Lenses

Build quality
Optical quality
Value for money
Overall

Cons: Cant use filters, end heavy,fine focus has a small range, minor flaring

Pros: build quality, lens cap, sharp, contrast, color, price

Summary: First weekend of shooting fall colors with lens and it really did great on my 5D MK III. I rented the 35LII and shot heavly with that prior to this lens and its every bit on par with that one. Yeah its heavy but the build and what you get optically for the $$ just cant be beat. Lens cap worked fine and stayed on at all times

Build quality
Optical quality
Value for money
Overall

Cons: Flare in some situations

Pros: Outstanding IQ, low distorsion, professional build and everything in general

Summary: This is an all-professional lens. This is the Nikkor 14-24mm for half the price! Yes it flares, but the Nikkor flares too by the same or higher amount. Yes, the Nikkor is super-sharp, but the Tokina has the same levels of sharpness. The main difference between the two brands is focal-length. But what you miss in the wide extreme (and 16mm is already super-wide) you gain it in the other end. This is a razor-sharp lens even at f/2.8 opening the possibility of creating portraits with unusual perspective. Do not worry about distorsion. It is very low with this Tokina. Build quality is superb. It is true that the zoom ring is stiffer than the focusing one, but it definetly has the silky feeling you expect from a professional design. Don't worry about the falling lens cap. They fixed this isse in the new copies, including the one I'm using. The clutch-in AF/MF mechanism may be a bit weird but it is solid and works just fine. Some cons: It is heavy and bulky, but Ok, it is a f/2.8 professional lens, you should assume that; Flare: Yes it flares. This is critical for my landscape work, were I often put the sun into the frame when it is low in the horizon. One trick: put the sun in one cornen and shoot at f/16. Flare will appear on the opposite cornen so that you can supress it by cropping unless this excludes an important subject of your composition. It makes beautifil sunstars at f/16. Note that all professional ultrawide zooms flare. The only solution is spending thousands in a collection of Nikon or Zeiss primes. This is an outstanding professional ultra-wide zoom lens with a semi-pro/amateur price. I took great shots with it on a Nikon D700. Go get one; You can't go wrong with this, unless you get a bad copy or some other weird thing like that (it can also happen with one of those chine-made Nikkors!)

Build quality
Optical quality
Value for money
Overall

Cons: Some flare, no filters, heavy, cheap lens cap.

Pros: Excellent build quality, sharp, smooth and quick AF.

Summary: I like this lens. I've used the Nikkor 14-24 and 17-35 extensively. It falls between those two in size and weight. It will flare with a light source near the edge of the frame. Heavy, but balances well on a D700. Overall a huge value relative to the Nikkor 14-24.

Build quality
Optical quality
Value for money
Overall

Cons: cannot use filters due to shape of front element

Pros: Sharp, great color/contrast, fully weather sealed

Summary: I traded my Canon 24-105 F4 IS for this lens because I needed a wider range of coverage, and did not need the long telephoto reach. I knew I was taking a chance on this since there were no reviews anywhere. But after testing this lens against the Canon 16-35L, and the Canon EFs 10-22, I decided this lens gave me superior color and range for my applications (which is studio work for models and landscapes). www.cglightworks.com First, optically, this lens is fabulous. I find it on par with any L series lens for color rendition, sharpness and overall image quality. I feel I lost no quality in moving from the 24-105 to this lens. The constant 2.8 is great and by the time you hit F4 I think the overall DOF is quite sharp and large. I am very happy with all things optics/image quality from this lens. Second, this lens is fully weather sealed and is very well built. Its admittedly quirky to have that fish-eye like front element, and its a very long and heavy lens, but I am very confident in its quality, I trust it will give me years of good service. A few notes for those who want to know. It cannot take front filters due to the front lens element. As I understand it, this lens is very similar to the Nikon 12-24 (http://www.slrgear.com/reviews/showproduct.php/product/1122/cat/13). From the one review I could find, this lens offers similar optical features/quality. Also, it has the focus clutch mechanism, which you either tolerate or love. In the end, this lens either fills a need or not, and for me, it was the better choice than other options for the Canon mount (I even had the money to get the 16-35L and chose this one). I would highly suggest testing it out if it fills a need in your lens lineup.