Sigma 180mm F2.8 Macro

Yellow club fungus 2 Tobias Hjorth.

Sigma 180mm F2.8 Macro

Yellow club fungus 1 Tobias Hjorth.

Tamron SP 70-200mm F/2.8 Di VC USD

Grey Heron 7 Tobias Hjorth.

Image Courtesy Sigma Corporation

As a part of the new Sigma global vision they just released a very interesting video showing their main factory based in Aizu Japan. From workflow to clips of the beautiful surrounding area the video if really worth watching if you’re into any type of photography. – Well done Sigma.

Watch the video on YouTube HERE or visit the Sigma Global Vision site HERE

Sigma factory tour Tobias Hjorth.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX

Last light on the Sand Banks 4 Tobias Hjorth.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX

Last light on the Sand Banks 3 Tobias Hjorth.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX

Last light on the Sand Banks 2 Tobias Hjorth.

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X 116 Pro DX

Last light on the Sand Banks Tobias Hjorth.

Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX

Stars over the field 2 Tobias Hjorth.

The Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX is a wide-angle lens made for the large sensor fullframe camera and to rival the superb Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S NIKKOR and the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM as a third-party lens that gives more bang for the buck. Lets find out.

Right from get go you´ll notice how large a wide-angle lens this really is. Much like the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S NIKKOR the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX weighs a hefty 950+ grams much heavier than the Canon equivalent. And as the aforementioned Nikon the Tokina does not features a filter thread due to the huge convex front element that’s protruding the lens almost beyond the edge of the lens hood.
Speaking of the lens hood it’s not removable but nor do you need to remove as it would only lead to scratches on the front element.

The build quality of the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX is pretty good. Oddly it features a slightly lighter and thinner coating than the previously reviewed Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro. It gives you an impression of a lesser expansive lens that it really is. Overall you have no doubt that it is a really sturdy lens and the big front lens certainly helps that impression.

Similar to the  Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro the autofocus switch is quick and a joy to use. It’s kinda manual focus override system where the focus ring is enabled by pulling it towards the camera body. Whenever you want to switch to auto-focus just push the ring forward again and of you go. Speaking of the focus ring it’s wide and rubberized and requires almost no force to use. In order to focus across the distance scale takes a quarter of a turn, which makes it quick to manual focus.
The zoom ring is equally rubberized and positioned much closer to the body. Unfortunately it’s not as wide as you would like it to be but not too small either.

Due to the huge convex front element (for a wide-angle that is) the lens doesn’t take filter nor any other accessories using regular threads as there are none. That means if you want to use a circular polarizor or a ND filter you’ll have to get a filter holder system like the ones from Cokin. The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S NIKKOR shares this “feature” while the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM features regular 82mm threads.

And the million dollar question would be. How sharp is it especially against the immediate competition. Shooting with Canon bodies I have no options the test the famous Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED AF-S NIKKOR so my comparison would only be against the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM .
The aforementioned Nikon lens is very well regarded as one of the greatest wide angles lenses ever made and I think the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX isn’t going to change that.

Versus the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM it’s a different mater. I used both a 1d series as well as a 7D on this lens and while the differences are minor of the APS-C sized Canon 7D, the larger sensor 1D body enlarges the differences. Both are sharp wide open center the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX is sharper in the corners. I stopped it down to F8 to get a larger depth of field and found the lens is very sharp from corner to corner with almost no achromatic abbreviation. That being said the lens performs excellent from F5.6. – The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM has a different look to it with files more vibrant as well as with more contrast. It’s up to you which look you prefer.

Downloadable samples straight from RAW files (right click and choose save as..)
Sample 1
Sample 2

Conclusion

Without a doubt the Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX is a superb lens. That especially true on larger sensor bodies and I think on a 5D or similar sized this lens would shine even more. Sure the zoom ring as well as range could be larger, the front element perhaps should take filters but in the end the reward is a superb image quality. The Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX is sharp pretty much throughout the range and with neutral colors.
Overall probably one of the best wide-angle lens choices for Canon and a great choice for Nikon.

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Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX review Tobias Hjorth.

The Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro is, as the name implies a prime 100mm F2.8 Macro lens giving the user the true 1:1 magnification on APS-C and fullframe cameras.Costing more than it´s immediate competitors, such as the Tamron 90mm F2.8 and the Sigma 105mm F2.8, means it has to deliver a OEM type of image quality. How does it fare? – Read on and find out.

With the  Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro resting in your hand one of the first things you´ll notice is it looks more of a Nikon lens than every other brand. – The built quality is excellent with a wide rubberized manual focus ring and a second ring for removing or attaching the lens to the camera body.

Despite being a 100mm F2.8 lens is fairly small which dedicated macro lenses tend to be.

The  Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro comes with a solid yet plasticky lens hood that lengthen the lens some. As with most macro lenses the lens extends itself to close to twice the length when you´re moving towards the minimum focus distance.

There´s essentially two type of buttons / functions on the lens besides the manual focus ring. – One is the brilliant focus limiter that limits the autofocus in an area depending on how close you´re focusing. That means if you´re doing portraits or regular non-macro shots and you want the fastest possible autofocus and enable the focus limiter, the lens will stop focusing some steps before minimum focus distance. And vise versa when you´re doing genuine macro shots. You could argue that the lens needs it as it has a huge focusing scale which is true. With that being said even when the focus limiter is enabled it definitely not among the fastest focusing lenses out there. – But slightly faster than the aforementioned Tamron and Sigma lens.

Besides the focus limiter there also the switch between manual and autofocus. I found manual focusing to be the easiest when moving close to the subject although you might would think differently. The manual focus switch in as ingenious solution integrated into the focus ring. That means when you want to control focus you just pull back on the focus ring and you´re set to go. As soon as you want to switch back to autofocus just push the ring forward and you´re all set. Easy as cake and it works faster than a regular switch as you don´t need to remove your hand from the focus ring.

So the section which you probably have been looking for is lens sharpness. – How does the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro hold up?
It´s excellent wide open and gets only slightly sharper stopping down. Looking on past reviews and lenses I’ve used I would say this is one of the sharpest. It´s easily sharper than the Sigma 105mm F2.8 and probably a hair sharper than the Tamron 90mm F2.8. With that being said I did not have the Canon  100mm L F2.8 IS to compare against but would be surprised if is was any better at least in terms of sharpness. In fact the Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro is so sharp you might want to be careful when sharpening the shot in post.

Downloadable sample straight from RAW files (right click and choose save as..)
Sample 1

Conclusion

As stated earlier the  Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro lens is one of the sharpest lenses I´ve ever used. I like the focal length, I like the quick focus switch and I love the built quality as well as the images it produces.

Superb macro lens that you want in your lineup!

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Tokina 100mm f/2.8 AT-X M100 AF Pro D Macro review Tobias Hjorth.