Best wide angle lens for video for Canon 7D

[Jeff Wisener]

Just to add to the conversation, the attached comparison photo & comment was posted on B & H photo in the customer review section:

Painfully soft

By Peter Pan

from Bellingham, WA

About Me Pro Photographer


I spent HOURS trying to decide between this and the Canon 10-22. I wanted the sharpest lens in this price bracket. I first got the Canon and got sharpness similar to my normal zoom lens (18-200mm). I was hoping for better so I ordered the Tokina 11-16 and did a side by side comparison at 11mm and 16mm at 3.5 and 4.5 respectivly. The center sharpness was about the same, but the edges on the Tokina shot were ridiculously soft. No comparison. I wish I had back all the time I wasted on considering this lens.

Also the Tokina is considerably heavier and the zoom ring rotates the reverse directions that Canon users are used to. Similar: Canon 10-22mm

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554035-REG/Tokina_ATX116PRODXC_11_16mm_f_2_8_AT_X_116.html

[Mark Watson]

Originally Posted by Jeff Wisener

Thank you so much for posting! I did not think I would find a person that owns both. It sounds like I cannot go wrong with either based on your summary. It sounds like the Canon is more versatile but a bit more limited on available light with a smaller aperture?? If you had to own one, which would it be & if the Canon, is it worth the extra $ in your mind?

If I had to choose between the two, I'd take the Canon. It's only $50 more.

I have a dozen lenses for my Canon dSLRs, including 5 "L" series, and this 10-22mm is by far the funnest lens I've used. The range that it offers is nice. Fewer lens swaps. I snapped a shot inside a dark club. It was handheld taken with a Canon 50D. You can see the distortion it gives cranked over to full 10mm. If I wanted the walls to be straight, I'd shoot it with the TS-E 24mm lens. In this shot, I am standing in a doorway and nearly get all 4 walls.

Mark
Oh, and the Tokina will fit full-frame BTW.

[Al Bergstein]

Tokina works fine for me. Love the WA when needed (i.e. shooting on a fishing boat). Wider is better. Tokina quality is fine.

[Jeff Wisener]

I guess it comes down to me is if someone can show a video clip of the Canon lens. I want to make sure there is not any jagged edges on the video like I read. It sounds like both lens are great though, cannot go wrong with either.

[Luc Novovitch]

Originally Posted by Jeff Wisener

Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX Digital Zoom Lens (for Canon EOS Cameras)

I own and use this lens a lot. Very sharp, good contrast. The only thing to really look for is the fringing that happens (at least to me...) in backlit situations.

L

[Mark Watson]

Shot some comparison video with the Canon EF-S 10-22mm and Tokina 11-16mm.

Wide Angle Comparison on Vimeo

The zooming is a little jittery but you can see the range of these lenses.

[Seth Bloombaum]

Thanks for that comparison shoot!

I'm seeing little exposure bumps as the canon is zoomed; assuming that is due to the non-constant aperture?

The Tokina does *not* look crazy soft at the edges, as was noted above. That's the problem with internet truths...

The longer zoom range on the Canon looks very useful, moreso than the Tokina, but I'd want to be at f4.5 so I could use it while keeping shutter and ISO constant!

I do like my Tokina a great deal, and am happy to have settled on 3 fast-ish lenses with the same max (and fixed) aperture and same filter size.

[Tom Hardwick]

No contest.

Tokina 11-16mm Review

[Mark Watson]

Seth, yes the exposure bumps are when the aperture changes while zooming. It doesn't matter if I set the camera's aperture adjustment to something higher than f/4.5, the lens will still do that behavior. As far as image quality, I don't see any real difference. The 5mm zoom range of the Tokina makes it nearly a prime lens with slightly better low light performance than the Canon. I tried to show the amount of distortion near the extreme wide end in this video, but it isn't as noticeable as I normally see it. Maybe I was too far from the buildings, but the Canon will distort at full wide. Going to 11 or 11.5 will help a lot. Glad to hear you found a good solution.

[Mark Watson]

Originally Posted by Tom Hardwick

No contest.

Tokina 11-16mm Review

Right, no contest, the winner is the Canon 10-22mm.

Ken Rockwell's conclusion says:

"If you shoot Canon, get the Canon 10-22mm, since it doesn't cost much more and has a much wider and longer zoom range. I have not compared its sharpness, however the Canon's distortion control is superior."

And in his review of the Canon 10-22, he states, "This is a great lens. It's so great it makes me want to swap over to Canon from Nikon, because it's better than my favorite Nikon 12 - 24 mm lens. It's better because it has less distortion and costs less. I paid over $1,000 for my Nikon; this superior 10 - 22 sells for $840 here, here or here."

Mark Watson

[Alex Anderson]

Originally Posted by Mark Watson

Shot some comparison video with the Canon EF-S 10-22mm and Tokina 11-16mm.


Wide Angle Comparison on Vimeo


The zooming is a little jittery but you can see the range of these lenses.

I would choose the Tokina because the Canon always has some flickering (aperture ?) during the zoom in out. I mainly shoot video.

Alex

[Mark Watson]

What's I found a little odd is I figured if I set the aperture to something like f4.5 or higher, the lens wouldn't do that behavior as it's zoomed. But it made no difference.


Mark Watson