Forgot Password
Pentax Camera Forums Home
 

Reply
Show Printable Version Search this Thread
07-10-2008, 06:48 AM   #1
Pentaxian
Arjay Bee's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Horn Island, Torres Straits, Q
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,701
LBA Bites Hard: Tokina ATX840 at last

Staff note: This post may contain affiliate links, which means Pentax Forums may earn a small commission if a visitor clicks through and makes a purchase. If you would like to support the forum directly, you may also make a donation here.


I am on hols at the moment so more time to 'window shop' on ebay and we all now how that is the thin edge of the wedge.

I have been wanting a dedicated macro so bid for and won a series one Takumar 50mm F4 1:1 macro. You may have seen the one with the ugly inscribing on the filter ring up for auction. That is number one on the road map and I am looking forward to getting it.

For two years plus I have been pining for the Tokina ATX 80-400 in whatever series. I came across a job lot up for auction that included a series one version in amongst the 5 or 6 items and no one bid on it for ten days!! It had a high starting price but no BIN so I was on tenterhooks for the last week. Another case of poor listing as even I thought it would be a Phoenix 6.3 prime or some such similar and was dumbstruck when I read the description in the small print.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/... ...satitle%3D220251919145%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1

Once I conservatively subtract the other items from the job lot, the Tokina has cost me about $170 Aus and if it is a crummy example or, spare the thought, the wrong lens mount I can get at least that on a resale. Only a very small amount of buyers remorse.

I have a K mount manual Tokina 2x converter to put on it as well and that will be a fun setup to experiment with. That avifauna is sitting out their waiting.

Boy am I stoked and i can't wait to get it. Prior to that I had the DA 50-200 and an average m42 100-300 but this should be a big step forward. I know people have said it before but I am done with lens buying now. ;-)

By the way, anyone want the SFX it comes with?

07-10-2008, 07:12 AM   #2
Pentaxian
Moderator Emeritus




Join Date: May 2007
Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 10,643
Excellent find. Good for you. I'll be very interested in finding out what the IQ is like with this lens. make sure you add it to the 3rd party lens reviews and post some samples once you've had a chance to use the lens. Works out to a very nice deal after you sell off the other parts of the kit you don't want as well.
07-10-2008, 07:21 AM   #3
Pentaxian
Arjay Bee's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Horn Island, Torres Straits, Q
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,701
Original Poster
Will do, Peter.
Although there is no doubt that this is the somewhat inferior series one version even it has goodish reviews around the web. At the least i think it will adequately cover 300-350mm where my previous off brand lens softened up about 250mm.
Can't wait to see!
07-25-2008, 05:15 AM   #4
Pentaxian
Arjay Bee's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Horn Island, Torres Straits, Q
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,701
Original Poster
Arrived today with original Tokina bag and with both caps. It is in perfect condition and even has the original instruction sheet. I shot a few images wide open and shut down, near and far and it is magic. Heavy as a tank quite quick to autofocus. I am comparing to DA16-45 and DA50-200.
New Realisation: The DA lenses with their manual focus clutch mechanism are surprisingly easy to use when compared with these earlier autofocus lenses.

Bokeh is good and plays nicely in manual mode with a 2x tokina converter but tripod definitely needed.

Will post sample images and shot of lens later.

07-25-2008, 05:28 AM   #5
Pentaxian
Moderator Emeritus




Join Date: May 2007
Location: Edmonton Alberta, Canada
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 10,643
Looking forward to your 'review" Arjay. Sounds promising so far.
09-12-2008, 03:18 PM   #6
Senior Member




Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: St. Louis, MO
Photos: Gallery | Albums
Posts: 141
Still satisfied with your Tokina ATX840?

I have been thinking of trying to get this lens for my K10D and have found one. I have read conflicting reports. Some suggests the earlier version (which is the one I'm looking at) isn't nearly as sharp as the later version which I have not been able to find anywhere.

As I understand it the lens you bought is the earlier version (without the tripod mount). Are you still pleased with the lens or do you regret not purchasing something else?

I look forward to your reply.

Tim
09-12-2008, 07:52 PM   #7
Pentaxian
Arjay Bee's Avatar

Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Horn Island, Torres Straits, Q
Photos: Gallery
Posts: 4,701
Original Poster
Hi Tim,
I am still happy with this lens at the price I paid for it. I have a review in the lens review section as well. I wrote most of the above in the first week of ownership - then I went through some more objective testing and now I am quite happy with it but conscious of a few idiosyncrisies.
It is just on 1Kg in weight. I like to adjust the focus manually so will turn off autofocus at times - would be good if it had the autoclutch of the DA lenses but it doesn't. It loves lots of light and will produce nice images - a bit of PF at times with branches and sky but not at the edge of high contrast areas otherwise like some lenses do. I do go to the full 400mm a lot but then back it back a little to improve the sharpness.

The DA50-200 sits in my bag a lot now as this lens overlaps it a lot but the 200 has its place still and I won't be getting rid of it. I do a bit of birding and this lens is excellent for the money. Room for improvement however in the future. Just depends on price you will be paying really. Recommended from me.

I posted a few pics in the off brand lens thread of some little birds I took this week:
Post 180 on page 12 https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pentax-slr-lens-discussion/31353-off-brand-club-12.html

Good luck with your decision making.

Reply

Bookmarks
  • Submit Thread to Facebook Facebook
  • Submit Thread to Twitter Twitter
  • Submit Thread to Digg Digg
Tags - Make this thread easier to find by adding keywords to it!
auction, bid, job, k-mount, lens, lot, macro, pentax lens, series, slr lens, tokina
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Tokina AT-X 90mm f/2.5 Macro LBA OrenMc Pentax SLR Lens Discussion 23 11-27-2014 02:55 PM
Misc Reality Bites daacon Post Your Photos! 9 03-05-2010 03:16 PM
Another one bites the dust... solaris Welcomes and Introductions 1 07-20-2008 06:45 PM
LBA Hit me hard!!!! johnyeros Pentax DSLR Discussion 9 06-20-2008 06:46 PM



All times are GMT -7. The time now is 07:32 AM. | See also: NikonForums.com, CanonForums.com part of our network of photo forums!
  • Red (Default)
  • Green
  • Gray
  • Dark
  • Dark Yellow
  • Dark Blue
  • Old Red
  • Old Green
  • Old Gray
  • Dial-Up Style
Hello! It's great to see you back on the forum! Have you considered joining the community?
register
Creating a FREE ACCOUNT takes under a minute, removes ads, and lets you post! [Dismiss]
Top