Tokina has officially announced the New Tokina Opera 16-28mm f/2.8 FF lens for Canon EF and Nikon F mounts. This is a flexible wide-angle zoom well-suited to landscape, architectural, and astrophotography applications. It costs $699, first available for Pre-Order at B&H/ Adorama.

The Tokina 16-28mm f2.8 Opera has a silent drive motor that works in tandem with what Tokina is stating are new GMR magnetic autofocus sensors. To go to manual focus, the photographer just has to use the focus ring clutch. The company is also promising improvements in distortion control in addition to chromatic and spherical aberrations over the current ATX version. To do this, the Tokina 16-28mm f2.8 Opera has 15 elements in 13 groups with three aspherical elements, three low-dispersion glass elements, and a large front element.

With 11 inches of close focusing coupled with 9 aperture blades, photographers will also be able to focus on objects at a pretty close range.

Still though, the Tokina 16-28mm f2.8 Opera are sort of an odd focal length choice. There are 16-35mm lenses are add even more versatility but at a much higher price point. Canon announced a new 15-35mm f2.8 IS II lens. But perhaps it isn’t all that odd–28mm is pretty close to how the human eye sees and photographers could use it at that focal length when they want to capture something close to what their eyes see.

Below are the detailed specifications:

Focal Distance 16-28mm Minimum Aperture f/2.8 Maximum Aperture f/22 Sensor Coverage Full-Frame DSLR Lens Coatings Multi-Coated Lens Configuration 15 elements in 13 groups Angle of View 107.1° ~ 76.87° Minimum Focus Distance 0.28m / 11 inches Macro Ratio 1:5.26 Focus Method Front Inner Focus Diaphragm Blades 9 Filter Size No Filter Threads Overall Length Nikon – 133.5mm Canon – 136.0mm Measured from flange mount side Maximum Diameter 89mm Weight Nikon: 940g / Canon: 950g Hood Fixed Warranty period Exclusive 3-year USA warranty Pre-Order at B&H/ Adorama