Build quality
is very sharp
Good price on it

haven't found any yet. If I had to name one it would be that its only an F4 not F2.8

I've had this lens for a few weeks, and I got a great chance to try it out at the Tour of California bike race. I had the lens matched up to my D2h, and the results were fantastic. The lens was very fast snapping into and keeping track in focus. The lens itself is very sharp corner to corner, and I didn't notice any vignetting that I had read about in some other reviews.

Before I bought this lens, I was debating between it and the Sigma 10-20. I finally decided on the Tokina and I haven't regretted it since

Customer Service

Haven't had to use it

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-70 F2.8, 24 F2.8

"L" lens type build
extremely sharp
Works on full frame cameras with reduced zoom range
good value for money
rich colours
high contrast
fast focus
sliding cluch for manual/ auto focus

little flaring in situation where bright lights are used
little vignetting when taking photos of the sky at 12mm

I have used this lens on both Canon 350D and the 5D although it is meant to be used on APS- C size type digital cameras. The lens works well on the 5D (Full frame) from 18mm upwards, and with the UV filter and hood removed an extra 2mm can be achieved bring it down to 16mm (This would be equivalents to 10mm on APS-C camera if it could be translated down). The center of the image is extremely sharp although the edges can be a little soft at f/4, but improve rapidly when the lens is closed. On the Canon 5D the softness of the edges doesn’t seem to be as much as a problem as on the 350D. The vignetting doesn’t seem to be a problem provide that the the zoom is not opened too wide. At 12mm there is little vignetting and can be noticed when taking shots of the sky. This can be easily fixed using a good photo editors if the image was taken in raw mode (+/- 3 extra stops of dynamic range). I have not noticed chromatic aberration, although some reviews I have read complained about it. The build quality is very good and is in par or better than cannon L lenses I have used. The quality however comes at a price and that is in weight. It weight about a third more than the Canon 10-22mm lens. The only area where improvement could be made is that is suffers a little from flaring where bright points of light are found. Overall I am very happy with this lens, even on my Cannon 5D, although the zoom range is very limited. I have posted a number of photos on this site using the Canon 350D and the 5D as examples of this lens at full image size (for the 350D ).

Customer Service

not required

Similar Products Used:

cannon 16-35mm L

Sharpness, colors, finishing. An excellent lens.

Non so far. Definitely none for this level of price.

This is a great lens and I have only one advise to give you: buy it.
It balances well with my D200 and the finishing has a professional look. What I like of this lens is the sharpness and the extreme natural colors that almost perfectly reflects what you you see with what you get.
I have tried this lens during day & night, in the most different light situation. The only minor issue seems to be when you shoot towards the sun light, where the lens delivers some flare, but just some, probably much less flare than other lenses in the same price segment.
Sharpness & quality remain pretty much on the same great level throughout the 12-24 range. Wide open is shows an amazing sharpness in the center with some light softness at the corners. Best if used at f8-11. At this level I don't really see the reason why I should pay so much more mney for a Nikon or Canon.
Again, go for it, if you are serious and look for a great lens for daily use. If you want to go for the overall best in the market, you might be complaining for the little distorsion it shows at 12mm. Be also ready though to pay much more.

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 24-85 2.8/4, Nikon 18-70Dx

Inexpensive. Very Sharp. Lightweight. Good Build Quality.

None I can think of.

I own the Nikon 17-35mm f2.8 af-s and it's a great lens. The 17-35mm is a much better lens than a lot of wide angle lenses I have owned including the Nikon 18-35mm, the Tokina 20-35mm, the Nikon 20mm and the Sigma 15-30mm. Only the Tokina and Sigma could match some of the sharpness of the 17-35mm, and none could compare with it's color and contrast. When I purchased this lens I didn't have high expectations for it because I figured it was too wide of a lens to produce a decent image, but I was interested in a very wide angle on my D200. So, using the 17-35mm as a benchmark, I compared it to the Tokina 12-24mm at similar focal lengths with my standard tripod mounted, mirror-locked up tests using brick walls and lens test patterns. To my shock, the Tokina 12-24mm matches up well against the Nikon 17-35mm. Really well. The Nikon is slightly sharper in the corners and has slightly better contrast, but the difference is neglible.

Customer Service

Have not had to use it.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 17-35mm f2.8. Nikon 20mm f2.8. Nikon 18-35mm f3.5-4.5. Tokina 20-35mm f2.8. Sigma 15-30mm f3.5-4.5.

Build quality. Really sharp and contrasty. Colours are towards the warm side. Focusing is fast and accurate. Worth every penny.

CA at high contrast area.

I bought the Tokina AT-X Pro 12-24mm to replace my Canon 17-40mm f4L because of the focal range. I need a wide angle lens and the Canon's range after the 1.6X conversion is neither here nor there. So far I have no regrets and infact I'm enjoying it. My Tokina proves to be sharper and more contrasty than my previous Canon 17-40mm. And the 17-40 also suffers from the same CA problem as my Tokina. For the price, it's a no brainer to go for the Tokina. I'm a happy user and I strongly recommends it.

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF20-35mm f2.8L
Canon EF17-40mm f4.0L
Canon EF28-70mm f2.8L
Canon EF24-70mmf2.8L
Canon EF70-200mm f2.8L
Canon EF50mm f1.8
Canon EF100mm f2.8 Macro

Very sharp, very fast focus. Profesional build quality. Very good swich between m/a focus, u even dont need to swich it on your camera. Dy 77 filter. Nr 1 lenses for landscape photo.

Heavy. ... i mean it. very heavy. You even can use it for self defence! ;)

I'm long long time to looking for this zoom range. And be cause im not so noob to buy Nikkor 12-24 for 1500$, im starting to compare Tokina 12-24/4 with Sigma 12-24. Sigma more expensive but got EMA aword for lens of the year. After couple months (!) of reading reviews, comparing pictures etc. i decided to buy Tokina. What i can say, im make only of couple shots... Perfect. Amaizing... Very sharp, very whide! Do not waist your time for desidion. Just buy it if your need this kind of lenses.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 15/2.5 Fisheye, Zenitar 15/2.8 fisheye, MC Peleng 8/3.5 fisheye.

strong metal made ..also made in japan too!!..but many advantages in general; see above and the other revw.

se abbove

I think the former review says most of it and I agree into a certain level,i have compared this Tokina 12-24 with my Canon 17-40 (among other lenses)at the 24 mm setting and find that the canon is only a very very little better into this setting.
BUT for all other settings the Tokina beats most canon and sigma lenses i have tried; this must be state of the art for the time being and i will say its up there almost 96% on the L level glass or ED glass..almost in the PRO league.
Its for sure best buy.
I have tried it on Nikon D1H ,and D2X.
The only thing is that im affraid this tokina dont focus properly on all cams..make sure the one cam you use does.+!
i have tried this one on nikon and canon DSLRs and the tokina differ much regarding focus and alike...
all in all a very special lens wich is delicate and a little complex but worth the money.

Customer Service

nope

Similar Products Used:

sigma 12-24---sigma 10-20... canon 17-20 sigma 15-30

sharpness contrast lightfall off build to last

some ca at 12mm - despite the innovative design with high refractive lenses phrone to flare if its directed towards the sun.

This review is about the Tokina copy compared to some other lenses I use eg 20-35mm f2,8 Nikkor 15mm sigma fisheye. It's also subjective. Mechanics (9 out of 10) a ten doesn't exist in my opinion. I think its sturdier than the competition: Sigma EX 10-20mm/12-24mm, the plasticy Tamron 11-18mm, Nikkor 12-24mm. Well designed lens, feels good, sturdy, nice grip and handling with a d200 and even the focus clutch mechanism is excellent, you don't need to switch on/off the AF/MF- button on the camera. The focussing and zooming rings feels nice and greasy. The petalshaped sunshade clicks in well. Optics The lens has 9 diafragmblades and bokeh is good even at 12mm, The lens could be used at any setting without hesitation if used at a Nikon D70 But if you use a D200 or D2x you probably want to get some extra definition so you have to close down one or two stops At 12mm there is some chromatic aberation in the corners from f4-5,6 (CA) but it's easy to correct in Photoshop CS2. At f/8 its still vissible at 100% and only in high contrast situations eg a branch of a tree positioned at the white sky. I guess it's about 1 or 2 pixels. Contrast and sharpness are excellent if you stop down one or two stops. Even at f4 its very good in the center and good in the corner. Light falloff is well controlled only 2/3 stop at f/4 and from f/8 negligable. there is some pincushing distortion but this could be fixed in CS2 18mm: my copy shows virtually no CA anymore, lightfalloff is gone from f5,6 and smaller, maximum sharpness/contrast is reached from f/8. f/4 center very good corners good f5,6 center excellent, corners very good at f8/ its all excellent 24mm could be compared two 18mm The Tokina is phrone to flare at all settings if you point it directly into the sun, in this respect the more expensive Nikkor 12-24 is better. The differences between these great lenses are purely academic. If you read different lenstests its quite confusing, in Germany Photomagzine and Colorfoto rated this lens to the best of the bunch. There is a small bonus this lens could be used with film from 19mm-24mm, for good corner sharpness use f8 - f16 its probably slightly better at those aperatures than the legendary Nikkor 20-35mm f2,8. It works great with an Nikon F5, with an FM2 u can use it only at f4... very good price fot excellent build quality and very good optics

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 20-35mm Sigma 15mm fisheye Sigma 15-30mm -not wide enough with dx-sensors

very solid feeling. quite auto focus price

not good for portraits, not as sharp until f8.

This is a great lens for taking pictures of interiors of houses. I needed a lens for my Canon 10D. I tested out the Sigma 10-20 and this lens. I would have like to try out the Canon 10-22 but it will not work on the 10D. The tokina seemed a little sharper than the Sigma in the store and I like the feel of the tokina better than the sigma. This lens gets a lot sharper when you open it up to f8. I've taken some pictures of people with this lens and any f stop below f8 is not very sharp. I don't notice the lack of sharpness in the interior pictures but I do on portraits. I compaired this lens at 24mm to a canon 28 f2.8 prime and a canon 28-70 f3.5-4.5 II (an $80 lens). The tokina lost horribly up to f8. By the time I got to F11 I really couldn't tell the difference between the 3 lens. I originally thought that I might use this lens for shooting large groups of people but now will only use it for landscapes and interiors.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 28-300mm Tamron 19-35mm Canon 28mm F2.8 Canon 50mm F1.8 Canon 135mm F2.8 SF Canon 28-70 f3.5-4.5 Canon 70-200 F4

Tack sharp, build, very nice feel, Value.

You need to get a protective filter. If you're not careful with lens cap, you can easily scratch the surface of the lens by accident.

What an incredible lens. I shoot interiors and exteriors for small businesses to include on their websites. I used to shoot with the tokina 17 F3.5 ATX but decided I needed to go wider. I have no experience with the other sigma, canon, or tamron offerings but decided on this lens from the reviews and forum discussion on DPreview. I thank you all. This is my first review since I feel obliged to return the favor. I can't be happier with it's performance and the difference between 17mm and 12mm is Ginormous. I would recommend this lens to anyone needing to go wider because of the 1.6 crop factor on DSLRs. This makes a perfect addition to my 24-70L and my 100mm F2. The build on this lens is truly L worthy.

Customer Service

I've used canon service which is terrific but not Tokina

Similar Products Used:

Canon 20D, 10D, 1NRS, Elan IIe, Leica M3, M4-P Canon 24-70L, 70-200L, 50 1.4, 100 2.0, 50 summilux, 35 summicron Tokina 17mm F3.5 ATX Pro Canon 550 EX, 430EX Manfrotto 055MF4 Carbon Tripod, 468MGCR4 Hydrostatic Ballhead(Priceless)