Tokina AF 193 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5

19-35mm F/3.5-4.5 EF Lens for Canon EOS After searching the web for a bit, I've found that most websites conclude that this lens is one that is sold under various names, including Vivitar, Tamron, Tokina, Cosina, Quantaray, and Vivitar. I have the Cosina version, but the general consensus with this series of lenses is that for the value, it can't be beat. I celebrated a $19.99 victory and am still happy with the performance of the lens. I wanted a cheap and light wide angle lens to fit the 1D/1Ds bodies and a standard zoom lens for the backup cropped body. And of course, I didn't want a lens that can't perform at all if I'm caught with it mounted.... and to be frank, given its great reputation, I actually picked this one up to see what the fuss was about. Center performance is generally good (more than I expect for sure). Corners need stopping down, but it gets there with sharpness. Focus is very decently fast. The build varies depending on branding (Cosina version is acceptable as a consumer lens). If you can pick one up for cheap, this would be an excellent lens. It is as good as people say it is. The next step up would require more funding, the various brand 17-35mm, Sigma 15-30mm, or even the 17-40mm L if you want to have an EF lens that doubles as a standard wide on a cropped body.

Very good lens! sharp! Pros: Good Built Quality. Very sharp optics when stopped down a couple of stops. Autofocus is fast and accurate, also lens doesn't change length when switching between 19mm/35mm or focusing. Cons: A little soft at 19mm but very useable. Flare can be a problem sometimes without a hood. A good replacement for "kit lens" on a crop body giving a 30mm / 56mm field of view. Very good lens! It's actually my "walk-around lens" for landscape and gives very good results. The main reason i bought it was based on price vs image quality, the pictures taken with this lens are amazing with very good colour and contrast and for the price paid this lens cant be beat. It is not as wide as i want on a 1.6x crop body but that's one cheap lens with tack sharp quality. When looking for lenses, i'll give a second look at tokina now.

Well Kept Secret This is a well kept secret, lol. This lens is a sleeper! Decent build quality. Sharpness is outstanding for the price point! Contrast is decent, a bit lacking but nothing that can not be easily fixed with a simple S-Curve adjustment or some local contrast enhancement. The price is hard to beat. It easily exceeds Canon's kit lens!! More on par with Nikon's and Pentax's kit lenses. A good bang for the buck lens.