This may be old news to some, but I recently stumbled upon an article in photographyblog.com showing the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Mark II lens. It is estimated to launch in March (for the Nikon version) and July (for the Canon version). According to Photography Blog's article, the new Tokina lens will have a new quieter focusing motor and a new magnetic AF sensor similar to the one found in Tokina 16-28mm FX. The new lens will also have an improve multi-coating. Looks like the lens is pretty much the same as the first one with a few improvements. I still use the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Mark I lens and I don't think I need to upgrade, but it's very good to know that Tokina is improving there already awesome line-up of lenses. 

Click here to see the article from photogragphyblog.com.

The Beautiful Toronto Project is alive and well. I've been absent for a few months because of school but now, it's time to roll out some more photos! This time I'm back in Casa Loma! Visited the castle one more time with a friend and took some more pictures. Had to go back because I just recently bought an ultra-wide angle lens for my camera at that time and Casa Loma was the perfect place to test out its capabilities. Got some very interesting wide angle shots that's for sure. It got even better when we found the entrance to the underground tunnel of the castle. Very creepy pathway but it was very exciting. Click on the images above to see the rest of the collection. Hope you like the photos I have for you! More photos are on their way so stay tuned :)

I'm super excited! I recently purchased the famous Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 Ultra Wide Angle lens! The lens cost me $820 CAD new and even though it's a lot of money, it's money well spent. The Canon version (10-22mm) is selling for over $900 before taxes and the build quality, optical quality, and even the aperture is well below the standards of Tokina. The Tokina lens is all metal (barrel) whereas the Canon is plastic. Tokina's optical quality is on par if not much better than the Canon counterpart. And most importantly, to me at least, is the fact that the Tokina lens is a CONSTANT APERTURE lens meaning my maximum aperture stays at f/2.8 throughout the zoom range! Compare that to Canon's variable aperture setup starting at f/3.5 at the wide end of the lens at 10mm and stopping down to f/5.6 at the "tele" end of the lens at 22mm! So overall I'm very happy with the Tokina lens and cannot wait to bring this lens outside and take some great wide angle shots of the city! This Tokina lens is winning! As for a test location, I'll probably go back to Casa Loma here in Toronto and capture some low-light wide angle interior shots of the castle. The castle had lots of dark but great looking rooms =D. Excited! Now all I need is a day-off from work =D

*** Image above courtesy of Tokina ***