Tamron 15-30 or Tokina 16-28

[vipgraphx]

I have been looking into purchasing a wide lens very soon. I use to own a tokina 12-24 with my D7000 and thought it performed very well. When I sold off equipment and bought a D700 I purchased the Nikon 14-24 then sold off that equipment. Now I have a D750 and looking for a wide lens but don't really want to get the 14-24 because of price and this is now just a hobby.

I have been looking at both the new tamron 15-30 2.8 lens and the Tokina 16-28 2.8 lens.

Anyone have any hands on with either one of these lenses? Any preference as to which one is better.

I saw a video on youtube from matt granger ( I think thats how you spell it) comparing the Tamron to the Nikon and I was very impressed with the tamron.

Anyways any help and advice would be greatly appreciated..

 

[goodguy]

Funny you are looking for exact same lens I did only a short while ago

Wide lens recommendation | Photography Forum

I chose the Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 II

I bought it used for 500$ (CAN) in near mint condition, I believe in USD this should be around 420$
I am super happy with this lens its so sharp and distortion while there is acceptable considering how wide this lens is, you will not find a wider full frame zoom lens.
Only drawback is that its a slow lens but I dont care because if I would to use such a wide lens in the ark I would use it on tripod anyway no matter how fast it is and in good lighting condition I don't need a tripod.
I too use it on my D750, highly recommended!!!

Good luck

 

[jsecordphoto]

what kind of stuff will you be shooting? I have the d750 and use the tokina 16-28, but plan on selling it and picking up the tamron 15-30 soon. The tokina is a great lens, especially when stopped down to like f8-f11...very sharp. I do a lot of astrophotography and it's just not so great wide open, a little soft in the corners with a decent amount of coma. Tamron let my buddy test out the 15-30 when it first came out and it performs very well wide open with very little coma, which is why I plan on switching. That lens is heavy though! The Tokina is already a pretty solid lens and I think the Tamron is like a pound heavier haha

 

[vipgraphx]

Funny you are looking for exact same lens I did only a short while ago

Wide lens recommendation | Photography Forum

I chose the Sigma 12-24mm 4.5-5.6 II

I bought it used for 500$ (CAN) in near mint condition, I believe in USD this should be around 420$
I am super happy with this lens its so sharp and distortion while there is acceptable considering how wide this lens is, you will not find a wider full frame zoom lens.
Only drawback is that its a slow lens but I dont care because if I would to use such a wide lens in the ark I would use it on tripod anyway no matter how fast it is and in good lighting condition I don't need a tripod.
I too use it on my D750, highly recommended!!!


Good luck

I was looking at the sigma lens as well, however I think i would like to have a bit faster lens. I am planning a trip to Disneyland in December and will not take the tripod so I will be shooting hand held. I would be nice to have the speed.

When I had the D700 with the Nikon 14-24 I went to a fair and shot handheld in the dark and pictures came out really well. I DID normally use a tripod when shooting with the 14-24 as I did lots of HDR shooting at F8-F11 but, its nice to have 2.8 when needed.

what kind of stuff will you be shooting? I have the d750 and use the tokina 16-28, but plan on selling it and picking up the tamron 15-30 soon. The tokina is a great lens, especially when stopped down to like f8-f11...very sharp. I do a lot of astrophotography and it's just not so great wide open, a little soft in the corners with a decent amount of coma. Tamron let my buddy test out the 15-30 when it first came out and it performs very well wide open with very little coma, which is why I plan on switching. That lens is heavy though! The Tokina is already a pretty solid lens and I think the Tamron is like a pound heavier haha

I will use it for landscape mainly (HDR) and also use it at 30mm for inside family shots or portraits. I know lots of folks like the 80mm for portraits but I do have a 50mm 1.8 and that seems to be fine. There are times when I would like to have a closer shot with more interesting perspective and why I would like to use the wide angle for those times…
ex..

augie by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

josh_2 by VIPGraphX, on Flickr

 

[jsecordphoto]

the type of stuff I shoot tends to be a little more demanding than most people's needs (the astro work), where I really need the lens to be sharp corner to corner wide open at 2.8 with very little coma. If you want to shoot portraits at 2.8, you might not be as worried about super sharp corners, because those areas will be out of focus anyway. Really the only reason I'd suggest the tamron over the tokina is if you plan to shoot the night sky, or if you need VR