Tokina 16-50 f2.8
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cichlid
Senior Member
anyone try this lens yet?? hows the CA on the lens?
thanks
Ya, such a long thread on this lens, anyone bought it can share some pics/review?
hey...thanks
what about the rest?? sharpness, colours, distortion, focusing speed
thanks you so much.
I found this lens a real mixed bag. Very good built quality (slightly worse than the 12-24 ATX due to dual barrel extension at zoom) and good balance on the D80/D200.
Distortion is ok for the range.
Vignetting is bad at F2.8 at the wide end and ok at the long end. At F4.0 it is mostly gone.
Focusing speed is very quick and quiet (not near silent like SWM/USM but very good still - much better than Tamron). Accuracy in poor light/contrast is not so good and accuracy at infinity focus is no good at all.
Colour is neutral like Nikon. It looks blue when compared to the Tamron's warmth.
Sharpness ???? Can you find a good one ? It took me 5 goes to get one. The first 4 were hopeless at F2.8 at all focal lenghts. The final copy is passable at 16mm F2.8 and ok at all other focal lengths. At F4.0, it improves very quickly and is quite impressive.
Overall, built, colour and AF goes to Tokina. Image quality goes to Tamron, but both are still very good buys.
Distortion is ok for the range.
Vignetting is bad at F2.8 at the wide end and ok at the long end. At F4.0 it is mostly gone.
Focusing speed is very quick and quiet (not near silent like SWM/USM but very good still - much better than Tamron). Accuracy in poor light/contrast is not so good and accuracy at infinity focus is no good at all.
Colour is neutral like Nikon. It looks blue when compared to the Tamron's warmth.
Sharpness ???? Can you find a good one ? It took me 5 goes to get one. The first 4 were hopeless at F2.8 at all focal lenghts. The final copy is passable at 16mm F2.8 and ok at all other focal lengths. At F4.0, it improves very quickly and is quite impressive.
Overall, built, colour and AF goes to Tokina. Image quality goes to Tamron, but both are still very good buys.
Scaglietti
New Member
Go and handle one... I think the Tokina feels more solid and expensive compared to the equivalents from Sigma and Tamron.
BC
Synergyworld
Senior Member
I would choose Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 over this lens in term of sharpness. 
Tamron 17-50mm review
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/tamron_1750_28_nikon/index.htm
Tokina 16-50mm review (poor sharpness at f2.8)
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/tokina_1650_28_nikon/index.htm
Tamron 17-50mm review
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/tamron_1750_28_nikon/index.htm
Tokina 16-50mm review (poor sharpness at f2.8)
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/tokina_1650_28_nikon/index.htm
Scaglietti
New Member
I would choose Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 over this lens in term of sharpness.
Tamron 17-50mm review
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/tamron_1750_28_nikon/index.htm
Tokina 16-50mm review (poor sharpness at f2.8)
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/lenses/tokina_1650_28_nikon/index.htm
That's the reason I've gotten one yet... not so much due to sharpness, but because of the CA.
My mind says Tamron, my heart says Tokina... but I've got a sneaky feeling that I might save for the Nikkor.
BC;p
for the sharpness is it a focusing issue? Did you try to Manual focus and see if you can get better results? my experience with 3rd party lens is that they are very likely to have focusing issues.
can cathay photo calibrate tokina lens on the spot? The thing I really like about sigma lens now is that the service is TOP notch. They fix your focusing problems on the spot, takes around 1hr.
Hi wind30, you might be right about the focus issues. It was a totally unscientific in-shop test without manual focus adjustment (which shouldn't really be necessary for a correctly engineered lens anyway).
The reason I feel it's not a AF issues is that at F2.8 everything in the image looks smudged -- if there was an AF issue, at least something in the frame (either behind or in front) should be sharp.
The reason I feel it's not a AF issues is that at F2.8 everything in the image looks smudged -- if there was an AF issue, at least something in the frame (either behind or in front) should be sharp.
peterjaena
New Member
anyone try this lens yet?? hows the CA on the lens?
thanks
Was going to get this lens about a year ago. Built like a tank, love that Tokina build. All metal construction. And it goes to 16mm, 1mm less than the Tammy and Nikkor.
The downside, really soft wide open among the other lenses in the same range. CA is terrible! and the focus is somewhat slow, no AFS HSM version(at the time, i don't know now). I could have lived with the CA, but the softness at 2.8 is more than enough reason to sway me away. :thumbsd:
Can post some pics of the soft wide open? I am considering this lens and would like to see some shots at f2.8
It shoots at AP-C but attached to D80 can auto focus?
can af of course.... had this lens and it's serving me well... the vignetting even nik's famous 24-70 has it at 24mm do you think tokina won't at 16mm??? do the calculations lah... ca not a big prob 4 me i love this lens althou it's kinda soft at f2.8 but i prefer it soft if it's razor sharp kinda worrying too , dof is crucial esp 4 events... so far so good i followed my instinct in buying this lens instead of seeing reviews and polls , i'm pro tokina thru and thru and my thrusty 28-70 orange ring still wif me and in tokina i thrust them
Daedalus Trent
Senior Member
Now the question is
Tokina 16-50 versus Tamron 17-50mm
$880 for the tokina!? wth! :bigeyes: Thats 60-70% more than the tamron! :dunno:
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