Tokina AT-X 124 PRO DX II AF 12-24 mm f/4 review - Vignetting

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Tokina AT-X 124 PRO DX II AF 12-24 mm f/4

28 June 2010

Arkadiusz Olech

8. Vignetting

In the case of the old model of this lens, apart from the chromatic aberration we also complained a lot about the vignetting, which, at the maximum aperture and 12 mm focal length, reached 41%. What’s interesting, that aberration at longer focal lengths decreased to not bothersome level of a dozen or so percent.

How the new model performs here? First, let’s have a look at the pictures.

Tokina AT-X 124 PRO DX II AF 12-24 mm f/4 - Vignetting

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For the most difficult combination of ultra wide angle and f/4.0 aperture the vignetting reaches 32% (-1.1 EV). This result is significantly lower than in the case of its predecessor but once again we must stress the fact that a part of this decrease might be due to a bit smaller sensor of the Canon 50D. On stopping down by 1EV the vignetting decreases to 18% and on stopping down by 2 EV – to 15%. On further stopping down we don’t see any significant improvement.

What’s interesting, although a smaller sensor was used in the test, the vignetting at longer focal lengths of the new model is higher than in the old one. At 18 mm and by f/4.0 the light fall-off in the frame corners amounts to 21% (-0.68 EV) and it decreases to 13% by f/5.6. By f/8.0 the level of this aberration becomes practically imperceptible (11%).

At the maximum focal length the situation is very similar. By f/4.0 we get the vignetting level of 20% (-0.66 EV) and it decreases to 12% by f/5.6 and becomes unnoticeable by f/8.0 amounting to just 9%.

Noticeable and distinct changes in vignetting, compared to the performance of the predecessor, indicate that the company might have shaped the curves of the elements differently and/or the construction of the barrel might have been altered. It is a move in the right direction. The lowering of the very bothersome vignetting at the widest angle, even by increasing it slightly at longer focal lengths, was a correct decision.