Tokina's autofocus 17mm f/3.5 AT-X PRO rectilinear super-wide angle lens is beautifully finished, super smooth.
Written: Mar 14 '03 (Updated Mar 15 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Reasonably Priced. Full automation even with entry level SLRs.
Cons: A little difficult to reengage the focusing ring from autofocus. Truncated depth of field scale.
The Bottom Line: You get a rectilinear super wide-angle autofocus lens capable of total exposure automation including, anytime fill flash capability in a compact gorgeous package.
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| zlotmachinskyr's Full Review: Tokina AT-X 17 AF PRO for Nikon |
Until this hotrod glass came on the scene the only non-OEM brand name 17 mm game in town was the manual focus Tokina SL 17mm f/3.5 and the manual focus Tamron SP 17mm f/3.5 lens in user changeable Adaptal-2 Lens mounts (also recently reviewed). I do not recall ever seeing any Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) 17 mm lenses, just 18 mm lenses and even wider rectilinear ultraexpensive lenses.
Tokina's AT-X terminology stands for advanced technology-Xtra. Tokina prefers to use die cast aluminum alloy metal lens barrels as one of their design criteria and distinguishing features. This may make some of their lenses slightly heavier but Tokina stresses that it is done for durability and longevity of their products. Metal lens construction sets Tokina apart from the competition. Like most lenses on the market, the lens mount is fixed and unchangeable.
AT-X lenses also use Tokina's (HLD) High-refraction, low-dispersion glass and just about anything else they can think of to manufacture the finest possible lenses at a fair price. Prices that will not scare most buyers away screaming in horror or just plain frustrated disappointment. NO it's not the X-files, instead it is the far more pleasant AT-X files. User induced distortion is caused by tilting the lens so as to make the film plane not perpendicular to the floor (i.e. horizontal plane or called the transverse plane with respect to human anatomy) or not parallel to the subject's frontal plane (usually a vertical plane for architectural subjects but any other subject's frontal plane could be at potentially any angle). Tilting this lens up or down and up close too, can make humans look like other worldly beings but if used carefully it can be difficult to tell that a photograph was taken with a rectilinear super wide-angle lens and it will solve problems heretofore almost impossible in 35mm film format. It is great fun to use this focal length. And this lens has been reported to have very well controlled distortion by it optical design.
User induced distortion with this 17 mm lens is a different matter altogether as the photographer has control over this.
This aspect of super wide-angle lenses is actually a fringe benefit and can be used to great advantage by a good photographer. It also has the potential for getting lots of laughs if you have a good eye and a good sense of humor.
What we have here is an AT-X Pro series lens, no less, which is Tokina's Top of the Line lens product designation. A gold ring encircles the front of this lens to identify it as a PRO series Tokina lens.
This lens has several special features including: large rear moulded glass aspheric element of HLD glass (made possible by cooperation between Hoya Glass Works and Tokina); an internal-focusing system which maintains high resolution and contrast from infinity to the minimum focusing distance of just 9.8 inches (0.25 meter); and Tokina's exclusive focus clutch mechanism which Tokina reports to provide faster, smoother autofocus action as well as better damped manual focus action.
Specifications for this lens include: f/3.5 - f/22 aperture range; 11 glass elements in 9 groups; 104 degrees diagonal angle of view; 77 mm filter size, Dimensions: length of 3.46 inches (88 mm) by diameter of 2.56 inches (65 mm); and weight of just 15.5 ounces (440 grams); Rectilinear too!
THIS LENS IS NOT A FISHEYE!
This Tokina AF 17mm lens is very well balanced on most Nikon SLRs and the length and size seems similar to that of a Nikkor 50 mm f/1.4 manual focus lens. It handles very rapidly in autofocus mode as well in manual focus mode. When disengaged, the focusing ring does not rotate so it avoids spinning against the users hands which helps the photographer hold the camera more steady. If the user focuses on infinity and locks focus with the shutter release, then the focus ring can be rotated to infinity and popped back in place for manual focusing or to use the depth of field (DOF) scale with aperture priority automation. The depth of field scale is truncated or shortened in comparison to a manual focus 17 mm lens because the travel distance of the focusing ring is reduced to conserve autofocusing battery power and speed up the autofocus too.
So what's the big deal you wonder re the truncated DOF scale? The answer is that super wide-angle lenses have such an extended DOF that autofocus often can be turned off, the lens aperture set manually, and the lens pre-focused by taping down infinity focus at the aperture's associated DOF marker on infinity's side of the lens. The photographer can then observe and note the closest focusing distance at the DOF marker on the opposite side of the lens in-focus marker.
So with your camera set to aperture priority exposure control, the lens aperture (even as wide as f/4 or f/5.6) and focus preset, just compose and shoot. Subjects within the DOF scale distances, usually 3' to infinity will be in focus. This procedure is a way of setting the hyperfocal focusing distance with out calculations and fussing. If the subject is 3 feet or more from you then everything should be in focus for very rapid action close-in shots.
Presetting the focus in this way can speed up the photographer greatly by not having to check and/or wait for autofocus to lock on. This can work exceptionally well indoors with aperture priority TTL electronic flash control.
The nice features about this lens abound such as: a large 77mm filter size that screws directly onto front of the lens so one can keep a top flight protective filter (coated UV or coated skylight 1A) over this lens and leave it there at all times, or until the cows come home if you like. Do not use more than one screw-on filter at a time or it will very likely cause vignetting (blocking out) of the image at edges of the slide or negative leading to a negative experience. Note that 77 mm filters can be expensive but useable on many different lenses with inexpensive step-down rings. Tiffen and other firms market step-down rings in multiple sizes. Glass lens filters of 77 mm size fit Tokina lenses from 17 mm to 300 mm.
Use of a circular polarizing filter (this type preserves autofocus capability) would be about the only reason to change or remove a fine protective glass filter. Then the polarizing filter will also act as an expensive protective filter for the lens front element. So if you lose the lens cap it should be quite easy to replace and if not readily available you will still have the protection of your high quality glass filter.
I once happened to knock off the lens cap of my trusty SLR on Ayers Rock, Australia and it rolled down Ayers Rock, turned on its edge and flew out into outer space like a flying saucer but my protective filter keep my lens in excellent condition anyway.
Cheap filters don't make it or Weasels ripped my fotographic phlesh (my paraphrase of Frank Zappa).
Cheap glass protective filters on any fine lens is a huge mistake. No wonder protective glass filters for lenses have developed a bad rap. It's because many people try to save a few dollars and foist junk filters over their fine lenses and proceed to shoot junk picture after junk picture just because they put junky filter glass in the way of a good lens. What a waste of great lenses. I know you readers out there would never do that!
This Nikon autofocus mount lens has a deep black krinkle finish. A minimum aperture lock allows the lens to perform automatic exposure control, as well as help control and blend flash and ambient lighting effortlessly. Don't worry that your shoe mount flash may only cover 24mm, 28mm or 35mm focal length lenses because if you do automatic blending of fill flash and allow ambient exposure automation to show the environment in which the subjects (e.g. people of the moment) are contained, any edge light falloff should be hidden by the environmental detail of the background surrounding the people in the foreground.
Be careful when threading such large glass filters onto your AF Tokina 17mm f/3.5 as some have shorter threads and may allow its glass to rub against the high point in the center of the lens front element. It would be rather ironic and disconcerting to grind off the coating of the center point of your newly acquired exotic 17mm lens with a front mounted protective glass lens filter. I had this occur once with a 77mm filter on another lens using a pricey Toshiba branded filter. So today I only use skylight 1A or UV filters by manufacturers B+W from Schneider, Tiffen or Hoya (preferably all multicoated) as protective glass. And I use expensive high grade multicoated protective UV or Skylight 1A filters on virtually all my lenses.
So far, no one has ever said to me "Ah-HA what a rubbish image you took using that expensive B+W, et al, glass multicoated filter. I just knew you blew it using a protective glass filter, cause it had that *X#%&*! extra glass-air reflective surface. Boy you should've learned your lesson not to use top quality protective glass lens filters by now maggot-nose".
And naturally the same critic has nothing to say regarding lesser quality colored glass filters as if they must have been needed so badly that we can excuse not using top quality filters in those cases, NOT. If this is so then the finest quality colored glass lens filters as well as same branded Skylight 1A and UV filters must be even better.
Note that this lens is also available for Canon EOS, Minolta Maxxum Autofocus SLR's and now Pentax autofocus as well. It is priced at about $390 (U.S.) from some of the large mail order houses in the U.S.A. Such a great price for so much fun INCLUDING USER INDUCED DISTORTIONS. I just love super wide-angle lenses!!! You just have to look through one to know what it does. What else can be said?
Image quality is exceptional with this lens.
In addition this lens can also come to the rescue of digital SLRs suffering from lens magnification and still effectively provide a 25 mm - 28 mm wide angle capability. This lens is built to last and has great smoothness in actual use. I don't own it yet but I was privledged to open my brother-in-law's brand new lens right out of the box and install his protective UV Tiffen filter. He purchased this lens at my recommendation after using my Tamron Manual focus SP 17mm f/3.5 lens on my camera body. His inexpensive Nikon SLR would not meter, autofocus, or do blended flash/Ambient exposures without the electronic interface on this lens.
My brother-in-law is still a good friend of mine, a superb outdoorsman and he just loves using this lens indoors and outdoors, especially since most digital equipment have a long way to go before they get this wide. So eat your hearts out all you digital photographers out there. Just don't forget though that this lens will be a great help to digitally challenged photographers suffering from lens magnification blues.
Recommended:
Yes
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zlotmachinskyr
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Location: California
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