Is this a problem with my Tokina 11-16mm or camera or else?

Hi, I just bought a Tokina 11-16mm and have been trying it out this weekend. It seems sharp enough, but I am having some exposure

issues. Shots seem very overexposed. This occurs at all apertures.

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Here is an example:

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This is shot with my 17-35mm at f/5.6 Aperture Priority:

<img src="http://www.ww2models.com/photo/Nikon.jpg"/>

And this is shot with the Tokina at f/5.6 Aperture Priority

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<img src="http://www.ww2models.com/photo/Tokina.jpg">

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This also happens at F/2.8, etc.

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Is this the issues with my particular lens or Tokina overall? I can actually see the ca,era choosing a slower speed with the Tokina

compared to the Nikkor set at the same f-stop.

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Thanks, Dmitry

This hasn't come up in awhile, but if you do some searching here on photo.net you'll probably find some threads concerning varying exposures of the same scene with different lenses.

 

It's hard to say if this is a *problem*, but some people figure out how much exposure compensation is needed and continue using the lens.

I noticed before that my 20mm underexposes compared to 17-35mm.

Although I posted an outdoor picture, this is most annoying on the indoor shoots.

Dmitry

Different lens' get metered differently. It's not exactly normal, but it's pretty much expected. Don't worry about it too much, use exposure compensation and you're done. As long as you know it's happening, you can control it.

A man who has two clocks does not know what time it is.

 

Is the 17/35 giving a correct exposure? Maybe it is under a little.

 

If you were to meter a uniform patch filling the frame with both lenses and the Tokina picks a longer exposure, one of the two is wrong.

 

If you meter manually and it still happens to this extent, I would exchange/return the lens or get it repaired under warrantee. I can see some difference from lens to lens, but this is excessive. There is no way I would accept a lens that requies a + - compensation to be set in.

 

Only my Leica lens are perfect. Nikons bounce 1/4 stop.

Thanks Guys, I will have to underexpose by .3-..7 stops. I must say that the lens seems very very sharp, even at 2.8. No

formal tests, but much better than 16-50mm Tokina I tried before. The zoom range is very small. This lens would be more

valuable if it went up to 24mm at 2.8. Still, if you are sticking with DX format, it is a nice addition!

I see you are using the matrix meter.

 

Is the difference there with the centre weighted or spot meter? I only ask because the matrix meter uses both focal length and distance information and is therefore more subject to errors in the information sent from lens to camera.

 

I'd try Ronald's experiment and meter a uniformly illuminated surface and compare. I'd do this with the center weighted meter and the matrix meter.

 

You can try the sunny f/16 rule to discover which lens is wrong. Meter green grass, grey asphalt or another mid tone using the centre weighted meter or spot meter in midday sunshine. You should then get a reading of 1/ISO seconds at f/16.

I think I'd exchange it. Needing to dial in exposure comp just to make up for this lens seems a band-aid to a problem.

I have had a Tokina 12-24 and now use a Sigma 10-20...exposure is sometimes guesswork and I have learned to live with it.It fluctuated wildly on the Tokina and a fair bit with the Sigma.Im thinking its to do with the extreme wide angle the light meter has to deal with,which causes major problems in camera.

I cannot speak for your actual lens or for that matter a wide angle Nikkor,but I do think the camera has a lot more to evaluate and accomodate,light-wise with a wide angle lens.

 

I have come to terms with these fluctuations even from shot to shot with the same scene on a tripod and uniform light.

I love wide angle lenses.!

Regarding Geoff's comments on wide angle exposure, I do own a Nikon 16mm fisheye and film exposure with that lens is quite tricky. It does often overexpose so I have taken to using Center or Spot metering when I use it and also carefully consider whether a scene can be reasonably shot with the lens in the first place.

On my Tokina 12-24 I've found in bright sunlight my D300 tends to overexpose in bright sunlight. On bright days I shoot in averaging mode.

What's the histogram showing you? As long as the Tokina isn't blowing the highlights, I'd take it's exposure over what the 17-35

produced.

Dmitry, you said your lens is very sharp, even wide open... I would definitely keep it as it's a good sample optically. What happens if you exchange it for a better metering one with some optical fault? Marco