Tokina 12 -28mm f 4 & Madagascar

 Ek het hierdie "review" geskryf die begin van die jaar.

Antananarivo  Madagascar

I have regular opportunities to travel internationally.  My travels are mostly for business and I have to follow extremely tight schedules usually including 1 intercity flight per day and a different Hotel to stay in each night.

One of the challenges for me usually is to decide what camera & lens combo to take with me.  I am a cabin luggage type person and don't want to struggle with too much luggage.   I therefore have to pack light and also do not want to drag additional camera bags along with me.   

So what lens and camera to take?   During my previous trip to India I spent a total of 10 nights in 7 cities.  Most of my time was spent in city areas.  I did not want to take my most expensive camera and lens combo and also wanted something light and small, but did not want to miss out on potential photographic opportunities.  I was therefore torn between My SL1 / EOS 100D with either a nifty fifty (50mm f.18) or 18 - 135mm IS STM.   I ended up packing the larger lens and took the 100D and 18 - 135.  I did consider throwing the 50mm in the bag just in case but did not want to change lenses.

Now for my last trip end of December 2016 I went to Madagascar.   It was only a quick 3 day trip.  I only took a small cabin bag and again needed to decide which camera lens combo to take with me.   Since it was only for 3 days I decided to hang the camera over my shoulder and therefore did not need the smallest setup to also fit into my bag.   Since I was planning to not spent too much time in city areas but mostly in very remote areas, I decided to pack a wider lens and also take a higher resolution camera body.   I ended up taking my EOS 760D with the Tokina 12 - 28mm F4  Pro DX for crop bodies.

I must say the additional focal length on the long end compared to other wide zooms makes the Tokina a good option as a travel lens but also giving that  wider end for nice landscape images. 

Although the Tokina 12- 28 is not a very lightweight lens, after using it for nearly 6 months I find it a pleasure and solid instrument to work with.

I really enjoyed using Tokina 12 - 28mm from inside the airplane and this was also almost the only opportunities I had to take Pictures.   My first flight was from Johannesburg South Africa to Antananarivo the capital of Madagascar.  Now I am not the type of guy who usually take pictures from inside the plane, but the Tokina at it's wide end allowed me to take this shot of the jet engine which would have been impossible with a standard zoom or 18 - 55 kit zoom:

 

I arrived in Antananarivo  and immediately took another flight to Mahajanga on the north western part of the Island.   After 1 overnight in  Mahajanga I had to take another flight in a 8 seater 1 hr south along the coast to Ankokoabo.  

 

This was my first ever trip to Madagascar and I must  say the aerial views of the north western coast  were absolutely amazing!

After a very busy day in Ankokoabo inspecting miles of water ways for shrimp farming, I spent the night on the farm and caught the 8 seat flight back to Mahajanga early the next morning.

Mahajanga Port

From Mahajanga I caught a afternoon flight back to Antananarivo in order to attend my last meeting at Head office.

In Tana (short and easier version of the Capital) I had a tiny gap early the following morning to capture some parts of the city within a 15 minute walking distance from my Hotel.

Although I only spent 3 days on this island and was mostly occupied with travel and work, I must admit that it is an awesome place and I would love to visit it for longer and on vacation.  It would also be great to be able to dedicate more time to photographing the amazing people and places.

I am great full that I had some  tiny gaps in between to grab my camera  and capture some portions of this wonderful isolated country.

The Tokina 12-28mm f4  was definitely my best lens for this trip.  The wide focal length at 12mm is absolutely great for those stunning landscape  opportunities offered in Madagascar.   Then again, the extra millimeters going up to 28mm on the long end just gives the lens that extra flexibility, turning it into a 1 solution to keep on the camera all day long.   Although not super fast at f4, it is in my opinion fast enough for a daytime walk around option and wide lens. For low light landscapes a tripod or steady surface is always a must.   The constant f4 is great to work with.   This lens is built like a tank and the more I use it the more I love it.