Tokina at-x 11-20mm F/28 Pro Dx Ultrawide Zoom Review

Third-party lenses have long been a cost-conscious alternative to name brands, only non every i is a strong optical performer. The Tokina AT-X xi-20mm f/2.8 Pro DX ($599) doesn't necessarily look like a modern lens from the exterior, but it makes up for it in image quality. Its angle of view is solidly in the ultra-wide territory. If you shoot with an APS-C Canon or Nikon SLR and are after a bright, wide lens, take a await at the Tokina. It'due south not the the sleekest zoom on the outside, just its f/2.8 aperture puts it in a form of its own, especially given its relatively low price point.

Dated Aesthetics

The 11-20mm doesn't look like a new lens. Its pattern is directly out of the 90s, rife with odd font choices for labels and mesomorphic rubberized knurling on the focus and zoom rings. Gilt accents are like to what Nikon does with its recent SLR lenses, but buck the more than recent trend of understated designs with little color to grab your attending.

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The xi-20mm measures iii.six by 3.5 inches (HD), weighs i.ii pounds, and supports 82mm front filters. It's available for Canon and Nikon SLRs, and covers an APS-C image sensor. In total-frame terms, its range of coverage is almost similar to a 16.5-30mm zoom. The image above was shot at the widest setting, and the one below zoomed all the way in. Both were captured from the same vantage point.

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A reversible lens hood, along with front and rear caps, are included. There's no sort of atmospheric condition protection, which isn't surprising given the request toll and aggressive f/2.8 design. Still, nosotros would take liked to see fluorine protection for the forepart chemical element, similar you lot exercise with rival Tamron's budget-minded ten-24mm f/3.v-iv.5 Di Ii VC HLD.

There is no image stabilization built in. We've seen more recent ultra-wide zooms add the part, every bit it is very helpful for handheld video recording. Nikon has a stabilized lens with a like angle of view, the AF-P DX Nikkor x-20mm f/4.v-v.6G VR, and Canon has the stabilized EF-Due south 10-18mm f/4.5-v.6 IS STM. Neither is as bright every bit the Tokina, but both will net smoother handheld video footage.

The autofocus motor is a trivial tiresome, requiring nearly 0.2-2nd to acquire and lock focus with the usually speedy Nikon D500. It's also loud, which is a concern for photographers working in environments where silence is key, and puts an boosted damper on using the lens for video. If yous practise, stick the camera on a tripod and stick to manual focus.

You'll use a focus clutch to switch between manual and autofocus. The focus ring, which sits toward the front element, pulls straight dorsum to disable autofocus and switch to manual control. It works well in theory, but in practice I plant the machinery a bit difficult to suit. Information technology was just equally probable to go stuck during motion every bit it was to piece of work equally designed.

Focus is bachelor to 11 inches, measured from the photographic camera's paradigm sensor, so roughly five inches from the image sensor. Y'all won't typically get macro results from such a wide lens, but you won't feel express when working shut. At its all-time the 11-20mm magnifies subjects at one:8.6 life-size.

Sharp Optics

I tested the eleven-20mm with the 20.9MP Nikon D500 and Imatest software. At 11mm f/2.viii it puts upwards strong resolution numbers, notching 2,520 lines in a center-weighted evaluation. Edge quality, often a business in wide zooms, isn't as high as the average, only exceeds our one,800-line minimum hands with a ii,080-line marker.

At f/four the boilerplate score climbs to two,851 lines, and edges are a abrupt 2,538 lines—landscape photographers will find the lens is very feasible here, fifty-fifty for scenes where edge resolution is primal. The lens is better at f/five.vi (iii,062 lines) and f/8 (three,084 lines), and at both settings resolution is nearly as strong at the edges of the frame as it is on average.

There's a slight drib in resolution at f/11 (2,922 lines), a tendency that continues at f/sixteen (2,553 lines), and the minimum f/22 setting (1,930 lines). Because of this, we don't recommend using the lens at its narrowest apertures, unless you are trying to get the sunstar result in your epitome.

Resolution remains strong at 15mm. At f/2.8 nosotros see 2,610 lines on average, with 2,058 lines at the periphery. There's a modest uptick at f/four (2,652 lines), merely to come across a significant gain you'll need to stop down to f/five.half-dozen. Hither the lens shows 2,870 lines on boilerplate, without outer parts of the frame showing an fantabulous 2,742 lines. Pinnacle resolution is at f/8 (3,041 lines) and f/11 isn't far behind at ii,939 lines. Once again, avert f/16 (ii,601 lines) and f/22 (2,022 lines) when you tin.

At 20mm the lens shows isn't as abrupt at f/2.8 equally at other settings—we see 2,473 lines—merely it is every bit precipitous at the edges equally it is on boilerplate. We see similar results at f/4 (ii,611 lines), before the expected improvement at f/5.6 (two,827 lines), f/8 (2,979 lines), and f/11 (2,917 lines). Skip f/16 (2,649 lines) and f/22 (ii,093 lines) when you tin can.

The lens shows some distortion, just not as much as yous expect from an ultra-wide zoom, and certainly non equally much equally you lot'd imagine seeing from one with an f/2.8 aperture throughout its zoom range. At 11mm there is near 4.3 percent butt distortion—noticeable, but better controlled than the Nikon AF-P DX 10-20mm (5.five per centum) or Tamron ten-24mm (5.9 percent) at their widest settings. Baloney drops as you zoom in—you become nigh one.ix percent at 15mm and a negligible 0.9-per centum at 20mm.

I tested the 10-20mm with the Nikon D500, which supports in-camera peripheral illumination aligning, fifty-fifty when shooting with a tertiary-political party lens. Enabling it delivers JPG images with brighter corners than you go when shooting in Raw or with correction turned off. At 11mm f/two.viii the corners show a -2.2EV drop at f/two.eight and a -ane.3EV deficit at f/four. At narrower f-stops brightness is inside our -1EV tolerance from heart to corner, and the same is truthful at 15mm and 20mm at every aperture.

The vignette is a little bit stronger with correction turned off. At 11mm we meet -2.6EV at f/two.8, -1.6EV at f/4, and about -1.1EV at narrower apertures. At 15mm the vignette is only worth talking about at f/2.8, and information technology'south a pocket-size -1.4EV in that location. Illumination at 20mm is, for applied purposes, uniform at every f-end.

A Strong Third-Party Alternative

There is very little to complain near the Tokina AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 Pro DX from an optical perspective. It boasts a bright f/2.eight aperture, delivers detailed, abrupt images, and while it does prove some distortion, it's better controlled than in competing zooms with narrower apertures. And it gives yous all of this for around $600, a steal considering the f/2.8 pattern.

Fit and finish are a bit backside the times, still. There's no sort of weather sealing and the focus motor is both loud and a little slow. The 11-20mm has been on the market for a few years, then it'due south not shocking to meet the fluorine blanket missing—the water-resistant finish has become more than and more common in the by few years.

If you're primarily interested in photography, the Tokina 11-20mm is an excellent option for shots where an ultra-wide lens is key. Information technology will serve you well for landscapes—both epic western vistas and cavernous urban cityscapes. Simply videographers, especially those who prefer to piece of work handheld, should shop for a lens with stabilization and a quieter focus organisation instead.

Tokina AT-10 11-20mm f/two.8 Pro DX

The Bottom Line

The Tokina 11-20mm f/two.8 Pro DX is a vivid, sharp, ultra-wide lens for Canon and Nikon systems, just a noisy focus motor makes it less than ideal for video.

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Source: https://www.pcmag.com/reviews/tokina-at-x-11-20mm-f28-pro-dx

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