Tokina 11-20, f2.8 or Tokina 12-28, f4

Hi!

I want to buy a wide angle lens and am zoomed in on the above two options. I am terribly confused at the moment. If I buy 12-28, I get good zoom range, but lose a stop in aperture. I want to know if wider aperture is so important in wide angle lens. Would f4 be ok for most of my work, given the fact that I am just a hobbyist but want a better image quality? If there are people out there (and I am sure there must be a lot) with the experience of using wide angle lenses, especially any or both of the above two, I would be happy to hear from you guys!
BTW - i am using Nikon 5300 DX camera.

Cheers!

If most of your work with this lens will be landscape and architecture, then f/4 will be fine. You normally stop down to gain DOF when shooting with wide or ultra wide, so unless the IQ of the two lenses are different, I don't think you'll benefit (much) from the faster lens. You might, however, benefit from the longer reach of the 12-28.

A wide angle zoom lens is much like a telephoto zoom lens. On the telephoto, most will use the longest end of the lens, while on a wide angle, most will use the widest end. At least this ha been my experience.

The only time I use my Tokina 11-16 (the predecessor of the 11-20) fully open (at f/2.8) is night sky photography, which I do only occassionally. If you are not into astrophotography, you might be better of with the more flexible 12-28. Having said that, I agree with Blacktop: most of my Tokina shots are done at 11 mm. On the other hand, I mostly use my Sigma 17-50 for landscape photography. But then again, I don't like swapping the lenses too often, so if I had to chose again, the 12-28 would be a very tempting option. Excellent range for landscape!

Sorry, didn't want to confuse you. I'm confused myself

Thank you guys for your valuable input. Even I was tempted to go for 12-28 zoom range. I am not so much interested in wider aperture in the wide angle lens; in any case, I wouldn't try to achieve 'bokeh' effect with this kind of lens. So, 12-28 almost my final choice, unless I get an overtly convincing suggestion to the contrary!

I have and use the Tokina 11-20. I found from research it was the better lens for picture quality. There are many reviews. The pictures are beautiful and I like the F2.8 for shooting indoors with no flash. I love this lens. I also have the Nikon 18-140 and Nikon 70-300 vr ll. (The good one) From reading all reviews the Tokina 100mm F2.8 Macro is the most underpriced lens on the market and it will be my next purchase.


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If both are for DX, the f2.8 will come in handy when you need that lower light condition. This is one using the Tokina 11-16 taken recently.