Tokina ships new 12-28mm constant-aperture wide zoom, full-res samples available
posted Sunday, April 28, 2013 at 6:27 AM EDT
Last January, Tokina revealed that it was developing the AT-X 12-28 PRO DX wide-angle zoom lens, a replacement for the now rather long-in-the-tooth AT-X 124 PRO DX II.
The existing lens, which first shipped in 2009 as a tweaked variant of a 2004 design, has proven popular for its f/4 constant aperture, as well as an optical design that was both sharp and controlled distortion quite well. Its successor is near-exactly the same size and weight, but now has a slightly more complex optical formula, focuses closer, and offers both a greater maximum magnification and a more generous zoom range.
Specifications of both old and new lenses are compared below:
|
Lens
|
AT-X 124 PRO DX II
(old; Nikon mount) |
AT-X 12-28 PRO DX
(new; Nikon mount) |
|
Focal Length
|
12-24mm
|
12-28mm
|
|
35mm Equivalent (approx.)
|
18-36mm
|
18-42mm
|
|
Optical Structure
|
13 elements, 11 groups
|
14 elements, 12 groups
|
|
Angle of View
|
99 - 61°
|
99.37 - 54.73°
|
|
Minimum Focus Distance
|
30cm
|
25cm
|
|
Maximum Macro Magnification
|
1:8
|
1:4.94
|
|
Maximum Aperture
|
f/4
|
|
|
Minimum Aperture
|
f/22
|
|
|
Number of Diaphragm Blades
|
Nine
|
|
|
Filter Size
|
77mm
|
|
|
Overall Length
|
89.5mm
|
90.2mm
|
|
Maximum Outer Diameter
|
84mm
|
|
|
Weight
|
540g
|
530g
|
|
Lens Hood
|
BH-777
|
BH-77B
|
The new AT-X 12-28 PRO DX lens was formally announced late last month, and in the Japanese market it's just gone on sale in Nikon-mount form, with deliveries commencing last Thursday. A variant for Canon EF-mount bodies is expected to follow in late June. Pricing is set at ¥90,000 exclusive of tax in Tokina's home market, which converts to around US$920 or thereabouts.
Now that the lens is available, Tokina has published two user experience articles offering some insight into the lens from Japanese photographers Toshiya Ogawa and Ryousuke Takahashi. Although the text is entirely in Japanese, both articles are accompanied by numerous high-resolution sample photos shot using the new lens in Nikon-mount form. There are a total of 22 full-res images to choose from, shot in a wide variety of conditions. Ogawa-san captured his samples with a Nikon D7000 body, while Takahashi-san's images are shot on a Nikon D5200.
To view the two galleries, click on the links below. You can access the full-res images by clicking on the black buttons beneath each image on the page; we recommend a right-click and Save As, since the images are rather too large for viewing in a web browser. (Note that for Ogawa-san's gallery, one quartet of images are shown grouped together at a lower resolution. For these, click on the images themselves for the full-res versions.)