Tokina 12-24

I'm thinking real hard about getting a Tokina 12-24 and was hoping that people would convince me one way or the other. The pros and cons as I see it are as follows:

Pros
-Price
-Image quality, reviews well
-Focal lenght and constant apeture
Cons
- Not a Canon Lens
- APS-C form factor
- Resale value

Looking for more input from others before I make the final decision as well as comments on the EF-S 10-22 and the Sigma ultra wide angles.
Thanks.

i owned one and i can tell you this about your cons:

1) it is a tank and it is build just as good as my canon lenses (most of them anyway)
2) it is very sharp and has great colors and contrast
3) the APS-C is only a downside if you plan to upgrade your 350d soon and even if you do, you can just sell it and move to a different lens
4) resale value is fantastic on this lens. there is always demand for it and it goes for prices similar to canon's.
5) the only reason why i sold mine was because i rarely use wide angle and because i knew that i will be buying a 1D soon.

I bought Snir's Tokina from him, and can vouch for everything he says about it.

Pros:
Nice built
12mm
sharp
Nice built

Cons:
Made me $425 poorer

i was hoping you would chime in

couple of other cons:
"only" 12mm wide, and CA

I've had it, currently have the Sigma 10-20, and tried Canon.
Canon's is good but if you are considering the price, get the toke or the sig, both are good lenses.

You have / have had each of the 3 lenses I'm considering right now. I've been wanting one for several months now, just haven't found a good price on ebay yet.

Since you've tried all 3, how did you settle on the Sigma? Why didn't you keep the Canon or Tokina?

So which is best (primarily I'm wondering which is best for the 5D)?

thats easy, there is only one ultra wide angle that will kinda work on the 5D and that is the sigma 12-24 (or was it the 10-20?) anyway, the canon won't mount on the 5D at all and the tokina i am almost sure won't work because it is designed for cropped sensors...

Thanks. That's the only area I think where my kit is weak...but I just wasn't sure if any of them were designed for the FF.

my friend is using the sigma on his 5D and he loves it but he does have to either crop a bit to get rid of light fall off...

My only regret when upgrading to a 5D was losing this lens.

Pro's - Built like a tank, Sharpness across the frame, IQ generally is very good, price compared to Canon.

Cons - APS-C (but this is only a con if you intened not to have a 20D, 30D, 350D or 400D for long), lack of USM (but its mainly a landscape lens, so would you care if the focusing motor is slightly noisy?)

A great lens, have a look on my site for images done with this lens. If you want some 100% crops let me know.

I like mine. That is all.

Had one and sold it. It just sat on the desk.

If you are going to continue with 1.6 crop cameras, the Tokina is a very good option. Yes, despite the fact that the Canon and Sigma give you an extra 12mm.

For me personally, I stick to around 14-18mm on this lens and so dont miss the extra 2mm much. The build quality is awesome and the color reproduction is very good too.

Forget resale value - you arent going to sell it in a hurry

Check out some of the wide angle shots in the New Zealand folder in my gallery.....