Jason Dunn
06-12-2006, 03:00 PM
I've had my Nikon D200 for a couple of months now, but I haven't felt I've had a "complete" kit because I've been lacking a good wide-angle lens. I read through many reviews, and talked to some knowledgeable people, about what lens was the best value for the dollar. The <a href="http://www.nikon.ca/products/afs-dx-zoom-12-24/">Nikon 12-24 is quite expensive</a> - my media discount rate was still about $1250 CND ($1150 USD), and after dropping a whack of cash on the camera, the 18-200 lens, and accessories, I just wasn't prepared to spend another $1200 on the Nikon 12-24. The Tokina 12-24 lens is about half the price, and in the reviews I've read it rates nearly as highly as the Nikon lens. The problem was getting one: I've had one on pre-order from Toronto's DVSHOP since, oh, March. To this day, still no phone call. So a few weeks ago I got fed up and started really hunting around. I contacted Tokina directly and discovered a few things - the main problem is that Tokina has no official distributors in Canada. Any Canadian vendors selling Tokina lenses (of which there aren't many) are buying them from the US. The other problem is that this 12-24 lens is incredibly popular, and apparently most of the factory output is being gobbled up by consumers in Japan.<br /><br />Since there are no Canadian distributors, that means I didn't have to worry about Canadian warranty (there isn't one!). So I started searching for a vendor in the US that sold the Tokina lens, and also shipped to Canada. It proved to be a very short list, but I ended up placing an order with <a href="http://www.adorama.com">Adorama</a>. It took nearly a month for them to get me the lens, but that's still better than the DV Shop was able to do, and it's finally in my hands. And the final cost was $530 USD, including shipping and a Mack seven year extended warranty. There will be a customs bill coming as well, sadly.<br /><br /><img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/tokina-12-24-finally-here.jpg" /><!><br /><br />Because of the 1.5x multiplier, the 12-24 is really 18mm to to 36mm. That's an improvement over the 27mm to 300mm real-world zoom on my Nikon 18-200, though perhaps not as much as I was hoping. But if I wanted super wide-angle, I would have got a full-frame sensor like the 5D, right? The focus/zoom rings are the opposite of my Nikon lens, meaning the the ring on the front of the lens is for focusing, and the zoom ring is on the back. I predict grasping the wrong ring a lot.<br /><br />The construction is very solid - this is a heavy (20.1 oz., 570g), quality lens. The lens body is made of metal and rubber, and the focus rings have a smooth glide to them. The lens takes massive 77mm filters, which means I can finally use the Hoya 81A filter I bought months ago thinking it would fit my 18-200 (which of course it didn't, it takes 72mm filters). Interesting enough, I may use this lens for macro/product photos more than anything else. It can focus on items as close as 30 cm (11.8 inches) from the lens, while my 18-200 needs to be 19.2 inches away from the subject. Here's a <a href="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/tokina-macro.jpg">resized photo I took of some CDs</a> on my desk. I'm heading out to Hawaii in November, which is the real reason I purchased this lens. I'm looking forward to getting some great landscape shots!<br /><br />The Tokina 12-24 is available for both Nikon and Canon DSLRs, and can be had for <a href="http://thoughtsmedia.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=545&form_keyword=tokina+12-24&rd=1">as low as $438 USD</a> according to our Pricegrabber store.<br /><br /><i>Jason Dunn owns and operates <a href="http://www.thoughtsmedia.com">Thoughts Media Inc.</a>, a company dedicated to creating the best in online communities. He enjoys mobile devices, digital media content creation/editing, and pretty much all technology. He lives in Calgary, Alberta, Canada with his lovely wife, his sometimes obedient dog, and really, really likes his Nikon D200.</i>