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REVIEWS:  Manufacturers:  Tokina:  35mm Primes:
MF17mm f/3.5 SL Manual Focus

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Tokina MF17mm f/3.5 SL Manual Focus


 
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Rating
Reviewed by: 

SigmaSD10

( Expert)

Review Date
May 19, 2005

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

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Review 1 of 9

Price Paid:  $10.00 from Pawnbrokers

Summary:

For really wide shots I had been using the Sigma 18-50mm DC "kit lens" which I found to be a bit on the soft side so when I came across this Tokina 17mm lens at a a bargain price I snapped it up. It came with a Minolta mount so first I had to convert it to M42 mount to be able to use it with my Sigma SD10 DSLR. This was extremely easy to do as I already had the Tokina 24mm f2.8 with an M42 mounting and the mounting plates of the two are interchangeble! I like this lens for several reasons,...Its wider than the Sigma 18-50mm DC is at 18mm, its smaller, its lighter and it has a lot less CA. In fact it only has one flaw, vertical lines in shots can diverge at the top mostly only noticable in shots of large buildings. For closer subjects this effect is much reduced.

Strengths:

Small, Light, Sharp and with very low CA.

Weaknesses:

Some barrel distortion can be seen in perspective shots of large buildings. Its f3.5, but for £10 I cant expect miracles!

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 18-50mm f3.5-f5.6 DC



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Rating
Reviewed by: 

sandyrand

( Professional)

Review Date
May 16, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

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Review 2 of 9

Price Paid:  $100.00 from Cameta Camera

Summary:

One of the better aftermarket lenses out there. Very sharp and detailed images can be obtained from this lens. I use it with my old Canon A-1 bodies and are darn close to the image quality of the original Canon FD prime lenses at a third of the price! Flare is an issue with any extreme wide-angle lens and there is an original lens hood available at B&H Photo on special order (as of 5-16-05). This hood will quiet all the complaints of the flare issue! If you can find one of these in your mount, BUY IT! Thay have been out of production for some time now and will be lost to history soon.

Strengths:

Great image quality for an after-market lens. Fantastic for scenics!

Weaknesses:

Slight flare without hood. Maximum aperature of f/3.5. Wish it were f/2.8, but for the money...

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor AI-S and Canon FD wide-angle lens of various focal lengths.

Customer Service:

Never needed.



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Rating
Reviewed by: 

filmslr8

( Intermediate)

Review Date
May 24, 2004

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1 votes

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Review 3 of 9

Price Paid:  $220.00 from Camera World

Summary:

Typical great Tokina solid build quality. This lens is built like a tank! 17mm is a great experience. My first experience with this lens was at Hearst Castle in San Simeon. The outside swimming pool photograph with this lens turn out perfectly sharp, good contrast and great colors! The indoor photograph of the dining room was amazingly sharp with perfect exposure. I could not have taken a picture of the church without this 17mm lens which just fitted in the frame perfectly! The only issue I have with the lens is that the focusing ring is too loose. Sometimes I would see shoots that have some light fallout on the edges. Other than that, this is a great lens!

Strengths:

build quality sharp good contrast good color 17mm is great

Weaknesses:

some light fallout on edges loose focusing range

Similar Products Used:

Tokina 19-35 f3.5 - f4.5 Tokina 24-200 AT-X f3.5 - f5.6 Sigma 24-70 f3.5 - f5.6

Customer Service:

none



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Rating
Reviewed by: Henryk Zels
 (Expert)

Review Date
July 9, 2003

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

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Review 4 of 9

Price Paid:  $220.00 from epay

Summary:

Regarding the price it's the best wideangle prime lens one can get. Although it is a good idea to test before the buy because there are big differences between examples. The first one i've got has strong light fall off in the corners. The one i have now is ok. Low distortions and good sharpness even in the corners. I've tried a identical looking Vivitar which was bad regarding distortions and contrast.

Strengths:

Low distortions, good sharpness, good contrast. Small, easy to carry. Very strong construction.

Weaknesses:

It tends to flare easily (as do most of the lenses with big front elements). Filter size 67mm is not a standard with Nikon but there are step rings, so one can use 77 or 72mm.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 18-35/3,5-4,5ED, Sigma 15-30/3,5-4,5 , Vivitar 17/3,5 , Voiglaender Super wide Heliar 15/4,5

Customer Service:

Never used.



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Rating
Reviewed by: Alan Clayton
 (Expert)

Review Date
August 23, 2001

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

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Review 5 of 9

Price Paid:  $100.00

Summary:

A challenging lens in use. Its weaknesses (inherent in all superwides - flare, distortion, contrast, vignetting and sharpness) are offset by the sheer impact of the images. The sharpness may not be wonderful (it is good, though) but there's so much in the frame that the viewer doesn't get much chance to nit-pick the edge sharpness etc. Who needs AF at 17mm??

Strengths:

Distortion always less than I fear when using the lens.
Good apparent sharpness.
Good contrast.
Main strength is that the super-wide view and perspective challenges the imagination and can help make an average photo into a stunning one.

Weaknesses:

Flare is difficult to eliminate.
Straight lines in the picture will be distorted.
Camera meters can be easily fooled - use an incidence meter (as well)

Similar Products Used:

Fujinon-X 19mm EBC

Customer Service:

OK



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