[Driline]

I thought I would share my experience and suggestions regarding the three Tokina lenses I currently own and help others to decide what or if they might benefit as well. This is all my personal experience so take it as such.

The three lenses in Question:

Tokina SL 400mm f5.6
Tokina AT-X SD 80-200mm f2.8
Tokina AT-X SD 100-300mm F4

The Tokina SL 400mm f5.6 was purchased from eBay in excellent condition including the original box and case for $40. I was looking for an inexpensive birding lens and had good luck with another Tokina lens I owned and thought why not. While this lens can produce sharp contrasty photo's it requires some work using photo editing software. I use Capture one, as my camera of choice is the Fuji X-H1 because I prefer mirrorless. My Pentax K-S2 was also tested with this lens and honestly there's not much difference between the two. Anyhow Jpegs directly out of the camera are somewhat "muddy" and require extensive processing and sharpness to make it look good. And yes they do look good. But for my time and money I much prefer the Pentax A 400mm F5.6 over this lens any day. The Pentax looks great right out of the gate and is much easier to focus. So if you have a choice between these two pick the Pentax. It's a much better lens.

The Tokina AT-X SD 80-200mm f2.8. ($99 from eBay). I recently purchased this lens because I have nothing but admiration for its sibling the AT-X SD 100-300 F4. (Both Tokina PRO lenses). But this lens was quite disappointing at F2.8. It was not sharp. But buy F5.6 everything was good and where it should be. But honestly what's the point of a fast lens if it's not sharp wide open.

And finally the Tokina AT-X SD 100-300mm F4. This lens is a winner! Sharp at F4 and contrasty. Smooth zoom and a joy to use. Yes, built like a tank but worth every penny I paid Roberts Camera for. $87 dollars to be exact. If you look at the third party Pentax reviews of this lens on this website you will see it gets excellent results by all who own it.

So that's it. If you want an inexpensive birding lens and don't mind using a vintage manual lens then by all means pick up a Pentax A 400mm f5.6. And if you're in the market for a sharp zoom between 100-300mm then by all means I can easily recommend the Tokina AT-X SD 100-300mm F4.

My Tokina Pentax mount lenses...... (from left to right, the 100-300, 80-200 and the 400 bringing up the rear.....)





Tokina AT-X SD 100-300mm F4



Tokina AT-X SD 80-200mm F2.5



Tokina SL 400mm F5.6

[Arjay Bee]

interesting review. I have owned a few Tokinas but will be commenting on the ATX 80-400. The two copies i have owned both broke internal components while off the camera. Age must have affected the plastic used. ened up selling them for parts. Tried to have a lens mechanic do a repair but deemed unrepairable.

full reviews in the lens review section.

My point is while good optically these may not be worth the trouble long term.

[Driline]

interesting review. I have owned a few Tokinas but will be commenting on the ATX 80-400. The two copies i have owned both broke internal components while off the camera. Age must have affected the plastic used. ened up selling them for parts. Tried to have a lens mechanic do a repair but deemed unrepairable.

full reviews in the lens review section.

My point is while good optically these may not be worth the trouble long term.

I’ve noticed the newer autofocus Tokinas like your lens don’t seem to hold up as well as the manual focus lenses or are as sharp.

[Digitalis]

I didn't know Tokina even made such a lens....though my Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX to be superb focal range for wildlife photography, it is a shame we don't have more lenses in this focal length class.



Pentax K-1 Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX @ f/8 1/500 ISO 400

[Driline]

I didn't know Tokina even made such a lens....though my Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX to be superb focal range for wildlife photography, it is a shame we don't have more lenses in this focal length class.



Pentax K-1 Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX @ f/8 1/500 ISO 400

Your Sigma is a well known excellent lens. Average price however comes in much higher than the Tokina. And is well worth it I’m sure.

[Digitalis]

There have been rumors of Pentax developing a D-FA 100-300mm f/2.8~4 zoom lens, nothing has materialized just yet.

[Driline]

There have been rumors of Pentax developing a D-FA 100-300mm f/2.8~4 zoom lens, nothing has materialized just yet.

Still waiting for Pentax to develop a mirrorless model to compete with Fuji. ( And by mirrorless I mean an electronic viewfinder). Until then the only Pentax glass I've been purchasing has been legacy. Third party as well including Tokina.

[Digitalis]

Still waiting for Pentax RICOH to develop a mirrorless model to compete with Fuji.

Fixed it for you, Pentax has made it abundantly* clear they aren't jumping on the mirrorless bandwagon.



* particularly with the release of the Pentax KF.