Tokina 12-24mm Possibly?

milster

milster

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Gary
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Hi guys, does anyone have any thoughts on this lens? I pretty much had my mind made up on getting a Sigma 10-20mm but then someone put this idea into my head. I'm in the normal confusion about what lens to buy stage again now.

I want a lens for landscapes, at the moment I have my 18-55mm kit lens (which is the lens I want to replace for better IQ) and Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 which I mainly use, so going for the 12-24mm will reduce the gap between 20mm and 28mm that I'd have if I went for the Sigma. I don't really think I need to go so too wide and have also been considering the Nikon 16-85mm or Tamron 17-50mm :shrug:

Any advise would be greatly received (more like confuse my more)

Budget would be a maximum of £350, quite happy to by second had.

Cheers,

Gary.
 
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I'd thoroughly recommend one. I used one for about 4 years. Only got rid of it this summer when I bought a full frame camera. Ffordes usually have them for about £300-£320,so well within your budget.
 
As above, I loved the 12-24 I owned for about 18 months and only sold it because I wasn't able to shoot Landscapes for a while due to other commitments but would buy one again.

A few of my friends shoot with Sigma 10-20's and, although slightly wider, I did prefer the build of the Tokina although the output is pretty similar. It's constant F4 so arguably better in low light but with landscapes you'll be looking at F11-16 anyway so that's not really a massive benefit.

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Cheers
Steve
 
It's a great lens, very underrated in my opinion. If you want it to AF on a D3100, you'll need the 'II' version which has a built in motor.
 
Thanks for the comments guys. and thanks Graham, I meant to say it was to go go on my d3100.

I was expecting to get a mixed bag but all positive comments can't be bad, better start keeping an eye out for one then :D

I see Panamoz are selling the for £331 at the moment.....I'm still not sure about buying imports though:shrug:
 
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Agree with all the above, only got rid of mine as I went FF, sharper than the Sigma (owned one of them too) and built like a tank.
 
The 12 - 24 is an excellent lens, you won't be disappointed.
 
specialman said:
Agreed - aside from the Tokina 11-16mm this is the best there is VFM
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Thanks Pat, I keep reading that the 11-16mm is a great lens ad was slightly tempted but I just think that will leave me with a massive gap between 16mm and 28mm. Also VFM? Value fo money I'm guessing?


Thanks also Chris and Mike.....

I'm very tempted by the Panamoz price as I'm struggling to find one second hand.
 
The 12-24mm is attached practically all the time when I'm travelling. Its great even at its widest and max aperture. I like that I hardly ever need to fix distortions in PP since its negligible in most situations.

You do have to ask yourself if you want the 10mm wide end of the sigma, since the extra 2mm can be quite significant. For me, I don't often shoot that wide, and I prefer minimal distortion over wideness so I went for the Tokina.

Having said that, I'll probably sell mine soon since I'll be upgrading to FF.
 
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If a move to FF in the forseeable future is a possibility, may I throw the Sigma 12-24 into the mix? Same zoom range as the Tokina and is completely FF ready. Not a cheap option new and in relatively short supply 2nd hand.
Extremely well corrected for rectilinear distortion, although exagerated perspective is a fact of life at this focal length! On FF, it gives over 90° AoV over the long side, so you can back into a corner and get the whole room in if required. Can't remember the AoV on a crop and my crop body is on loan at the moment so can't check!
Never used the Tokina 12-24 so can't comment on the relative sharpness but the Sigma is pin sharp corner to corner even wide open on a crop sensor and there's only a marginal drop off in corner sharpness wide open on FF (and by f/5.6, it's razor sharp).
 
Nod said:
If a move to FF in the forseeable future is a possibility, may I throw the Sigma 12-24 into the mix? Same zoom range as the Tokina and is completely FF ready. Not a cheap option new and in relatively short supply 2nd hand.
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I hear they can be found ;)
 
Indeed they can (although mine came new). How easy they are to find is another matter! With so many people making the leap from Dx to Fx, the 12-24s have been snapped up almost as fast as the 10-20s have been breeding on the shelves.

One of my ways of combatting my GAS has been to try to avoid reading too many 2nd hand ads and also trying to avoid too many photographic dealers' websites, so not too sure of current availability.
 
Nod said:
Indeed they can (although mine came new). How easy they are to find is another matter! With so many people making the leap from Dx to Fx, the 12-24s have been snapped up almost as fast as the 10-20s have been breeding on the shelves.
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It was meant to be a less than subtle nod that there may be one listed on this very website. :)
 
Thanks for all the info guys. I don't really think I'll be moving to FF soon, although it is the big 40 next year and I'll be upgrading my camera, I was thinking I might go for the D600 then, but in all reality I think It'll still be slightly out of my price range by then so more probably be going for something slightly cheaper like a D7000 for a while.

As for your lens Graham, I'll have a look into them, didn't know they existed, although I'm still a bit weary of scratched glass.
 
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milster said:
Thanks for all the info guys. I don't really think I'll be moving to FF soon, although it is the big 40 next year and I'll be upgrading my camera, I was thinking I might go for the D600 then but in all reality I think It'll still be slightly out of my price range by the so more probably be going for something slightly cheaper like a D7000 for a while.

As for your lens Graham, I'll have a look into them, didn't know they existed, although I'm still a bit weary of scratched glass.
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Gary, being honest, much as I like my lens I think the Tokina is actually a better option on a crop body. The Sigma is incredible on full frame as 12mm is insanely wide without the crop factor but on a crop body, it's not got that USP and Tokina do crop wide angles better in my opinion.
 
Gary, not being personal but do you have any bad or expensive habits (apart from photography!)? If you do, consider cutting back or stopping the indulgence and saving the cash in a visible form - watching a jar fill up with fivers can be a BIG incentive if you're looking for a reason to give up smoking or a quick couple of pints every evening!

Have a look at the Devon Camera Centre website - Exeter's only 1/2 an hour away and an easy drive (although the Brixham road is a pain at the moment - or was a couple of weeks ago!). The DCC has among the best UK genuine UK stock prices on the D600 although I do appreciate there's a big difference between the £834 for a D7000 and the 1,585 for the D600. Oh, I should point out that they do part exchange too, so you could trade in any old kit against anything new. You've also got Mifsuds just a few miles away - they have good stocks of 2nd hand kit and also do trade ins. Be careful in there though - WAY to easy to go mad!

If you do plan a trip up to Exeter for any reason, drop me a PM and I might be persuaded to haul myself down to town and even spring for a cup of coffee! I might also drag the old (camera!) bag down so you can have a play with my kit. Mid week is better for me than weekends, although again, I appreciate that you may be working then.
 
Cheers Nod, been in Mifsuds a few time but I've managed to control myself :D

As for other bad habits that cost money, they're called children! :lol:
 
:nono:

You're beyond help then! Unless you can sell them?
 
milster said:
Thanks Pat, I keep reading that the 11-16mm is a great lens ad was slightly tempted but I just think that will leave me with a massive gap between 16mm and 28mm. Also VFM? Value fo money I'm guessing?...
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Hes VFM = value for money :)

I've just got the 11-16mm recently, as I wanted to get back to having a UWA zoom instead of a fixed 14mm.... I've lost the close focussing feature that I had on the 14mm (down to about 2") but the flexibility of a zoom is a good trade-off. The 11-16mm really does keep impressing and the shots that are going across double-page spreads in the magazines look fantastic, but that's also down to the D7000 sensor being so good. If I'd not gone for this lens, the Tokina 12-24mm would have been the next choice because it really is a class leader at its price point.
 
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