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Alternative to Tokina 11-16

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Arnold F.

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I'm aware of the reputation of the Tokina 11-16 and am strongly considering it. However, I'm unhappy with the short throw and non-cine barrel markings on many modern still lenses like the Tokina and Canon. Is there a good, more cine-like alternative to the Tokina, hopefully for the same or not much more money? A prime would be fine.
 
For $600, there really is nothing even close to the Tokina's value. I've heard great things about the Nikon 14-24mm, but it is $1900 and will have the same non-cine barrel markings as the Tokina. The closest option you will probably find will be a rehoused Tokina 11-16, like the famous Duclos version, but that costs $3500 and is always on back-order.
 
Arnold F. said:
I'm aware of the reputation of the Tokina 11-16 and am strongly considering it. However, I'm unhappy with the short throw and non-cine barrel markings on many modern still lenses like the Tokina and Canon. Is there a good, more cine-like alternative to the Tokina, hopefully for the same or not much more money? A prime would be fine.
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Given your parameters the answer is No... Julio in the post above is spot on.

If there were a viable alternative it would be plastered all over REDuser.
 
I simply cannot sing the praises enough of the tokina 11-16. I practically live on this lens, just get it and fall in love. trust me (trust everyone who owns one!)
 
Arnold F. said:
I need a Canon mount. Apart from that, they advertise the Ruby as the sharpest lens they've ever seen but the accompanying videos look, to my eye at least, dreadful.
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Test one in person Arnold... It's a very nice lens. But again, it's well over $10K.
 
hehe..I had no idea. At this point in my career I have as much business testing a $10K lens as I do a Maserati.

Could this Zeiss prime be a good alternative?

Allocation e-mail came in as I wrote this!


Andrew Benz said:
Test one in person Arnold... It's a very nice lens. But again, it's well over $10K.
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The Ruby is amazing, as is the Nikkor 14-24 it is built from. Unfortunately, the demo videos I've seen posted don't do it justice, arguably they do a disservice to the lens. Unfortunately, the cinema mod by Focus Optics to create the Ruby makes it one rather pricey lens. Around $10K last I looked. It's wicked sharp and puts most primes to shame.

The Tokina 11-16 is the best there is for a zoom in that focal range. Yes, the focus throw is super short (as with most any SLR lens) and the iris will drive you nuts at times. If you can swing it, get a Duclos modified version. Yeah, the wait time is a killer there too. And few people sell the Duclos version once they have it, it's one of my most prized lenses. The thing is awesome and I use it a lot more than I ever thought I would. I also own the Tokina in Nikon mount. Tokina will be releasing an updated version of the 11-16 later this year. And I expect the demand for those to be insane, unless they manage to screw it up.

There was also a seller on here from China offering a similar modified version compared to what Duclos is offering. It was about 30% cheaper and didn't look half bad. I think one or two people bought one and reported that it was good. The seller got the boot through for advertising policy violation and I don't recall details or ways to contact or anything like that. I would question the ability to service and maintain that lens though. Personally, the Duclos is more than worth the extra cost, it's just the current wait time is a killer.

You could always rent one to see for yourself. If you're running a Canon mount and other SLR lenses, it seems that picking up the Canon mount version would be a no-brainer.
 
Arnold F. said:
hehe..I had no idea. At this point in my career I have as much business testing a $10K lens as I do a Maserati.

Thank you for the input. Looks like the Tokina it is, then.
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Absolutely Arnold! I am very glad to help... I have the Tokina as a Duclos Modded Nikon and will hopefully get the PL version very shortly from Matt after they get caught up. I think you are going to be really happy with it! :)
 
Jeff Kilgroe said:
If you can swing it, get a Duclos modified version. Yeah, the wait time is a killer there too. And few people sell the Duclos version once they have it, it's one of my most prized lenses. The thing is awesome and I use it a lot more than I ever thought I would.
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Hi I get this question a lot but don't know:
Is the Duclos version Tokina modified to extend the focus rotation?
What is the amount of rotation on it?
I went there yesterday and forgot to ask....
 
Arnold F. said:
Could this Zeiss prime be a good alternative?

Allocation e-mail came in as I wrote this!
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Why would you want an f3.5 18mm for $1800 when you can get an amazing 11-16mm f2.8 for $600? The Tokina focus ring actually feels better than my Canon L-series lenses because it has hard stops. Seriously, its a really good lens.

Nick Morrison said:
How about the Sigma 8-16? I know its slow, at 4.5-5.6, but still, it looks awesome...
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That f-stop range makes it nearly useless in a lot of situations. If you need to go wider than 11mm then it makes sense. Otherwise a f2.8 is much more versatile.
 
Also, I personally don't shoot much that wide. Usually a few establishing shots without any racking focus. So, I doubt many use it as a main lens. Why spend more that $600 for an occasional lens?
 
I own the Nikon version, with an adapter from Fotodiox. I had Peter Sensor from RP lens put a gear on it and I've been extremely happy with it. Tokina actually just released an update to the Nikon version. I believe it has another aspherical element but I haven't seen any tests from it yet. Another alternative is the Samyang 14mm. It's dirt cheap but I've read about a cine version that I haven't been able to find for sale. Best of luck, if you're anywhere near Michigan you're welcome to check mine out.
 
Julio Quintana said:
Why would you want an f3.5 18mm for $1800 when you can get an amazing 11-16mm f2.8 for $600? The Tokina focus ring actually feels better than my Canon L-series lenses because it has hard stops. Seriously, its a really good lens.



That f-stop range makes it nearly useless in a lot of situations. If you need to go wider than 11mm then it makes sense. Otherwise a f2.8 is much more versatile.
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I agree with you, the F stop makes it useless for interiors...but its an interesting lens...Someone posted some footage this week on this forum that used it, and I as intrigued. An expensive toy to own for limited use, but interesting none the less...for the right situation.
 
Bob Gundu said:
Also, I personally don't shoot much that wide. Usually a few establishing shots without any racking focus. So, I doubt many use it as a main lens. Why spend more that $600 for an occasional lens?
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I've been shooting alot of 3K 48fps with 2.40:1 framing, and the Tokina 11-16 is perfect for this format. Also, a couple times at 2K 60fps.
In 3K, the tokina becomes a normal wide lens, and in 2K becomes a not-so-wide lens.

This lens is A MUST if you shoot 3K/2K and 2.40:1.
 
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