Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I've had a lot of lenses in 25-odd years of shooting, but only a few have ever been indispensable to me. This lens is one of them.

I picked this up to supplement my Tamron 18-50, but it's on the camera so much I'll probably end up selling the Tamron.

Sharpness is quite good on this lens, even wide open. But in fairness, I shoot mostly people, so if the corners are soft, I'd probably never notice, since there almost never people there.

Distortion is surprisingly well controlled given how wide it is. I tried out a Tamron 11-17 and found it much too fisheye for me.

It is a hefty lens, no doubt. The clutch mechanism for switching between AF and MF works very well, and it's darn near silent focusing (of course, how far does it really have to focus at that point).

Do not pass up an opportunity to check out this lens, and if you have to buy it here on blind faith and others' recommendations, I think you'll be pleased.

I love this Tokina 12-24 UWA lens. It not only is very clear and bright, but also produces beautiful sharp quality photos. I would highly recommend this lens to others!

I've used this lens for two years now. I am using it on a Canon 40D digital SLR. It is sharp but not as sharp as the Canon equivalent lens. It is very wide and works well for very wide dramatic shots but its focal length range isn't great enough to keep me from constantly wanting to switch lenses. The next lens up that I have is a Canon 28-135mm and I find myself constantly switching between them. The one real problem I have with it is that it is very heavy.... much heavier than the Canon but much less expensive. If you can afford the Canon then I'd definitely recommend it over the Tokina. If not and you don't mind the weight then it is not a bad pick.

This lens build quality is top notch. I use this for most of my landscape shots. I have pulled this out multiple times in home tours, most of the room can be captured. I noticed that in lower light make sure your focus point is on a contrasting point and it will focus every time. I use a B&W CPL, not the thin one, but the standard size and can use it wide open with no vignetting. I also have stacked my CPL with my Lee(wide angle adapter ring)GND filters still with no vignetting wide open. The push/pull AF ring is easy and I like it much better then the little button Canon uses on their lens.

I bought the Tokina 12-24mm Lens for my Canon Rebel XSI, and I love it. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! Best investment I've made since I bought my XSI.
Although I haven't messed with it much, it is much wider then the kit lens. I now have three lenses in my kit, the Tokina 12-24, Canon 18-55 and Canon 55-250, and I am looking for a good inexpensive 500mm lens.
WILL UPDATE after I have used the Tokina for awhile

The Tokina 12-24 is very heavy, solid feeling wide-angle lens. Without doing any scientific testing, I was pleased with the IQ on some of the indoor shots. I ended up returning the lens, however because the level of flare and loss of contrast with a light source anywhere near being in frame was unacceptable for a lens I intended to use primarily outdoors.

There is a newer version of this lens (don't know if it is available on Amazon yet) with different coatings. That may have corrected or mitigated the flare problem.

It's a very good lens! I can't give five stars because nothing is perfect. (If you have the sun in front of you the lens it does some lens flares... more than a Canon L series lens, that's the single problem) Otherwise, it's a very sharp lens, and the mechanical construction is very solid!