Best fixed f2.8 off brand lens for Nikon??

[R6_Dude]

any comments on the Tokina Zoom Super Wide Angle 16-50mm f/2.8 AT-X 165 PRO DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon Digital

I am most likely going to pick this one up for my canon. I like the extra 2mm on the wide end.

 

[icassell]

any comments on the Tokina Zoom Super Wide Angle 16-50mm f/2.8 AT-X 165 PRO DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon Digital

I am most likely going to pick this one up for my canon. I like the extra 2mm on the wide end.

If you're not planning on getting a UWA, that is not a bad thought. My 10-20 covers that wide range, though.

 

[R6_Dude]

any comments on the Tokina Zoom Super Wide Angle 16-50mm f/2.8 AT-X 165 PRO DX Autofocus Lens for Nikon Digital

I am most likely going to pick this one up for my canon. I like the extra 2mm on the wide end.

If you're not planning on getting a UWA, that is not a bad thought. My 10-20 covers that wide range, though.

I originally wanted the 11-16mm, but on a bit of a budget now and the 16-50mm would be the best bang for the buck lens that covers a good amount of focal length, so I'll just take a few steps back for that "perfect shot" haha.

This lens would be great if you are looking for a fast and a bit wider lens. Most other UWA are only at f3.5.

 

[eevoh]

is UWA a canon term?
and besides the fact that it has an extra 2mm on the wide end, any comments on the sharpness, speed in low light situations, ergonomics, etc..?


edit//
is that extra $120 worth it for 2mm?

 

[Goontz]

UWA = Ultra Wide Angle. Not canon-specific. Typically your 10-20mm ranges.

 

[R6_Dude]

is UWA a canon term?
and besides the fact that it has an extra 2mm on the wide end, any comments on the sharpness, speed in low light situations, ergonomics, etc..?


edit//
is that extra $120 worth it for 2mm?

Thats debateable because you can just take a couple of steps back. The reason I brought it up was b/c I wanted a lens that was a fixed f2.8 as well, but I also wanted a Ultra Wide Angle lens. But I came to realize that I'll use this lens much more often than a 11-16 f2.8.

Sharpness/ergonomics I can't say much as I haven't shot with it myself. As for speed in low light situations, at f2.8 I think its great and fast enough.

 

[eevoh]

is UWA a canon term?
and besides the fact that it has an extra 2mm on the wide end, any comments on the sharpness, speed in low light situations, ergonomics, etc..?


edit//
is that extra $120 worth it for 2mm?

Thats debateable because you can just take a couple of steps back. The reason I brought it up was b/c I wanted a lens that was a fixed f2.8 as well, but I also wanted a Ultra Wide Angle lens. But I came to realize that I'll use this lens much more often than a 11-16 f2.8.

Sharpness/ergonomics I can't say much as I haven't shot with it myself. As for speed in low light situations, at f2.8 I think its great and fast enough.

actually, by speed i meant focusing speed
sorry for the misconception

i guess i'll just have to go down to the store to try out these lenses before deciding on which one to buy

 

[eevoh]

sorry to bring this thread up again but i just wanted some final thoughts.
i have decided to buy the tokina 16-50mm lens.

are there any cons that i should know about that would cause me to change my decision??

 

[sterlingp]

so did you purchase the Tokina? I too am thinking of purchasing it. How do you like it so far?

 

[sterlingp]

or should I get this one.....Tamron SP 17-50mm F/2.8 F2.8 VC XR Di II LENS Nikon

 

[eevoh]

Yes, I ended up purchasing the tokina 16-50mm. To be honest, I am not totally satisfied with it. The main reason why I bought a fixed f2.8 is to take pictures indoors under decent lighting conditions and I find that this lens has an extremely hard time focusing on subjects. Even under great lighting, this lens has a tough time focusing on a subject of solid color; for example a wall. I also used this lens to take night scene photos and it had an extremely extremely hard time focusing at 16mm. At 50mm, it focused fine but at 16mm it took forever to focus. I actually had to manually focus to infinity for a lot of the pictures. All of the pictures were taken at apertures higher than 5.6 and they came out a bit too soft for my taste.

I also recently went on a cruise vacation and I took a lot of pictures on the ship(indoors) and most of the pictures came out extremely soft at f2.8.

On the other hand, Tokina has superb build quality. It looks extremely nice on the camera and feels great on the hand(although its heavy). It does have a little creep but thats not a problem for me.

The reason why I chose tokina over sigma is because sigma, for some odd reason, decided to reverse the zoom direction of the lens. The reason why I chose tokina over tamron is because of the build quality and the 16mm it offers over the 17mm tamron and 18mm sigma.

So I guess the questions are - is build quality important to you?, do you care about which direction the zoom ring goes?, will the speed of focusing matter?, do you really need that extra 1-2mm that the tokina offers? and will you be using this lens mainly for indoor photography? if your answers are yes yes no yes no then you should buy this lens. lol

P.S. - This lens is great for outdoors. It has some great blues. When taking pictures during the day, the sky comes out amazing in my opinion.

 

[sterlingp]

odd my answers are reverse....so I shouldn't buy this lens ....get the tamaron I am now thinking.....though I hear a lot about good and bad copies....maybe you got a bad copy?
Quality.....yes but optical quality is more important than cosmetic and "look" quality
I want sharpness & fast,...
Zoom ring direction...no doesn't bother me yet
Speed of focus....yes I want fast
Do I "need" the xtra 1-2 mm? ....no, but it would be nice just in case
mainly indoor...50/50....

 

[icassell]

I have had my Tamron 17-50mm for over 3 years (I got it before they had the VC version and, frankly, don't think I would spend the extra money for the image stabilizer). It's interesting that you've heard a lot about bad copies, because I've never heard that complaint about this lens. The build is solid and I give it a lot of use (abuse). Tamron also has an excellent (6 year) warranty. I love the lens.