Tokina 11-18mm E lens review at Opticallimits: “the value king in its class”

Tokina 11-18mm lens is at BHphoto. Adorama. Amazon US&EU.

Opticallimits tested the lens and concluded:

It’s nice to see that Tokina is finally back with a new original design. And the Tokina atx-m 11-18mm f/2.8 E doesn’t disappoint. Like all ultra-wide lenses, it has a few rough edges but overall, we are generally very pleased with the performance. This is especially true for the resolution chapter. With the exception of 18mm @ f/2.8, it is pretty sharp across the image field. At medium aperture settings, it even approaches greatness. Thanks to comparatively low native image distortions, image auto-correction doesn’t need to work hard either – thus maintaining most of the resolution goodness. The original vignetting is very high at 11mm f/2.8 but it’s reasonably well controlled at other settings and quite low with auto-correction again. Lateral CAs are an old Tokina enemy and they are indeed visible in RAW files but they represent no problem after processing. The sunstar rendering is decent at medium aperture settings. A weakness is flare in backlit situations, so better use the supplied lens hood.

The Tokina lens follows the brand’s long tradition of having a very good build quality. The lens is lightweight yet doesn’t sacrifice a solid feel. The control rings are very smooth. The inner lens tube extends slightly when zooming towards the wide-end – there is nothing wrong with this, but it is a little unusual in this respect. The AF is reasonably fast and it’s perfectly silent. While it won’t affect most users, we’d prefer finer steps of the AF motor though. As is, manual focusing via the focus-by-wire system feels somewhat coarse.

The Tokina atx-m 11-18mm f/2.8 E enters a busy market segment with lots of options to choose from. Besides being a pretty good lens to boot, it is also more affordable than most making it the value king in its class.

First review of the TTartisan 50mm f/1.4 Tilt lens

TTArtisan is available on their worldwide store, Amazon US, Amazon DE, Amazon UK.

Photo-tea.com posted a first review of the new TTArtisan 50mm f/1.4 Tilt lens. The following two image show hoe much it can tilt:

And here are a couple of image samples:

PhotoTea says it was surprised to see how easy it is to create such effects. They also like the fact can also use this lens as a regular fast 50mm prime if you don’t need to get that effect.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG DN Art review by CameraLabs: “excellent quality across the frame”

Preorders: Sigma 50mm lens at BHphoto, Amazon, Adorama, FotoErhardt, Fotokoch, WexUK.

CameraLabs tested the new Sigma lens and concluded:

In a market flooded with standard lenses, the Sigma 50mm f1.4 DG DN Art makes a compelling case for itself, delivering excellent quality across the frame, attractive rendering and fast focusing, all in a solid, weather-sealed barrel at a reasonable price. Owners of Sony and Panasonic mirrorless cameras should be very happy.

Crucially it also slots comfortably between existing options, providing a taste of the high-end without breaking the bank. Sure, Sony’s 1.2 G Master and Panasonic’s 1.4 Pro may slightly out-perform it in some respects, and in the case of the Sony, boast a slightly brighter aperture too, but Sigma’s now made it much harder to justify spending over double on them.

sigma-50mm-f1-4-dg-dn-art-hero-2
If you’re coming from the other-end, the Sigma will deliver a step-up in sharpness and especially rendering over budget models, although it feels churlish to complain too much about lenses costing as little as $200. These entry-level models are also not only more affordable, but smaller and lighter too, making them more attractive particularly when paired with more compact bodies.

Sony owners also still have the option of the old Zeiss 55 1.8 which costs a tad more and boasts excellent sharpness – albeit not the most attractive rendering – in a surprisingly compact barrel.

As I said at the start, there’s no shortage of options around this focal length, but I’d now go for the Sigma over the 55 Zeiss unless size was a critical decider. Also keep an eye on prices of the original 50 1.4 Art for DSLRs, as bargains may be had, especially in the used market.

Ultimately with most 50mm lenses either targeting budget or premium buyers, the Sigma 50 1.4 DG DN Art becomes a welcome mid-range alternative at a price point with relatively few direct rivals. We’ve waited a surprisingly long time for the native mirrorless successor to Sigma’s classic for DSLRs, but it’s finally here and doesn’t disappoint.