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11-16mm F2.8 and T3 Cine Tokina
  • 122 Replies sorted by
  • willianalemanwillianaleman

    jasonp 9:16PM "I had the Canon version, but they're the same lens, how is it possible to behave differently (I'm asking cause I don't know, all my nikon glass is manual)? So what you're saying is that it wasn't keeping the same aperture throughout the range because it was defective or was this normal? I guess you tried other samples as well in Adorama, did they behave the same way? Really strange though..."

    I don't know about the Canon version. But yes, it wasn't keeping the same aperture during zooming.

  • PsycoPsyco

    @willianaleman Sorry, but there is something wrong about that. If you use a Nikon to m4/3 adapter with aperture control there is no way that the iris will change during zooming. The adapter pushes the aperture pin to its maximum, the pin is locked to one side, it can't move anymore, the aperture is set to maximum.

    If it changes for you, you have either a bad adapter or not the Tokina 11-16.

  • nomadnomad

    That's strange, it doesn't change on our Scarlet in Canon version at all (we never tried it on a GH2).

    Plus, I consider the barrel distortion very acceptable for such a wide zoom and the price. For anything better, you'll need to get a high class prime for serious dough!

  • willianalemanwillianaleman

    Psyco, " Sorry, but there is something wrong about that. If you use a Nikon to m4/3 adapter with aperture control there is no way that the iris will change during zooming. The adapter pushes the aperture pin to its maximum, the pin is locked to one side, it can't move anymore, the aperture is set to maximum." "If it changes for you, you have either a bad adapter or not the Tokina 11-16."

    Psyco, I wish I was/I'm wrong because I like how wide the Tokina goes with the GH2 and how it will with the BMC, but the aperture issue was a turning point in my decision to return it. And, one, this adapter "Fotodiox Lens Mount Nikon to 4/3, http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G4QXLE allows the operator to set any fixed aperture (not only to the maximum f/2.8) the lens has from minimum to maximum. Other cheapest adapters do not have these feature. Two, since the adapter doesn't have any electronic connection, I didn't expect to have any aperture changes until it happened. The Tokina has its own internal motor built in, called IF (internal focus) which works independently of the camera with the zoom ring, this is I guest what causes the issue.

  • willianalemanwillianaleman

    nomad: "That's strange, it doesn't change on our Scarlet in Canon version at all (we never tried it on a GH2).

    Plus, I consider the barrel distortion very acceptable for such a wide zoom and the price. For anything better, you'll need to get a high class prime for serious dough!"

    nomad, thanks for your reply. Then, it seems to be that the Nikon, 20-35mm is superior or does a better job than the Tokina 11-16mm in this regards. It has no distortion, no aperture changes and a sharp image. I'm very happy with the exchange I did.

  • RatLabProductionsRatLabProductions

    the Nikon is half as wide. It wouldn't fill the same role at all for me. I too haven't experienced any aperture change on the Tokina I've rented in the past.

  • nomadnomad

    Sure, my Rokkor 28-50mm is better too, and my 35-70mm is a gem which can get head-to-head with many primes.

    But extreme wide angles are much harder to get perfect. If the Tokina 11-16mm wouldn't be good glass, filmmakers wouldn't spend a lot of money (and wait in line!) to have them re-housed to PL-mounts.

  • PsycoPsyco

    @willianaleman I still think there is something wrong with your lens. I don't have the Tokina here but I tryed it 2 weeks ago at a camera shop with a novoflex Nikon-m4/3 adapter on my GH2, and - really - the aperture can't change with this adapters.

    The iris-pin on Nikon glas bypasses the normal (electronical) aperture control. It is pure mechanical and there is no way that the iris can change in that situation. How did you "see" that the aperture was changeing?

    Also the Tokina 11-16 is regarded one of the best lenses that wide for under $2k. It only suffers a bit of chomatic abberation at the wide end. So if you see(!) strong distortion, you might have a bad copy of that lens.

  • nomadnomad

    Well, the aperture can change a lot with zooms if not compensated for, but I haven't seen it with the Tokina. Minolta went to great lengths to care for it in it's classical zooms by driving the aperture from the zoom internally – you can see that the blades move in a bit when zooming. Fascinating construction!

  • PsycoPsyco

    @nomad I thought with constant aperture lenses, the aperture stays at the exact same diameter when zooming.

    Isn't the F-stop a ratio between the diameter of the front lens and the iris? So with constant aperture and a front lens that can't change its size, shouldn't the aperture stay the same? (Maybe I'm totally wrong at that point.)

    At least with my (very short) test at the camera store, I couldn't see any difference in brightness when zooming with the Tokina.

  • nomadnomad

    Have a look at the f-stops in the original zooms from Panny…

  • vicharrisvicharris

    I'm going to have to agree with everyone here. I had this lens for a little bit and almost bought it again and it does not change aperture period. There's no possible way it can if you have a quality adapter on it. As stated before, it's an awesome piece of glass and the past two videos I've watched of Red footage, they both were using the cine conversion lens and it rocked! Once was from a mini helicopter. I did get a bad lens before from Samys so I think that's what's happened with the one you returned. At 11mm you're going to get a little softness no matter what.

  • nomadnomad

    It's always possible you got a lemon. Less strict QC is one of the reasons why they are that much cheaper and more sample variation can be expected.

  • itimjimitimjim

    I've used a tonne with manual adapters. It doesn't change aperture 'at all'. I'm afraid someone is either doing something wrong, seeing things, or has a faulty unit.

  • PsycoPsyco

    @willianaleman Interesting. Is this effect only with minimum aperture at f22?

    Because the Tokina is more interesting with its aperture wide open, most of the time at maximum.

    (I have never used a lens with f22, because picture quality will be bad as diffraction starts at arround f8 to degrade the image.)

  • willianalemanwillianaleman

    Psyco 5:19PM

    "Interesting. Is this effect only with minimum aperture at f22?"

    It does the aperture changes at other setting too, less noticeably because more light is passing through, but it is still there. And I don't want to have a lens that has to be in one fixed position all the time.

    Now that many of you have seen the footage, we might agree that there is something wrong with the units and disregard that it is the adapter, because everything the adapter does is mechanical. I hope the footage can at least open the eyes to future buyers of this lens and I'd suggest that the constant aperture of the lens should be tested immediately after the purchase. Thanks again to all member here who have participated in finding a solution to the mystery on this "unit?"

  • Manu4VendettaManu4Vendetta

    The look of this job seems like a Arri Alexa. So, some of the better look jobs with the GH2 generally come with this glass (Musgo for example).

    I think Tokina wold come to the M4/3 bandwagon and manufacture this optical to work fully with our cameras.

    PS: Sorry for inaccuracies with the english.

  • soundgh2soundgh2

    @nomad 35-70 3.5 Minolta Macro beercan? Love that lens :) Secret gem lens - Leica loved it too :)

  • nomadnomad

    Yeah, that one. Poor man's Leica stuff!

  • SuperSetSuperSet

    How does it compare to the Lumix 14mm f/2.5?

  • PsycoPsyco

    I got myself a Tokina 11-16 F2.8 and a Fotga Nikon(G) - m4/3 adaptor...something is going terrible wrong here:

    I can't focus! It is possible to get some kind of focus at 16mm but absolutely impossible at 11mm. I really hope it is the Fotga adaptor that is just a bit to long, but as the lens is also second hand, I'm not sure on this (I have no Nikon body or other adaptor to test the lens).

    Has anybody experienced that behaviour with the Tokina?

  • oscillianoscillian

    @psyco Have you pulled back the focus ring to put it in manual mode?

  • PsycoPsyco

    @oscillian yes, of course.

    And the focus scale is moving as well as the glas elements. I can see a change in blur when rotating but the focus scale/focus point is totally off.

    I really hope its only the adaptor...?

  • itimjimitimjim

    It's just a first guess, but I'd guess you're struggling to focus to infinity, which comes very quickly on a 11-16 lens. Only thing I could suggest, is get down to a local camera shop with some Nikon DXs in stock and ask to try a body out and say you've brought a few lenses.

  • vicharrisvicharris

    @psyco There's lots of bad adapters out there. I've gone through 3 to get any of my Nikon glass to focus properly. The Kipon works well as does the Novaflex. I have a cheap tripod mount one now that actually works perfect but I ordered the wrong one without the iris ring on it so I'm waiting on one with it to come in soon. But yeah, pull the ring back for starters. :) Also, there's bad copies of this lens out there roaming around. I returned my first one to Samys that wouldn't focus and just bought another one of off Craigslist.

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