luckily autofocus works fine.
It is very solidly build.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I really love this lens. It has awesome control of distortion when using it at its widest angle. The lens is shape from even at f2.8. It is sad that this beautiful lens is not for full frame.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I use this lens primarily for nature landscapes. It's also good for indoors or cityscapes, but I don't use it that way as much.

This is a very sharp lens for an ultrawide. It's a sharp lens, period, acually. I'd say it's sharper than my old Sony 18-200, about as sharp as my Sony 16-105, and sharper than the Sony 18-250 (which is supposed to be about identical to the Tamrom 18-250, to finally link this to a non-Sony lens). It's not as sharp as my Tamron 17-50, but it's still very good. It's also very well made; it has the heft and handling of a quality lens. I've read some folks complaining about the size of the hood. Well, this is an F2.8 ultrawide. The hood isn't going to be a doll's sleeve. It's the widest hood I own, true, but I can still reverse it and fit the lens in my backpack or Lowepro 102AW, so the size of the hood doesn't bother me at all.

I really don't use the widest aperature much; I do most of my shooting at F8 with this lens, and it performs very well at that setting. I've used F2.8 a few times indoors or in late twilight.

I like the fact that the front element doesn't extend past the end of the lens body; I can press the lens right up to a window pane and shoot with no worries.

The Tokina method of switching from manual focus to auto focus is interesting. You pull the focus ring back for manual focusing, and slide it forward for auto focus. But my Sony A700 focuses very well with this lens, so I almost always use it in auto focus mode.

Hmm, what's not so good... Well, when buying this lens I was tempted to go with the Tamron 10-24 because of the greater zoom range. Some folks said this lens was pretty much a prime. Having used it for several months now, I disagree; if you think this is a prime, buy a zoom that starts at 16 or 17mm and be done with it. The difference between 11mm and 16mm is useful, and I've used both ends of this lenses range at times. I wouldn't mind if it went to 24mm of course, but I wouldn't trade any of this lenses image quality to get that extra reach. (Ha, ha; I just called 24mm "reach.") I listed the zoom range as the only "con," but really I don't mind much at all, as I just explained.

I wouldn't recommend any accessories with this lens. Landscapes usually mean polarizing filter, but at these focal lengths if there's any sky in your picture, it will vary markedly from one side to the other if you use a polarizing filter. So to heck with filters; just use your camera well, and do what you need to in post processing.

The only other ultrawide I've used is the Sigma 10-24mm F4-F5.6. Judging by that experience, my time with this lens, and the reviews of other comparable lenses on the market, I think I was right to buy this lens; in my humble opinion, it's the best ultrawide on the market.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

This is my first UWA in...let's say 30 years?
Before this Tokina, the widest I'd get would be my Carl Zeiss 16-35.

Naturally, the construction of this lens is no match for the CZ, but it costs a third of the CZ.

Now... this lens has "extreme landscaping" written all over it. I pretend to take it to the Chilean Antarctica ( I'm currently in Chile) as well as the Atacama desert and the Salt Lakes of Uyuni in Bolivia.

I've tried a couple of problematic shots...shots against the sun, shots with several polarizers to check for vignetting.

So far these are my impressions: AF accuracy on the A700 and A 900(on APS mode) is second to none. AF speed, due to the classic screw-drive is more than enough for this type of lens. Interestingly enough...this lens focus as fast on my wife's A55 as my CZ1635 SSM does on my A700- of course...lens noise is increased by the high RPM...

I was surprised by how small and light the lens is. The only thing that did not convince me at all was the plastic hood indeed...I do believe it deserves a metal or a better hood.

Also...the lens has 5 contacts instead of 8 used for the ADI, but that is irrelevant...given there are no Units that cover this angle aperture.

A nice surprise from Tokina...as it has always been :-)

Cheers and Regards from Santiago :-)

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

If you have the right adaptor, go for this one instead of Canon's 10-22mm F/3.5. It's a brighter lens with great quality and comes with the hood.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I've got it teamed up with my a700, and it performed well beyond my expectations. I kept it on my secondary camera for wedding (as its first real test), and it never let me down. I actually saved me a few times because of some preceremony candids being in such tight quarters.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I read about this lens in Ken Rockwell's detailed & helpful review and am very pleased with the image quality pictures I have taken with it. An 11m wide angle is wonderful for landscapes, and also provides a unique perspective for closeup of things like lilac blooms.

Tip: At first, I thought the lens might defective becuase I was getting many blurry shots. Then I found that I get good consistent focusing as long as I use spot focus through the center of the lens. The focus problem only occurs when using the wide focus are setting on the camera. (This may be due the camera, not the lens. I don't know.)

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

Ist one on the best lens on my own.

Very sharp, best for landscape.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I like shooting landscapes, old barns, broken down tractors, etc., mostly in HDR.
This lens allows me to get close and capture extra details while taking in the whole subject. It is great and now is my lens of choice for what I like to shoot.
It is solidly built and is a quality lens. While the zoom is only 11-16, I do not consider that a drawback.
Definitely recommended.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

A very wide angle lens, suitable for my Alpha 33 especially landscape shooting. Recommended to all.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I searched a lot online and through friends while looking for UWA lens for my A700 camera. Like many, I am very particular about my gears and always keep the only ones that give desired results. I bought this lens mainly for Landscape/ Seascape photography with Wider Coverage, keeping in mind Sharp image results.

This camera is bang for a buck. very Very Sharp images and wide angle is fun to play with. 11mm is way better for someone having no prior wide angle lens, like in my case. The best I could use before was my CZ 16 80, but that too was not that wide enough. The image quality of Tokina 11 16 is absolute pleasing. Very sharp, great control on CA (considering it wide angle) and sharper image even at the corners. I would definitely recommend it to anyone in the market looking for UWA lens. F2.8 is the widest fixed aperture available in this range. So, it makes it an owl with very sharp and fast images even in low light photography. I love this lens.

The only reason for not giving it 5 starts is because of the only challenge I am personally facing with this lens - Flare control, when Sun is in the frame. But i guess that happens with almost all kinda lenses unless you use some filters. Also, I wish, the same lens were also available for Full Frame camera and not just for APS-C sensor. I would wait for the day Tokina releases the same for my FF.

Overall, I am very happy to make this purchase and enjoying every click with this lens on my Camera.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

I haven't used this lens for very long but already I am pleased with the colour rendition and extreme wide angle capability. The versatility afforded by the 11-16mm zoom gives some flexibility to the composition of shots whilst retaining the stretched, dramatic angles of this focal length. So far, I have found it sharp and successful even in low light conditions. With a small aperture you can achieve near full-frame sharpness and infinitesimal DOF. There are no frills to the appearance but it feels rugged and shake-free, no rattle in the barrel. Manual focusing is very sensitive due to the small amount of travel required to change focus.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

Constant F2.8 good for interiors. Decent build. Used for landscapes and interiors. A bit heavier than its non-F2.8 competitors.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

This lens is great for low light indoors or outdoors at night. I have gotten great results for large group shots and landscapes. It is tack sharp and gives a nice bokeh in the background. I would highly recommend this lens for anyone in the market for a excellent wide angle lens.

Comments about Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX Autofocus Lens For Sony Alpha DSLRs:

My daughter is a photo enthusiast and she owns this lens. She recommended it for me because I love to take landscapes pictures.