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Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6 Review RSS Feed

Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6

Sharpness 
 7.8
Aberrations 
 7.8
Bokeh 
 7.7
Handling 
 7.7
Value 
 9.0
Focusing 
 8.0
Reviews Views Date of last review
10 52,181 Sun February 6, 2022
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $67.71 8.10
Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6

Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6
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Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6
supersize
Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6
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Description:
The Tokina 300mm f5.6 was sold as an RMC, and then superceded by the SL300 when the line-up was remodelled. However it is likely there was little change optically - certainly the specifications didn't change.
Scan of original Tokina brochure on the Tokina SL28 28mm page.
Can be found in all mounts of the era.

Aperture Range (1 stop increments): F5.6 - F22
Iris: 6 blades.
Minimum Focus Distance (m) : 4.5
Focus rotation: ~280°, anti-pentax.
Filter Diameter (mm) : 58
Lens Diameter : 65
Lens Length Range (mm) : 147 - 171 (infinity focus - close focus)
Weight (g) : ~640g (Hoya, NAI mount)

Features a slide-out built-in hood that extends approximately 40mm past the end of the lens barrel.
Also sold as a Hoya (pic 3), Sears (pic 2), and other marques. The Vivitar TX/fixed mount 300mm are also tokina made and the later versions particularly are pretty similar.
Mount Type: Pentax K
Price History:



Add Review of Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6
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New Member

Registered: June, 2017
Posts: 15
Review Date: February 6, 2022 Recommended | Price: $28.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: mechanically fantastic
Cons: optically simple - but close focus and contrast at distance limit overall
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 6    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 4    Value: 9    Camera Used: p30 and Micro 4/3    Focusing: 8   

I got the Tokina version in mint condition. It is mechanically beautiful and optically simple, with an excellent slide out lens hood.

As with all 1980s film era telephotos, the lack of modern high density and aspheric glass means that there is chromatic aberration - getting worse to the corners but only really visible with high contrast structures such as tree branches or wire fences. On digital this is easy to fix.

There is no tripod bush, and this lens has to be at about the weight limit to use on a 35mm camera with a monopod - which gives me a couple of stops advantage over hand holding and for most situations is an essential for using it. On a tripod, the lack of a bush on the lens makes it prone to "wobble" as the weight is very assymmetric - this is even true when mounted on my very heavy big manfottro studio style tripod.

This lens makes for great stylish outdoor portraits - the very narrow angle of view shuts down any "busy" background and with a hot shoe flash at 1/4 power you can generate a lot more detail and some catchlight in the eyes. Remember though you need a powerful strobe to reach 4.5m from the hotshoe, or a remote fired one placed close to the subject on a stand as the minimum focus distance is 4.5 m.
  • At that distance on full frame you get a head and shoulders shot, with a DOF of 6.1cm before and 6.3cm after.
  • On full frame at 21m you get a full shot portrait with DOF of +/- 80cm at F5.6
  • On APS you get a head only shot at 4.5m with a +/- 4cm DOF at F5.6.
With those DOF characteristics, combined with the ability to "declutter" backgrounds you can see why it can be a great lens to have with you.


Wide open the bokeh is great in this role, even if F11 is sharper.

The lens quality in the mid-range of distance is good (the closest focus is poor, which is the reason to look at 300mm mirror lenses or 100-300mm zooms as alternatives). For isolating elements in landscapes the lens does less well - as the contrast seems to fall at further distances. This is an easy fix in digital, but not so good on film where careful lens hood work can help. The hood isn't in itself long enough fpr APS sensors so a thin sheet of matt black craft foam and an elastic band can work wonders to extend the hood another 7-8cm!

For the digital era, sadly modern AF zooms pack smaller, carry the weight closer to the camera when mounted and so are better balanced for handholding or monopods.

Adapted to M4/3 the weight distribution is very poor - especially with the extra mobility from the PK-M43 adapter - so what it needs is a split ring tripod collar. I have seen some generic ones online. Has anyone found one to fit this lens in its Tokina, Vivitar or Hoya versions?

2023 Update:
I have just got another in "HOYA" badging.

  • I paid £5.50 GBP - so about $7 USD - on UK EBay for one advertised as "mint".
  • Just contrast that with the prices paid for legacy telephoto 200-400mm Nikons, Pentaxes and Canons today. Unless they were fancy F2.8 versions, the standard F4-5.6 versions are all based around 4-6 lens elements in 4 groups design, and don't offer floating elements for close-focus or aspheric/high-density glass lens elements - so performance isn't vastly different if you have a clean copy.
  • All will thus show CA at the edges - a common issue with all telephotos unless you have high-density aspheric elements so that light of different wavelengths are refracted back to the same focal point.


Lastly - long telephotos are often used like telescopes to "bring things nearer" - but for distant objects this just compresses all the dust, haze, moisture and pollution in the air and contrast and resolution looks bad. If you want that picture you need crystal clear air such as on a very frosty morning or at altitude. Instead these lenses are usually optimesed for the 6-60m zone which explains why some rate such lenses poorly for infinity focus.
  • For me - having a 300mm (450mm APS lens) is great for isolating midground subjects while narrowing the background to remove distracting elements in the compositon and creating the "compression" of elements before & behind the subject.
  • At that distance manual focus usually "pops", so they are actually easy to use without AF aids.
At the price I paid, this lens is a bargain and comes recommended.

Also - I still havent found a good tripod ring that fits. It needs to be able to fit in the space between the focus ring and the aperture control without obstructing either - suggestions always welcomed from the combined intelligence of the Pentax Users Community here please !
  • My technique is to use a lightweight monopod to support the weight and crucially to limit axes of rotation to lateral movements only and use my left hand to steady the lens and operate camera with the right.
  • That is worth several stops extra exposure and today's 5-section monopods close down small and pack away easily for a day out when my tripod gets left behind.
   
Forum Member

Registered: September, 2017
Posts: 71
Review Date: January 4, 2020 Recommended | Price: $26.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Overall very good performance
Cons: non for this price
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 7    Value: 9    Camera Used: K-5   

With the few test shots I did I can say for the usual price you get a very decent manual 300mm lense, in sharpness considering the price I would put it a 7-8, bokeh looks also alright, only min focus seems a bit high but shouldn't be an issue.
   
Site Supporter

Registered: November, 2012
Location: North Wales
Posts: 2,857
Review Date: October 15, 2016 Recommended | Price: $50.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: compact, handling, decent IQ
Cons: cfd not very close, no tripod mount
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 9    Value: 9    Camera Used: Lumix G1   

I picked up a Hoya branded one of these cheaply with a view to resale, NAI mount. It's a very nice lens, very compact for a 300mm, excellent handling and feel. I took a variety of images with my Lumix G1, for which I have a M43-NAI adapter, with it side by side with a Tamron Adaptall CT300 to get a comparison. The CT300 has a very similar specification, slightly larger, slightly lighter weight.
Little to choose between the lenses IQ's, TBH. I think the tokina might just edge it at f5.6, but then the CT300 seems to improve a touch more stopping down through f8 - f11. The tokina has distinctly less fringing, the CT300 slightly better contrast (but the light fungus afflicting an element or two of the tokina might be influencing that). Overall I would slightly favour the CT300, most specifically because of its close focus advantage - 2.5m vs 4.5m, and also it is easier to retro fit the tamron with a split ring tripod mount. But if you pick up one of these, as you can, for say $30-60 I can suggest you'll be happy with price/performance.

Just the neigbours boring chimney. jpg's exported from RAW in faststone, minimal identical PP.





   
Site Supporter

Registered: May, 2015
Location: Hampshire
Posts: 892
Review Date: May 18, 2016 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Cheap, good enough at F5.6
Cons: F5.6 is slow
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 8    Handling: 8    Value: 9    Camera Used: K-5   

I have forgotten how much I paid for this, which probably means not very much. It is branded as Mitsuki MC but I am led to believe it is a Tokina made lens.

Having had a Vivitar 300mm F5.6 TX mount before which I sold on you might have thought I would look for faster and sharper lenses, but this lens is quite sharp at F5.6, more so than the Vivitar which might have also been Tokina made. Maybe this is just a better copy. Handholding is not too bad as it is not large and heavy and I do mostly hand hold so F5.6 needs to be used a lot.

I would score this an 8.5 really but it seems better than my Soligor 300mm F5.5 M42 mount so a 9 it is, because it is surprisingly good for a cheap lens.
   
Senior Member

Registered: February, 2012
Posts: 208
Review Date: April 24, 2015 Recommended | Price: $40.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Cheapy-cheap. Value! Acceptable quality for the price!
Cons: Don't expect it compare to premium glass
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 6    Bokeh: 5    Handling: 7    Value: 9    Camera Used: k30   

It's a tough compromise for a pixel peeper to be trying these "el cheapo" lenses but when one does not want to spend a ton of money... this is great vintage glass! and a bit of a challenge to get results with.

Anywho I just got the German Revuenon version of this lens yesterday and ran it through as many paces as I could.

More pros: Solid build quality, built-in hood is A+, came with it's own case.

Important: The green button is your friend when shooting with such manual glass. You'll be adjusting the iso a lot outdoors if your shooting between light and shade. I did not like using the auto iso feature with this lens and did not use it for my samples.

It's good to very good for the money. I did experience disappointing levels of diffraction/dispersion in bright light. I do not like to do a lot of post processing. Maybe a polarizer would help.

I'll let the images speak for themselves. Shot in RAW, hand-shake feature on, no filter, handheld with no editing except for the one singing birdy (lightened).
http://imgur.com/a/VGlbo#0

all at 5.6 here mostly indoors (duh, not a good place to shoot, but a good challenge for such a lens): http://imgur.com/a/fqHqJ#12

I'll keep it for now. I got lucky! I would have paid up to 100 but super glad I didn't have to!

Any day now I should be getting a Osawa 400mm 5.6, which I will also check out and submit a review.

Best to you and enjoy!
   
Veteran Member

Registered: April, 2013
Posts: 324
Review Date: June 4, 2014 Recommended | Price: $30.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Price, bokeh, color, sharpness
Cons: F5.6
Sharpness: 7    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Camera Used: K-30   

I picked up the AUTO SEARS version of this lens in very good condition for $30. At f5.6 it's pretty soft , and some CA. At f16 it's sharp and the ca is gone. For the price, getting a 300mm, hand held, decent prime lens was a no brainer.


   
New Member

Registered: November, 2013
Posts: 14
Review Date: April 5, 2014 Recommended | Price: $100.00 | Rating: 7 

 
Pros: sharp lens
Cons: some few CA's, but not to much
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 7    Handling: 6    Value: 7    Camera Used: spotmatic   

a really good lens with some flare and a good sharpness.
I'd got it.Sun in back and stopped down to f 8-11 nice pictures to shoot with it.

Last element is apochromatic (3/1).That's why CA's are well controlled.

Much more better than old M42 4/300 Takumar with 5/5 system amd terrible visible CA's.
   
Senior Member

Registered: June, 2012
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 251
Review Date: December 23, 2012 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 8 

 
Pros:
Cons:
Sharpness: 8    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 9   

Very nice small 300mm lens with excellent mechanics and a very good optical quality, although probably not up to the newer apo designs.
   
Inactive Account

Registered: December, 2008
Location: Zagreb, Croatia
Posts: 533
Review Date: October 23, 2012 Recommended | Price: $200.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: sharp, small
Cons: manual focus
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 10   

I bought this lens to act as a small size tele option since I did not want to carry a lot of weight. The image quality is excellent (when you consider the price). My copy was new old stock.
   
Veteran Member

Registered: September, 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 803
Review Date: January 14, 2009 Recommended | Price: None indicated | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: build, small, light, sharp wide open, built-in hood
Cons: slow F5.6, only 1 stop increments, full manual

Overall, I think that this is a fine lens made by Tokina. I've used it only on a K200D, not on film, so my review is based on that. At this time I also don't have another 300mm lens to test it out against, but will judge it based on experiences with other telephotos lenses. This lens is old school K mount, with no aperture coupling to modern DSLRs, so be prepared to go full manual with stop-down metering.

This lens seems acceptably sharp to me, even wide open at f/5.6, even though you can tell a slight increase in sharpness at f/8 if you are pixel peeping. Contrast appears to be good throughout the range. The only thing that would possibly stop me from shooting with this lens wide open would be a small amount of PF around the edges at high contrast OOF areas when shooting digital. Even then, it isn't very noticeable. The bokeh seems to transition nicely, and I don't see must nasty smearing towards the corner of the frame.

This would be a great long lens for those brighter days when you don't need a 300/4 (or faster) to maintain shutter speed. And since it is so compact and light, it is easy to handhold and carry around without becoming fatigued. I'll probably use it for hiking if I plan on using the extra reach that 300mm gives (or more with a TC).

Also one thing to note. If there is decent light, this lens appears to work with the SMC Pentax 1.7x AF Adapter. On my K200D the AF mechanism actually worked pretty well on an overcast day, and would probably work even better on a brighter day. This fact alone probably tells you that the lens must perform well wide open, with enough contrast and sharpness for the K200D AF system to work with the AF adapter, even though it is only reported to work well up to f/4.

It's hard to say what I paid for it, as it was part of a larger package. I wouldn't pay an arm and a leg for a copy, but if you happen to come across one for a decent price, I doubt that you'd be disappointed by the lens (unless you expect it to go down to f/4).

Overall I was pleasantly surprised by its performance. Hopefully you can be as well.

- Jim
Add Review of Tokina RMC / SL300 (Sears Hoya .. et al) 300mm F5.6



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