Author: | | Loyal Site Supporter Registered: December, 2022 Posts: 8 | Review Date: December 16, 2022 | Recommended | Price: $35.00
| Rating: 7 |
Pros: | Small, solid build, very useful range, fast AF | Cons: | Noisy AF, no weather sealing, awkward MF | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 5
Handling: 7
Value: 9
Camera Used: K-3
Focusing: 8
| | Just received this oldie (used, from a Cash Converters), currently the second lens of my cheapie Tokina FF trio (19-35, 28-70, 70-210).
Firstly, the lens was in slightly poorer condition than expected, with scratches and dings on the front element, and a serious dent in the front filter thread (outwards!). Therefore, I suspect the optical performance may be degraded compared with a pristine example.
Take this into account for this review. The ratings assume you have a good example.
Wide open, images are a bit soft and lack contrast, with the classic Tokina "glow" to them. Stopped down to f5.6-8 and above, centre sharpness is excellent at 70mm and decent at 210mm*, with relatively good corners. Despite the 52mm front filter thread (damaged, but still allowed fitment of a filter!), vignetting is not an issue (APS-C).
Colours and saturation are both better than average (the pics are all OOC colours), though flare and cyan/magenta abberations can be an issue in high contrast areas. Distortion is very low at all focal lengths.
Build quality is very good, with lots of metal (450g with a filter) and a fairly smooth, damped zoom ring. AF speed is quite quick and noisy (screw drive), but can be indecisive. Sometimes you can half-press the shutter several times in a row, and get different focus confirmations. Not unexpected for an old lens.
The MF ring is tiny and at the end of the lens, which makes MF all but pointless, unless you are a masochist.
The one odd thing I noticed was that sometimes fore/backgrounds had an odd "painterly" look to them (see sheep pic). This could be a misalignment issue.
The pics are converted from RAW, downscaled and lightly sharpened. A 24MP APS-C sensor is very demanding, and this lens should perform better on a FF sensor.
Considering how little I paid, it would be unfair to complain too much. I can't think of a smaller, better made and cheaper FF option at this price range. Recommended!
*After cleaning the lens and contacts again, I am getting better results at 210mm (see cocky pics). If AF is accurate, quite good sharpness is possible. | | | | | New Member Registered: April, 2016 Posts: 23 | Review Date: September 5, 2016 | Recommended | Price: $60.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | Good colors and AF performance | Cons: | none | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 9
Camera Used: Pentax MX
| | I got this off ebay from a seller who claimed it was new. When I received it, I could see that it basically was unused, complete with original instructions, packaging and box. My copy is branded as Vivitar but the specs are identical to the Tokina version listed here. I don't have a Pentax digital camera but I am very pleased with how it performs on my Pentax analogue cameras. AF performance is good on my MZ-5 including the 'macro' mode. Sharpness is good overall and excellent at f/8 - f/16, and the colors are balanced. As I said, I have not tried this on a Pentax digital camera, but based on comments of the other reviewers, I can say this a worthy investment if you can find a good copy for a reasonable price. | | | | New Member Registered: November, 2013 Posts: 14 | Review Date: December 8, 2014 | Recommended | Price: $80.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | very sharp, even wide open,very nice bokeh, excellent colors | Cons: | some very few CA's | Sharpness: 8
Aberrations: 6
Bokeh: 8
Handling: 9
Value: 8
Camera Used: k-x,k-5, k200d, k-s1,k200,ist ds,mz-5,z-20p
| | +/++good performer at 70 mm
+ suitable for macro shootings, too - with macro ring
++ high contrast, nice colors
++ very good sharpness in the center
O wide open strong CA's in the corners, unfortunately, disappearing with f 11
O at 210 mm not so sharp in the corners, sharpness better with f 11, too
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the Tokina 4.5/70-210 AF is the better choice, sharp wide open in the corners and less visible CA's
For infinity shootings the 4.5 Tokina is even better than Sigma APO macro 3.5-4.5/70-210 (more sharpness in the edges with Tokina 4.5)
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| | | | New Member Registered: April, 2013 Posts: 2 | Review Date: September 27, 2013 | Recommended | Price: $67.00
| Rating: 9 |
Pros: | Price - Built quality - Sharp - Contrast - Size | Cons: | Over 190mm became to soft | Sharpness: 7
Aberrations: 7
Bokeh: 7
Handling: 8
Value: 8
| | I'm agree with neildo, but this is my first tele zoom and for this price is very very good.
| | | | | New Member Registered: February, 2010 Location: Utah Posts: 7 | Review Date: May 22, 2010 | Recommended | Price: $55.00
| Rating: 8 |
Pros: | size, build, macro, sharp, AF | Cons: | zoom creep, CA, little soft at long end | | This is my first telephoto zoom. For the price I've been pleased. The build quality is excellent. It feels more solid than the plastic kit lens. Lens does have zoom creep.
I've been able to get good photos as long as I stop down a little. I usually shoot at f/8 and above. Below f7.1 I've noticed CAs and drop in sharpness. Sharpness is good until about 180mm then it starts to drop.
Bokeh and OOF transistions are best at shorter distances such as macro shots. At longer distances its not quite as smooth and sometimes looks busy. This may be a lack of skill on my part since I'm a beginner.
Autofocus performs well enough. It's a bit loud but usually locks on quickly except under extreme conditions. Manual focus ring is a little loose and focus throw is only about 90 degrees so it can be a little hard to fine tune.
Macro feature is a nice bonus. Minimum focus distance is about 4 feet.
f/8 1/500s 190mm
f/8 1/800s 140mm
f/8 1/400s 158mm
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