I very much enjoy shooting wide angle photos, particularly of beautiful landscapes. I just love the drama of wide angle and the interesting perspectives one gets especially placingthe camera low and shooting up. However since I moved to the full frame Canon 5D Mark 3, my older 12-24mm lens would no longer work as it was designed for crop sensor cameras
So I recently bought an ultrawide angle lens to fill the void. I opted for the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX. The lens currently cost about $749 through Amazon. Fortunately I only paid about $500 after $300 worth of Amazon gift cards I got from my Mom for my birthday!
Here's a quick review of the lens:
What works...
What could be better...
Bottom Line...
So far I'm quite pleased with the lens and it will be most useful for my landscape photography. It will also be handy to have around for when I'm shooting events indoors or at night. The weight isn't too bad as my Canon 5DM3+grip serves as a good counterbalance. I'd be hesitant to put his lens on a smaller camera body such as a Canon Rebel series camera or even a 60D. It would probably be okay on a Canon 6D or 7D however. Optically it kicks butt, and at half the price of the Canon 16-35mm F2.8L II its a no brainer. Despite the fact that it doesn't take filters doesn't bother me to much as I usually shoot HDR and deal with stuff in post.
Here are some shots that I took recently with the Tokina at Miramar beach off Highway 1 near Half Moon Bay.
Miramar Beach Sunset 1, Shot at F10, at 1/100th of a second at ISO 100. 5 shots processed in Photomatix Pro & Aperture.
Miramar Beach Sunset Vertical, Shot at F10, at 1/80th of a second at ISO 100.
5 shots processed in Photomatix Pro & Aperture.
Miramar Beach Sunset Path, Shot at F10, at 1/40th of a second at ISO 160. 5 shots processed in Photomatix Pro & Aperture.