Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO FX SD

 
Lens Reviews / Tokina Lenses i Not yet tested
16-28mm $599
average price
image of Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO FX SD

(From Tokina lens literature) The Tokina AT-X 16-28 F2.8 PRO FX is a high performance ultra wide-angle zoom lens for digital SLR cameras with full frame support. The lens features the company's newly developed SD-M (Silent Drive-Module) AF system for precise and quiet autofocus, and is weather-sealed.

Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 AT-X PRO FX SD User Reviews

9.2/10 average of 5 review(s) Build Quality 9.0/10 Image Quality 8.8/10
  • 8 out of 10 points and recommended by Moggy4you (12 reviews)
    Sharp - good wide range - affordable
    AF bit slow - need to stop down 1,5 stop to get best results

    Need good value wide angle 2.8 zoom lens? Get this; as affordable as you will find and good image quality as a bonus.

    reviewed August 20th, 2021 (purchased for $600)
  • 9 out of 10 points and recommended by photocosmic (1 reviews)
    famous Tokina build quality, excellent sharpness, colors, price
    rather slow autofocus, bad lens cap

    This review could be a short one, because this lens is truly amazing!
    It is build like a... well, like the most of Tokina's lenses. The first time you take this lens in your hand, you realize it's worth the money you paid. It's heavy, rubber rings well made and operate smoothly, but with proper resistance, I also like the af/mf switching by pushing/pulling the front ring. Some people used to Canon's lenses would not like it, but for me it's perfect. There are only two flaws when it comes to build quality: front lens is vulnerable, but you know that when you buy this lens. I also have to admit that after half of a year of working with this lens I'm surprised by a quality of coatings - removing fingerprints is easy and I do not see any scratches, even though i have incidentally touched it many times. A second flaw is a lens cap. As far as I know, Tokina sells this lens with a new, better lens cap, but the early versions (unfortunately also mine) were equipped with caps that seems to be a bad joke - very thin, loose, falling off the lens all the time.

    When it comes to lens' performance there is only one flaw: rather slow autofocus. I mean, it is not bad, but it's far for being as fast or silent as in Canon lenses equipped with USM. But the AF is quite accurate, I do not have any problems with ff or bf even though I bought it via the Internet, without having possibility to test it before purchase. Having said that, I must admit, that an optical performance is really amazing! It's really sharp, especially for being an ultra wide lens. I use it on cropped sensors (40D and 7D), so the center of image is almost as sharp as borders, but had an opportunity to test it on 5D markII and it still performed great. The color rendition is also good. F/2.8 is fully usable. When it comes to CA, it's noticeable on f/2.8, but not as visible as in Tokinas 11-16 or 12-24.

    To sum it all up: I had a hard time when my Tamron 17-50 broke and had to buy a new lens. Canon 17-40 did not impress me and f/4 is too dark for me and Canon 16-35 is definitely overpriced for its performance. Both those lenses have much better autofocus, but fail in comparison with the Tokina when it comes to the optical performance. I am also used to use polarizers and gradual filters, so it was also hard to decide to buy a lens with no filter mount, but recently I made a deatachable filter thread that allows me to use Cokin/Lee/Hitech filters, so this stopped to being a problem.

    If you need a FF lens, can live without ultra fast AF and filter thread, I truly recommend you Tokina 16-28. Give it a chance and you will be delighted with pictures this lens produces.

    http://www.hitsticker.com | http://www.printradiant.com

    reviewed January 5th, 2016 (purchased for $900)
  • 9 out of 10 points and recommended by Clarktor (2 reviews)
    Excellent sharpness at 16-20 mm, very good at 24 and 28mm. Good resistance to CA. Price.
    Prone to flare, heavy, requires expensive Wonderpana solution for fitting filters.

    I bought this lens because from the reviews it appeared to be the best wide angle zoom for Canon EF mount, irrespective of price. It easily beats the 16-35 II in all parameters, being superb in the 16-20 range when stopped down. Aparently the corners are soft wide open, but I never use this setting for landscapes which is what the primary application of this lens would be.

    Its weakness is in the corners at 28mm although it is still very good (better than any Canon UWA zoom), but at this focal length I have my Contax Carl Zeiss 28mm F2.8 if I'm being super fussy.

    Being F2.8, the lens is quite heavy. As I shoot landscape, all I'd ask for is a F4.0 zoom that is sharp in the corners from F8.0-11, but such a beast does not exist. If Canon get off the a$$ and release a 17-40II that meets these requirements I would get that, but until then this lens is it.

    It is prone to flare in direct sunlight, but this is a common trait amongst UWA lenses.

    Don't let the filter aspect put you off; I use the Wonderpana system for CPL/UV and split ND filters and it works a treat, although the bulk it adds make storage a bit of a pain. Given that the Tokina destroys the Canon 17-40 and beats the 16-35II at less than half the price, I am more than willing to live with it.

    Highly recommended.

    reviewed November 28th, 2013 (purchased for $750)
  • 10 out of 10 points and recommended by colinjames (8 reviews)
    Sharp, fast 2.8 , build, focus is fast and accurate
    2.8 at 28mm, flare with long exposures

    Tokina did a great job with this lens. Debated a long time over Nikon 17-35mm - but landed here. I previously owned the Nikkor 14-24mm, so carrying this around is no problem. save your money over Nikon. Newest version has nice cap and ass gasket. Wish 28mm @ 2.8 performed like 16mm - but prefer the wide end to be sharp. Really useful focal length for DX. Close focus is great, but of course be wary of bulbous McGee. Zoom is stiff - may ease up but remains to be seen.

    What else for the same money? A used 16-35mm f4 or an old 200,xxx serial 17-35mm 2.8? Perhaps primes for half the price? I think this lens is money well spent.

    Looking at samples from new full frame Tokina 17-35mm f4 indicates some intense CA - the 16-28mm handles it well happily and is easily corrected in LR. Will keep an eye on the newcomer from tokina. Build and size/weight resemble one of my previous favorites - the Nikkor 20-35mm - but let that go due to poor close focus distance...

    reviewed October 21st, 2011 (purchased for $800)
  • 10 out of 10 points and recommended by Creyr Glas Lightworks (10 reviews)
    wide coverage, very sharp, great color and low CA/vignetting
    Can't take a front filter, sticky zoom

    I traded my Canon 24-105 F4 IS for this lens because I needed a wider range of coverage, and did not need the long telephoto reach. I knew I was taking a chance on this since there were no reviews anywhere. But after testing this lens against the Canon 16-35L, and the Canon EFs 10-22, I decided this lens gave me superior color and range for my applications (which is studio work for models and landscapes).

    First, optically, this lens is fabulous. I find it on par with any L series lens for color rendition, sharpness and overall image quality. I feel I lost no quality in moving from the 24-105 to this lens. The constant 2.8 is great and by the time you hit F4 I think the overall DOF is quite sharp and large. I am very happy with all things optics/image quality from this lens.

    Second, this lens is fully weather sealed and is very well built. Its admittedly quirky to have that fish-eye like front element, and its a very long and heavy lens, but I am very confident in its quality, I trust it will give me years of good service.

    A few notes for those who want to know. It cannot take front filters due to the front lens element. As I understand it, this lens is very similar to the Nikon 12-24 (http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1122/cat/13). From the one review I could find, this lens offers similar optical features/quality. Also, it has the focus clutch mechanism, which you either tolerate or love.

    In the end, this lens either fills a need or not, and for me, it was the better choice than other options for the Canon mount (I even had the money to get the 16-35L and chose this one). I would highly suggest testing it out if it fills a need in your lens lineup.

    reviewed February 3rd, 2011 (purchased for $890)