Review on Tokina AT-X PRO DX 11-16mm Ultra-wide Angle Lens for Nikon - AT-X116PRDXN by Terry Looks

Note: what I posted on DPReview Like many of you I've been looking for months to find out which UWA lens I need. It was a tie between Nikon 10-24 and Tokina 11-16. I think I've read every forum and review site since both lenses came out. From my readings I have found that it depends on the quality of the lens, the camera, the user and the needs. It didn't make things any easier as many pages go back and forth on the same topic. There isn't a local camera store near me where I can test drive every lens, so I settled on a Tokina. Everyone was enthusiastic about the 2.8, structure, sharpness, etc. I only read negatively that some had problems with focusing. I figured my chances of getting a bad lens were zero in 2012. Well I placed my order with Revain and received my lens in two days. I was impressed by the build and weight of the lens. As soon as I received it, I immediately started filming. I started with a tripod and took a dozen indoor and outdoor shots in different lights and apertures to see how it worked. I noticed something was wrong after the first dozen shots. When I got home to check my photos, I noticed that they were out of focus. It's okay, I have a D7K, so I'll just adjust the lens. (Note: I have 5 other Nikon lenses that fit perfectly and don't require any fine tuning.) Having read online that the Tokina had trouble focusing, most users reported that negative adjustments solved the problem. Using a tripod and a combination of chart or fixed objects, I began making adjustments. At first I started with negative values, but immediately noticed that it was getting worse and worse. Well, my lens likes positive values. I moved in 2-steps and slowly moved up. As I got past +16, I noticed that there was no improvement. +20 was the highest I could get and the setting looked ok so I decided to leave it at that and take some more photos. Checking them on a computer I noticed that they are better but not great. I found I kept fiddling with the settings and taking more photos to be far away. Well, after several days of continuous use and hundreds of test photos, I couldn't see any improvement. I obviously got a bad lens. Now I had a choice. 'one. Return it to Revane for exchange. What if I get another bad lens? 2. Keep the lens and send it to Tokina. The only problem is I will never return it until my 30 day refund is up. 3. Return the lens for a refund. I chose option 3 and sent the lens back for a refund and got a Nikon 10-24. After several days of searching, I've finally found it and I'm happy to report that it's ready to use right out of the box. My images are sharp and I don't see the softness in the corners that some report at 10mm. I'm still hoping to get a 2.8 f/2.8 UWA lens for low light use, so I'll see how the new Tokina AT-X 11-16 f/2.8 PRO DX fares , when it comes out.