Tuesday 3 June 2014

Tokina 11-16 mm 1:2.8 with Focal Reducer x0.7 [EF > m4/3]

It's been a while. It's been a really busy while. Luckily, my friend Michał got back from England and I had my opportunity to test Tokina 11-16/2.8 [EF mount], which I was writing about before.

Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm
Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm
It's the fastest wide angle lens (with Focal Reducer of course) available in the market (not second-handed) for Micro Four Thirds camera.

As I suspected it works perfectly with Focal Reducer 0.7x [the one I use]. Well... by perfectly I mean you get really wide lens (about 8/2.0, eq. of 16 mm for full frame) and manual focus. I wasn't able to change aperture values due to lack of A-ring or electronic connection with Lumix G2 body. But... all in all - it's a really wide angle fast lens. You can always use ND filters or hand-made rings before front glass (or even iris if you're crafty!).


Samples

Let's go for samples! First come samples on full Micro Four Thirds (Lumix G2) sensor.
Camera: Lumix G2
Aperture: 2.8 (forever...)
Mount: EF > micro 4/3
Edit: PS CS6 50% scaling

Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm
Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm

Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @16 mm
Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @16 mm
Maybe not the best way to show vignetting, but those are the only I took using full sensor (aspect ratio 4:3). You can see how insanely wide it gets. Zooming to 16 mm removes the vignetting, if someone isn't fond of it.
For me, personally, that vignette reminds of my first lens Zuiko Digital 14-45/3.4-5.6. It has the same feeling about sharpness, vivid colours and darker corners.

Close-up.
Below you can see about the closest distance to focus on both  focal lengths.

Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm
 Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @12 mm - left; @11 mm - right

What would I be if I didn't show you samples from the interior. That's a catch!

Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm
Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @11 mm
Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @16 mm
Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] @16 mm
Those samples look fine, don't they? Wait. I know there are some, who pay a lot of attention for chromatic aberration and other lens faults. For those of you I present you 100% crop of corner and center of the frame.

Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] - 100% crop comparison
Tokina 11-16/2.8 with focal reducer x0.7 [FF eq. 16mm/2.0] - 100% crop comparison
Did I enjoy shooting this lens? A LOT! I just pity that I had it for such a short moment.

I really miss that aperture control, because all other features make it a truly unusual lens with Focal Reducer. It's wide, it's sharp, it's fast. It has some CA, but corner mainly and in high contrast. If only my budget allowed it, I'd definitely got one right now!

2 comments:

  1. Thanks for writing this and thanks for the sample pics. Have been checking out this solution for a ultra wide angle for my GH4 and GF7 but only issue is that I haven't gotten a real pro/con list for actually buying the set (FR + 11-16). What kind of focal reducer did you use?

    Would you recommend this combination for someone who needs that ultra wide shot without going fisheye? If not, is there any other alternative?

    Thanks in advance.

    philip@philipfreestyle.com

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    Replies
    1. Dear Philip,
      at the moment, I think I might try going with Tokina 11-20/2.8. It's supposed to have same coverage, but bigger zoom. For smaller sensors or if you prefer crop, you can check C-mount lenses (especially group on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/cmountm43/ )

      To achieve full M4/3 sensor coverage Tokina + FR is the best choice in my opinion. Although I'm using a Chinese FR ($99) the quality is very good. Meta Bones should give you even better quality.

      You might try FR + Samyang 10/2.8, but the quality isn't as good. Although, I haven't tested it better than a few shots in the shop, those weren't promising.

      Check my blog for "focal reducer" label and there's more info and samples:
      http://lenscraze.blogspot.com/search/label/focal%20reducer

      Cheers Mate!

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