In a previous post I wrote about the possibility to use the Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX 11-16mm lens on a Nikon FX body – in FX mode. I detected some corner softness with the Tokina on my D700 so I thought it would be useful to have a direct comparison between the two lenses in FX mode. The comparison itself is pretty unfair because the Tokina was designed to work only on APS-C (DX) DSLR’s and costs 3 times less than the Nikkor AF-S 14-24mm ultra wide zoom.
Weather conditions for a comparison test shot weren’t too good today but still sufficient to show the sharpness differences between the two ultra wide zoom lenses.
Scene (full image)
The scene as seen with the Nikkor AF-S 14-24, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1600s
f/2.8 corner crop samples
Lower left corner crop, Nikkor AF-S 14-24, ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/6400s
Lower left corner crop, Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX, ISO 200, f/2.8, 1/6400s
Wide open the Tokina’s corners are pretty ugly in FX mode compared to the Nikkor.
f/5.6 corner crop samples
Lower left corner crop, Nikkor AF-S 14-24, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1600s
Lower left corner crop, Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1600s
Even at f/5.6 the Tokina shows very soft corners even though not as bad as at f/2.8.
f/5.6 center crop samples
Center crop, Nikkor AF-S 14-24, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1600s
Center crop, Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1600s
The Nikkor seems to be a tad sharper in the center and has more overall contrast.
Conclusion
These photos show that the Tokina AT-X 116 Pro DX ultra wide zoom can operate in FX mode on a Nikon FX body but image quality obviously suffers when (ab)using a DX lens in FX mode. Do not use this lens on an FX body, it has too many limitations.
The Tokina is made for DX bodies and image quality on APS-C DX bodies is very good. I’d go as far as to say that it has the best price-perfomance ratio of all DX ultra wide zooms on the market today when used on a DX body.
Jeffrey, the vignetting at 11mm is bad, in fact you will have a thick black circle around each photo. However, did you ever think about using the Tokina in DX mode on the D700 underwater? Yes, you will loose a lot of resolution but on the other hand get a sharp image.
Cheers,
Jan
Did you see any improvement in the corner sharpness of the Tokina at f8 and above? I am interested to try this lens on my D700 underwater. The advantage is that the Tokina will take a diopter which is helpful underwater with an optical dome. Also remember you are testing this lens against the best, I wonder how it will stack up against the other wide FF options like the 17-35?
Did you see any vignetting at 11mm?