Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX Zoom Digital Lens for Canon EOS Mount

by Tokina

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.3 x 3.5 x 3.3 inches ; 1.3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• ASIN: B00099XTKA
• Item model number: AF 12-24mm
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: October 2, 2001

Product Description

The AT-X 124 AF PRO DX lens is Tokina's first lens designed for use exclusively on digital SLR cameras with an APS-C sized sensor.

This lens gives the digital photographer an ultra wide-angle zoom lens that has the equivalent of an 18-36mm zoom range on a 35mm film camera while maintaining a bright constant aperture of f/4.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High Performance Ultra-wide for crop sensor camera bodies, December 16, 2006

By 

Kevin Vertucio "kevinv033" (Philadelphia, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX Zoom Digital Lens for Canon EOS Mount (Electronics)

Looking for an ultra-wide angle lens for your Canon crop sensor camera? This is one to consider. The lens itself is built to high standards. It's a hefty combination of glass and metal. It feels like this thing can withstand just about anything. The image quality is nothing to scoff at. At 12mm wide-open it is a little softer than I would like at the corners, but as you stop down this decreases. Throughout the rest of the focal range this lens is quite sharp.

At the time of purchase, I considered this and the Canon EFS 10-22--the Sigma 10-20 and Tamron 11-18 just didn't have the rave reviews that the Canon and Tokina shared. Both to me had very comparable image results. Aside from difference in cost, the constant f/4 was one of the contributing factors to me buying the Tokina over the Canon.

If you are considering the Tokina lens, I think that you won't be making a mistake. This is a quality performer at a reasonable price. As with all photo equipment, you should test it out at your local camera store to see if it's for you.

23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great at f/8!, November 11, 2007

By 

Coronet Blue (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX Zoom Digital Lens for Canon EOS Mount (Electronics)

I was looking for a really good wide angle to use with my Rebels. I'd been using my old 18mm Olympus lens with an adapter. Unlike "modern" lenses the OM 18mm is tiny, light, entirely metal and almost free of barrel distortion. But of course on a Canon body, focus and f-stop setting are strictly manual.

I tried the Canon 10-22 and to be polite, it was poor. Several people emailed me saying that buying a Canon lens these days is a two stage process where you purchase and then send it in, for "adjustment". I went back to using the Olympus 18.

Then I saw a link to this Tokina and figured, what the hell. All I can say is, this ain't your dad's Soligor. If you can live with its limitations, this lens is exceptional.

I put the camera on a heavy Gitzo tripod, set the lens to 12mm and shot my Linhof test chart. First the bad news. At the 12mm setting and at f/4, the lens is dismal. Not as bad as the Canon 10-22 but only the center is really usable. The good news is that things improve dramatically at f/5.6 and at f/8 it just pops. I mean, like a fixed focal length lens. Its that good.

So, if you expect to use this lens wide open, either because you have to or because you don't know any better, this lens is not for you. Also, it has wicked chromatic aberration, which can be dialed out in Photoshop or better, with DxO. But at f/8, its a killer lens.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great wide-angle lens for APS-C cameras, March 3, 2009

By 

Craig Dickson (San Mateo, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tokina 12-24mm f/4 AT-X Pro DX Zoom Digital Lens for Canon EOS Mount (Electronics)

As other reviewers have noted, this lens is a bit on the heavy side. This is typical of Tokina's lenses, which are always built very solidly with a strong metal alloy body. I've heard of people accidentally sitting on Tokina lenses without damaging them. Try that with a plastic-body Canon EF-S lens and see what happens! So yes, it is heavy, but that's a reflection of quality construction.

I've used Tokina lenses for years and they've always worked well for me. I bought this one recently and I'm not disappointed. It is a bit prone to lens flare if sunlight strikes the glass, but that's not uncommon with wide-angle lenses. At the widest angles, the minor chromatic aberrations and slight geometric distortions around the perimeter are also typical of this class of lens. (Wide-angle lenses naturally want to be fish-eyes; it's a challenge to keep straight lines straight.) If imperfections of this sort are not acceptable to you, then you're probably best off staying on the other side of 24mm unless you can afford lenses that cost twice the price of this one.

It should be noted that this lens is intended for APS-C cameras (Rebels and the 20D-50D series). It will mount on a full-frame camera such as the EOS 5D Mark II (because it uses an EF mount, not EF-S), but on such cameras the image it produces will not fill the entire frame when zoomed to less than 20mm.