Tokina AT-X 16.5-135 DX

blende8 · 03-18-2009, 04:11 AM

They finally released it!

Tokina AT-X 16.5-135mm f3.5-5.6 DX

Minimum focusing distance is 0.5m.
9 blade aperture
Filter size is 77mm.
The body size is 84 × 78mm (maximum diameter × total length),
weighs 610g.

Release date: ca. June.
Unfortunately not (yet) for Pentax.

Link:
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lithos · 03-18-2009, 04:35 AM

Oh, something tells me Pentax will a have 16.5-135mm f3.5-5.6 out soon...

wavecurrent · 03-18-2009, 07:55 AM

Originally Posted by lithos

Oh, something tells me Pentax will a have 16.5-135mm f3.5-5.6 out soon...

Don't count on it, I have been waiting for the 11-16 F2.8 zoom to be released as a "Pentax" lens

ftpaddict · 03-18-2009, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by wavecurrent

Don't count on it, I have been waiting for the 11-16 F2.8 zoom to be released as a "Pentax" lens

Might get both, might get none. I personally love how compact this lens is. Puts the Nikon 18-105 to shame.

Gooshin · 03-18-2009, 08:30 AM

i wonder what the limitations were from making this lens a constant F4 or something.

also, why dont they ever make a constant F3.2 lens or something? that would be cool

Miserere · 03-18-2009, 09:31 AM

Originally Posted by wavecurrent

Don't count on it, I have been waiting for the 11-16 F2.8 zoom to be released as a "Pentax" lens

My thoughts exactly.

I wonder how Tokina are going to sell any of these lenses when there are very good 18-250mm superzooms available from the other brands. I can see it's smaller, but I don't know how many people will sacrifice 115mm worth of range for some reduction in size. And it better be much cheaper than the 18-250mm too. Another problem I see is that Sigma is going to release an optically-stabilised 18-250mm (and they already have an OS 18-200mm). OS and longer reach...tough to beat.

I do wish Tokina the best. I've owned (and still do) a number of their old lenses (back when they used to build K-mounts) and they've always been my favourites.

ricosuave · 03-19-2009, 08:49 PM

Originally Posted by wavecurrent

Don't count on it, I have been waiting for the 11-16 F2.8 zoom to be released as a "Pentax" lens

you and me both.

egordon99 · 03-20-2009, 08:11 AM

It would cost more

I'm sure it's possible to make it f/4 throughout, but the marketing folks at Tokina were most likely trying to hit a certain pricepoint.

Originally Posted by Gooshin

i wonder what the limitations were from making this lens a constant F4 or something.

gazonk · 03-20-2009, 08:31 AM

Originally Posted by Miserere

My thoughts exactly.

I wonder how Tokina are going to sell any of these lenses when there are very good 18-250mm superzooms available from the other brands. I can see it's smaller, but I don't know how many people will sacrifice 115mm worth of range for some reduction is size.

I do wish Tokina the best. I've owned (and still do) a number of their old lenses (back when they used to build K-mounts) and they've always been my favourites.

16.5 vs. 18 is quite significant, IMHO. Especially for Canon users with their 1.6 crop...

If this is a good lens, it would be cool if Pentax released a sealed version to go with their K20d successor camera. Sealed, compact camera with sealed all-in-one lens, now that would be a wonderful "trekking camera"!

pakhead · 03-20-2009, 10:12 AM

Miserere, if it's significantly smaller, is 16.5 at the wide end and has great optical quality I can see this doing very well. I have an old Sigma 18-125 which I use as a walkaround for any situations where i can carry only one lens and may need something longer than my DA*16-50. I like everything except its slightly washed out colour and poor AF. A Tokina lens that improved on that in a very compact package would definitely ahve a market - the wider FL wuold certainly be valable.

dan aron · 03-21-2009, 04:22 AM

It's always a good thing when a new lens hits the market. If there is a competition there is a results.
Nowdays we see all the times better and better zooms. A primes has they place but usually when a shot is fired it was taken with zoom. So, I'm glad they products those and even a bad ones.

Few years later we'll see some amazing constant aperture f1.8 zooms. Like the one in Olympus. That f2 normalzoom.

I'm not buying this Tokina because I prefer constant apertures but it's still good to have that kind of zooms too.

**Peter Zack** · 03-21-2009, 05:26 AM

We'll never see it from Tokina in PKA mount. I've written them a couple of times about the 11-16 and those emails just get ignored. I don't expect that's going to change.

As for this lens, I'm with Miserere on this. Yes it's a touch wider and that does make a difference but this is slow. It's market is mostly 'consumer grade' and if I was a typical consumer looking for a walk about lens, 18mm would be plenty wide and the extra length of a superzoom is what I'd buy. Now if this was f2.8 or f4 constant.....

Miserere · 03-21-2009, 06:59 AM

Originally Posted by Peter Zack

We'll never see it from Tokina in PKA mount. I've written them a couple of times about the 11-16 and those emails just get ignored. I don't expect that's going to change.

That's sad news about the 11-16mm f/2.8. It's about the only lens I would be willing to buy new and pay full price for.

As for this lens, I'm with Miserere on this. Yes it's a touch wider and that does make a difference but this is slow. It's market is mostly 'consumer grade' and if I was a typical consumer looking for a walk about lens, 18mm would be plenty wide and the extra length of a superzoom is what I'd buy. Now if this was f2.8 or f4 constant.....

When I think "consumer", I think of somebody who walks into a store (probably a large surface Best Buy type of store) and asks for an all-around lens. The store clerk will be unlikely to know anything about photography, and the consumer will only know that for $50 more (or thereabouts) they get a lens that has twice the reach, while 16.5 is almost the same as 18 (just by comparing the numbers) so clearly, an 18-275mm lens is a much better deal.

In any case, this discussion is a moot point for us because we'll never see this lens in P/KAF mount, and I doubt Pentax will release a copy of it when they already have Tamron's very good 18-250mm clone in production.

*rpriedhorsky* · 06-02-2009, 10:37 PM

Originally Posted by Peter Zack

We'll never see it from Tokina in PKA mount. I've written them a couple of times about the 11-16 and those emails just get ignored. I don't expect that's going to change.

I wrote in to inquire about this lens and received an answer from Glenn Nash within a few minutes (!!), but it was disappointing:

Unfortunately, Japan has not announced any plans to make Tokina lenses in anything other than Canon and Nikon mounts at this time.

I looked through the Tokina catalog and found nothing at all in a Pentax mount, so I think the odds are slim.

*F16* · 06-03-2009, 12:08 AM

Unfortunately, Japan has not announced any plans to make Tokina lenses in anything other than Canon and Nikon mounts at this time.

That's too bad, I've always liked Tokina but I guess they feel that the extra inventory needs for retailers makes it easier for them to just go with the 2 biggest brands. I wouldn't think that their reasoning has to do with high costs of maintaining 4 lensmount systems in production.