The Tokina F/2.8 Wide Angle Lens - are you feeling lucky?

Specs: f/2.8, 11-16mm, aspherical, internal focusing, DX format.
Pros: the only f/2.8 (over the entire focal length range) wide angle lens for DX format. Good autofocus operation. Reasonable price.
Cons: Quality control issues (see below). Slight soft focus over entire f-stop range. Moderate soft focus at f/2.8. Some chromatic aberration.

Can you buy a good f/2.8 11-16mm wide angle lens in the DX format for under $600?

The answer is a qualified "yes," though you may need a little luck on your side.

As a few of the reviewers on Amazon have noted, some of these lenses suffer from focusing issues. In my case, the lens I received consistently back-focused by 50% on a D90 camera body. I was still able to manually focus the lens and pull out a few interior shots at a wedding reception, but I knew I would never be satisfied unless the lens could autofocus reliably. (Note that the lens will only autofocus on cameras with an autofocus motor. For example, the Nikon D60 will not autofocus this lens.)

I emailed THK Photo Products and they assured me the autofocus problem was a known issue that they could fix. I sent the lens in for repair and it came back in about one week with the autofocus problem a thing of the past. So, it appears that there are a few defective units out there. With a little luck (and a possible pass through the repair shop) you can end up with a reliable lens.

Image Captured with Tokina Wide Angle Lens:
Railroad Bridge on Columbia River
1/4000 sec at f/2.8, ISO200, 11mm

In the above image, the wide angle distortion is just noticeable in the bridge's vertical posts. As a good non-fisheye lens should do when held level and aligned, the Tokina wide angle produces images with a satisfying near-natural perspective. Of course, this is a wide angle lens: if you use it to photograph people you will get near body parts disproportionately large relative to distant body parts. For example, a person shot from a high angle will appear to have a big head. Although wide angle lenses are used for specific effects when taking pictures of people, a more typical use of this lens would be to shoot a sweeping view of a building interior or an expansive outdoor setting.

Though not noticeable in the above picture, the lens is somewhat soft when wide open, and it is slightly soft over the full f-stop range. When compared to a Nikkor lens, the softness when wide open is more apparent. Below is an image captured with a Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 DX lens. At this scale, the same scene shot with the Tokina is equivalent.

1/1600 sec at f/2.8, ISO 200, 17mm
(Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 lens)

But, zooming in on the focal point of the images, the softness of the Tokina versus the Nikkor is apparent:

comparison images cropped and enlarged
left image: captured with Nikkor lens at 17mm, f/2.8
right image: captured with Tokina lens at 16mm, f/2.8

My Take on This Lens
I bought this lens with the intention of shooting interiors. To have sufficient depth of field, I usually stop down to f/8 or smaller, so the softness at f/2.8 isn't an issue for me. The slight softness at higher f-stop numbers goes away with minor sharpening. There is some chromatic aberration--annoying but correctable.

The Tokina wide angle has become one of the three lenses I carry with me all the time. Together the trio cover from ultra wide angle (11mm) to moderate zoom (200mm). I'll discuss the other two lenses in future posts.

Capturing the Moment

A fleeting smile, a soul-revealing glimmer in your subject's eyes, a momentary edge to her pose... the coming together of it all. And--if you capture the image--there it is... the photo that stands out from the rest.

It's the unexpected: the moment on a location shoot or in the studio that isn't planned for, that just happens--sudden, unanticipated, it flashes into view for a second, maybe two, and then it's gone. If you actually press the shutter release, you'll have the image that justifies all your effort.

Or perhaps you're at a family gathering--everyone roasting hotdogs over an open fire, or making S'Mores, or picking berries or, as happened in our family, all three at the same time--and it just happens. The moment captured in an image that will be treasured for years.

There's nothing like family engaged in an activity in a beautiful setting to yield up opportunities for wonderful pictures--and this one evening produced several. Children filling pails with raspberries--something cute was bound to happen. So, I was ready. The sun was low. A gentle fill flash softened the shadows.

I was wandering through it capturing special scenes, when my granddaughter came up to me, gripping a pail of raspberries in both hands. She raised her pail. I raised my camera. And click. There it was. The moment captured.

1/60 sec; f/8.0; 17mm; ISO200

Technically it isn't a perfect picture. The sun was behind the hills and I was still shooting at ISO 200. She was in motion, so the image is bit soft. But such are photos that capture the unexpected. On the plus side, the wide angle emphasized the closeness of her hands.

There are things you can do to stay on top of your game and capture those special moments. Of course, if you're in a formal portrait session, you're going to be setup for exposure and depth of field. But, even in the studio, you need to keep engaged, constantly watching for the unexpected. Whether it is a momentary light on your model's face that you brought out with your casual banter, or a fleeting expression in an unguarded moment, you have to be mentally present and ready to capture the image.

My best portraits have come when the subjects do something natural and revealing of who they are. One couple came in for formal portraits. It was the moment between poses when they looked at each other--with their love in their eyes--that made the perfect image. I do my best to draw these moments out of my clients. Sometimes I succeed. Sometimes the moments happen on their own.

Always have your camera with you. Carry it wherever you go.

Make use of your camera's smarts. Years of research and development are behind the automatic settings of your camera. By default, leave the camera in AUTO, so you can just swing it up and press the trigger when the fleeting moment presents itself.

If you want more control, use aperture-priority so you can dictate depth-of-field and improve your composition. Tweak ISO according to how much available light there is. But if shooting in any kind of unpredictable setting, leave shutter speed and color balance to your camera's brain. It gets it right 90% of the time.

Finally, be engaged. Keep your eyes open. Sometimes you'll see a special moment about to happen. You'll have time to move into position, make the composition, and capture it. Other times, you'll need your reflexes to get that shutter released before the moment is gone.

For me, the challenge of capturing special moments is what makes photography fun. The more you shoot, the more fun it gets and you'll find yourself capturing more of those moments that make it all worthwhile.

Open for Business

N Henning Photography is now licensed to do business in the State of Washington, so I thought it a good idea to go public and start putting my thoughts on the art and technology of photography on the web.

I'll post my best (and maybe a few of my worst) images on this blog. I'll tell what I learned from each shoot, what worked and what didn't. Your comments and feedback will be very much appreciated.

From time to time, I'll post reviews of equipment. I've become an Amazon.com most valued customer in the last few months so I have plenty of new hardware to review like some really cool lenses including a Tokina f2.8 11-16mm wide angle zoom that will see first light this afternoon.

So here we go....

A few images from a recent in-studio baby portrait session:






Lighting makes all the difference. What I tried: An 8-ft-tall diffusion panel in front of two studio strobe flashes really made her eyes pop while providing extremely soft light. What I'll improve on: better backdrops and settings for photographing infants.