Author: | | Forum Member Registered: December, 2018 Location: Telemark Posts: 86 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: September 25, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Sharp, great colors and fantastic value | Cons: | none to be fair | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: Pentax K-1
Focusing: 8
| | Oh my, what a lens. You can't expect old lenses to handle 36 mpx resolution? Or can you? I also have the Pentax 15-30 mm f/2.8 which I'm considering selling. This one though, creates so nice images for me. I read a little about it online and found out it has a good word on the internet. It was cheap, small and sharp. I never expected it to be this sharp. My copy has a litle haze which they said didnt affect the images, but it does sometimes. Easy to remove with dehaze in lightroom and it's not even visible in all photos. My copy's zoom ring also fell loose from the glue. But this doesn't have anything to do with the lens per se, but more with my copy. I still use it and I love it because it gives me such nice photos. I'm looking for a second copy.
| | | | | Senior Member Registered: April, 2015 Posts: 130 | Review Date: September 14, 2020 | Recommended | Price: $125.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | great image quality and useful widw angle range | Cons: | some distortion at 20mm | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: k1
Focusing: 10
| | This is a great travel lens. I've used for years a rarely travel without it
| | | | New Member Registered: May, 2012 Posts: 14 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: February 20, 2018 | Recommended | Price: $250.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Super sharp, un-expensive FF wide angle | Cons: | CA, rotating front element | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 3
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 9
Value: 10
Camera Used: K-1
| | With the K-1 out there, price of FF wide angle lenses are getting sky high. The best options so far for the K-1 are the Pentax FA 20-35mm and the pricey 15-30mm. But there are other alternatives, better than the Sigmas and Tamrons 17-35mm, the Tokina 20-35mm. It's small, built like a tank and...sharp!
It's sharp already wide open, only the angles are lagging behind. Close the diafragm to F8 to get fantastic results. Only problem I see is the CA's, those are big. Use a lens hood and stop down to get better results. Colors are splendid, specially greens and blues.
If you find one do not hesitate, the Pentax 20-35mm is a bit better but will cost you double. | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 1 user found this helpful | Review Date: February 6, 2015 | Recommended | Price: $100.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | very sharp at f 8-11,very nice bokeh, excellent colors | Cons: | some CA's | Sharpness: 10
Aberrations: 8
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
Camera Used: k-5, k-x,,k200d, z-5P, z-20p, SFX, fuji x-e1,k200
| | some CA's afford to stop down this lens to f 8-11 / quelches ACs visbles, c'est pourquoi qu'il faut fermer le daiphragme à f 8-11
doing this, you'll have much fun with it beaucoup de plaisir avec cet objectiv après avoir effectué ce pas
++ excellent colors / couleurs excellentes
++ very good sharpness / haut piqué
++ high contrast / haut constraste
+/O some few CAs visible at wide open aperture quelques aberrations chromatiques visibles à diaphragme ouvert | | | | | Veteran Member Registered: June, 2013 Posts: 1,458 2 users found this helpful | Review Date: November 28, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $200.00
| Rating: 10 |
Pros: | Super sharp. solid heavy duty build, price | Cons: | not as fast as the 2.8, hard to find | Sharpness: 9
Aberrations: 9
Bokeh: 9
Handling: 10
Value: 10
| | I first discovered this lens when reading a review about the Nikon version, by the highly respected Ken Rockwell. To quote him, The Tokina 20-35mm f/3.5-4.5 AF is the steal of the decade for an FX ultrawide zoom. Its optics are on par with most of Nikon's best lenses of its era, and this Tokina's mechanics are better than Nikon's similar-speed 18-35mm zoom.
The steal of the decade! He went on to compare it in detail to not only Nikon's best, but the ATX-pro 2.8 Tokina version of this lens.....and guess what t came out on top. In fact his tests showed that optically, it is MUCH better than the 2.8 higher priced version.
My search began. I found one on Ebay out of Japan and couldn't wait to get my hands on it to run some tests myself. And I wasn't disappointed. This lens clearly out performs my sigma 17-70, especially in sharpness, and while I would love for it to be wider than 3.5, the really good news is that this lens performs as well wide open as it does in what one might consider sweeter apertures.
Zooming is the best of any ultrawide zoom: it moves smoothly with a single fingertip.
This is a top notch, hard working lens, built, typically for Tokina, like a tank and with a smart 6-blade design. The weight and feel match up really well with the k3, and of course will stay in my arsenal if Pentax ever goes ff.
Maybe it doesn't have that extra bit of magic that one of the Pentax fa primes have, but if you are looking for professional grade, top level optics in a wide angle zoom......it will be hard to find a lens to match this for a Pentax body, at any price. The fact that this is also one of the least expensive wide angles out there is quite simply.....amazing. If you can find one pick it up!
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