Tokina
Lenses
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Tokina |
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Tokina lenses are distributed by THK Photo Products, Inc. in America. The T (Tokina) H (Hoya) K (Kenko) Photo Products, Inc. web site is located at http://www.thkphoto.com. Besides Tokina lenses, Hoya filters and Kenko products, THK also distributes Slik tripods and heads.
Created in the 1970's, Tokina was formed by former Nikon engineers and have developed a very fine multiple line of lenses. The top of their line are called AT-X Pro lenses. Tokina also made and/or make lenses under the Asanuma, Cambron and Vivitar brand names.
Tokina has a reputation for making rugged dependable lenses in their upper AT-X and AT-X Pro lines. I've had little experience with Tokina lenses. Therefore all I can do at this time is list the couple that I have and a few that I find interesting.
AT-X 17mm f/3.5 AF: Lens construction is 11 elements in 9 groups. The lens has a weight of 435 grams and it takes 77mm filters. Reviews have been very good on this ultra-wide prime lens.
AT-X 100mm f/2.8 Macro AF: Magnification ratio: 1:2 Construction is 11 elements in 10 groups. It has a filter size of 55mm. Minimum Focusing Distance is 1.1 ft - 0.35m. Weight is 19.2 ounces.
AT-X 400mm f/5.6 AF: Constructed of 10 elements in 8 groups. It's a highly regarded telephoto lens. It has a weight of 37.4 ounces and uses 72mm filters. Minimum focus is 98 inches. I have this lens in Nikon mount. It works very well with my F4, N80, F100 and other autofocus film Nikon cameras, but only sometimes with my D100 digital SLR.
12-24mm f/4 AT-X AF PRO DX: This digital only lens has a construction of 13 elements in 11 groups. Minimum aperture is f/22. The lens takes 77mm filters and weighs 20.1 ounces. Minimum focus distance is 11.8 inches. This is a DX, digital only, lens. It will not work properly on a film camera, but is great for getting true wideangle shots with digital SLR cameras.
19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 AT-X AF: This replaced the 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5. It weighs 14.6 ounces. Lens construction is 13 elements in 11 groups. Filter size is 77mm.
AT-X Pro 20-35mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro AF: It has a weight of 585 grams and a construction of 15 elements in 11 groups. Filter size is 77mm.
20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 AF: Construction is 13 elements in 11 groups. It has a weight of 15.7 ounces. Filter size is 72mm. Reports and test I've seen say this is a very good lens. Being hard to find on the used market shows that people are hanging on to it. It's now no longer in production, having been replaced by the 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5.
28-70mm f/2.6-2.8 AT-X Pro AF: Constructed of 16 elements in 11 groups, it has a weight of 26.6 ounces. Filter size is 77mm.
28-80mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro AF: Constructed of 16 elements in 12 groups, it has a weight of 28.6 ounces. Filter size is 77mm. This is a very sharp lens, equal in picture quality to those of this range and speed from Canon, Nikon, and others. I have this lens in Nikon mount.
60-120mm f/2.8 AT-X MF: This fast zoom lens has a construction of 14 elements in 11 groups. Close focus is about 4 feet. Filter size is 55mm. Weight is 630 grams. I have this lens in Konica mount.
70-210mm f/4-5.6 MF: A very compact zoom, being only 3.43 inches in length and having a weight of 15.7 ounces. Construction is 12 elements in 8 groups. Filter size is 52mm.
80-200mm f/2.8 AT-X Pro AF: The least expensive of the fast zooms in this range, the Tokina is often overlooked, but reportedly gives very sharp pictures. Lens construction is 17 elements in 11 groups. Weight is 47.2 ounces, and length is 7.2 inches. It takes a 77mm filter.
80-400 f/4.5-5.6 AT-X II AF: A little soft at 400mm but still good - I've even gooten some good photos at 400mm with a 1.5X teleconverter attached. Very good at lower focal lengths. The AF II has the addition of a tripod collar not available on the earlier model. Construction is 16 elements in 10 groups. It has a weight of 37 ounces and uses 77mm filters.
100-300mm f/4 AT-X AF: Construction is 15 elements in 11 groups. Close focus is 2 meters (about 79 inches). It has a weight of 1540 grams. And, it takes a 77mm filter.