To date I had with my D70 Nikkor 18-70mm f the / 3.5-4.5 AF-S DX Nikkor AF 50mm f / 1.8 D AF 70-300mm Tamron and an f / 4-5.6 at the start. Hooked by the extremely impressive wide-angle shots of Canon Spezls I began offering for Nikon bayonets to sift through and came inevitably to Tokina 11-16mm / 2.8, which reaped consistently very positive reviews in addition to its predecessor, the 12-24mm f / 4.
A quick check showed that the 11-16 in terms of resolution and focus precision (only bodies with pinion drive for lack of integrated motor suitable for autofocus, owner of a D40 etc. will have to focus manually) nothing to be desired leaves - which discussed in some American forums backfocus problem could I do not understand in my specific model for the German market. Also the need to have to make an exposure with varying focal length, has not turned out. You may also find the type of exposure and the arrangement of the exposure sensors in the camera itself plays a role.
My impression:
The heavy about half a kilo Tokina is processed very high quality and clean, the setting rings rotate with the feel of a genuine Handschmeichlers even the patented "One-touch Focus Clutch Mechanism" (pulling the focus ring back and thus unlocks the autofocus) works intuitive and hakelfrei.
The polished version locked reliably and without play into the bayonet of bodysuits, zooming marking line is also the starting point of the brand has with the body when the screw alignment. Unfortunately, the included back cover did not fit mysteriously at my other Nikon lenses (refused to be violent turn up), so I dodged an orignal Nikon product that does its job properly on all lenses. The front cover of the Tokina has indoor and outdoor operations and is the cap of 18-70 in every way.
When zooming in the front and rear lens not moving slightly back and forth, but on the filter thread beyond what the application of a (thin,
The imaging performance fully complies with my expectations: Even at f 2.8 succeed good "available light" shots from the hand, dimmed a two stops sets the lens when it comes to sharpness again to. Due to the large angle of the Tokina is a bit sensitive terms which laterally irradiating, bright lights and answered this extreme situation with a number of bright green flare and strips, which also Gegenlichblende supplied has not grown. Such harsh shooting conditions, however, can i. Allg. avoid good or shade by hand.
Of particular note is the way the 30cm with extremely low minimum focusing distance, which allows creative with the perspective distortion at small focal lengths to play. Then also shows a quite pleasing background blur ("bokeh"), is well expressed in particular at f / 2.8 to advantage.
Who has no problem to create a wide-angle lens to the 600 euro, will not regret his decision. I would even go as far and say that the combo of Tokina 11-16 and Nikkor 70-200 VR covers 90% of the applications. For the remaining ten percentage points I keep my 18-70er Kitobjektiv happy - despite its slightly lower light intensity.
Have fun taking pictures!
PS: there are now long-term experience in the tough everyday from people who really need to know it to Tokina: Lensrentals.com. Quick Internet search for "lens rentals-repair-data-january-july-2012" leads quickly and unerringly to the source documents, which I reproduce here a section and in German:
- The similarly constructed Tokina 16-28 f / 2.8 and Tokina 11-16 f / 2.8 held an average of 57 weeks (the former) and 147 weeks (the latter) in the rental operation until the first defect by. Here, the final average for the larger batch of meaningful and in comparison with other, often far more expensive lenses is outstanding.
- The defects it were mostly the AF-M-coupling mechanism (Tokina 16-28 f / 2.8), when the focus 11-16er jammed (6x), the AF-M-clutch gave up the ghost (6x) and it loosened screws (3x).
Understand that such a commonly operated operating element wears in rental operation. But, the good news: the typical defect site of the AF-M-coupling can be made after removing the rubber ring and tape stripping reach without great Zerlegeaktionen, then replace the small screw with their brass sleeve or easily cleaned just the affected area.
