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Tokina AT-X 828AF PRO 80-200mm F2.8 Review RSS Feed

Tokina AT-X 828AF PRO 80-200mm F2.8

Sharpness 
 9.5
Aberrations 
 8.6
Bokeh 
 9.8
Handling 
 9.1
Value 
 9.8
Reviews Views Date of last review
19 96,376 Mon January 9, 2017
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Recommended By Average Price Average User Rating
100% of reviewers $494.63 9.26
Tokina AT-X 828AF PRO 80-200mm F2.8
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Description:
Tokina AT-X 828 AF PRO 80-200mm
Optical Construction: 17 elements - 11 groups
Angle of View: 30deg20’~12deg20’
Min. Focusing Distance: 1.8m
Filter Size: 77mm
Max Diameter: 84mm
Length: 184mm
Weight: 1350g
Lens Hood: MH774N
Mount Type: Pentax KAF2/KAF (screwdrive AF)
Price History:



Add Review of Tokina AT-X 828AF PRO 80-200mm F2.8
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Sort Reviews by: Date | Author | Rating | Recommendation | Likes (Ascending) Showing Reviews 1-15 of 19
New Member

Registered: September, 2008
Location: Philippines
Posts: 2
Review Date: July 19, 2009 Recommended | Price: $400.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Excellent image quality
Cons: Clunky sound when AF hunts

Was initially planning to get the Sigma or Tamron 70-200mm F2.8 or DA*50-135mm F2.8. But when I got a hold of this Tokina 80-200mm lens, the weight and build quality immediately struck me. I love the all metal construction and the weight is manageable.

AF is very fast and spot on even in low light but it does hunt in low contrast situations. The clunky metallic sound when AF hunts is very noticeable and draws unwanted attention in silent places like churches. Good thing manual focusing with this lens is a pleasure to use.

Image quality is excellent. Acceptably sharp images even at F2.8 throughout the focal length. Amazingly sharp when stopped down at F3.5 onwards.
Bokeh is smooth and creamy. Colors are quite similar to the pentax colors that I love. Makes me wonder how this would compare to the FA* 80-200mm - haha!

To top it all, I got it in mint condition at a bargain price. Would really pass as brand new with the box and the nice leatherette carrying case. For half the price of my other choices and with the performance that I've so far noticed, who could blame me for giving a 10.
   
Junior Member

Registered: November, 2007
Location: Elliot Lake, Ontario Canada
Posts: 46
Review Date: July 23, 2009 Recommended | Price: $600.00 | Rating: 8 

 
Pros: Solid as a tank
Cons: heavy

I've enjoyed it....

Fast AF and consistant results...very nice bokeh, smooth as butter.
   
Pentaxian

Registered: June, 2008
Location: Holy Land
Posts: 1,165
Review Date: September 4, 2009 Recommended | Price: $600.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Fast, sharp, good bokeh, build quality
Cons:

Amazing lens, build quality is like a tank. Smooth zooming and focusing.
It produces sharp images throughout focal lengths, sharp even at widest aperture 2.8 and tack sharp from f/4.0 Colour rendition all excellent, bokeh is very smooth and creamy.
The tripod collar mount is very good build and comfortable to use.
Highly recommended.
   
Senior Member

Registered: August, 2008
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 100
Review Date: December 2, 2009 Recommended | Price: $800.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: all metal construction, fast glass, sharp
Cons: heavy, big

This lens is special in that it's all precision metal construction. The whole construction just feels extremely solid like the limited class of lenses. The image quality is excellent even when shot wide open, and of course only gets better once stopped down further. I'd love to give it a 10 as a rating but its weight and size makes it a bit intimidating to both my photo subjects and myself If you want a solid all metal quality lens, this is it.
   
Pentaxian

Registered: May, 2007
Location: Oklahoma City
Posts: 3,574
Review Date: January 31, 2010 Recommended | Price: $200.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: fast for a zoom, built to last
Cons: very heavy

To me, this lens represents the best value in an 80-200 f2.8 lens. There may be sharper lenses out there, but none can match the "bang-for-the-buck" qualities of this Tokina. If you're considering buying this lens, make no mistake about it...it is a HEAVY lens. But, to me, all those metal parts just say "longevity". Even though I've only owned this lens for a month or so, I've been very pleased with the results.
   


1 user found this helpful
Review Date: April 20, 2010 Recommended | Price: $400.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: sharp at 2.8
Cons: Hard to find, noisy(autofocus)

Planned to get the Tamaron one initially, but somehow, saw this lens on mapcamera, tried and paid for it. It is a very good lens and Pentax users should try this before buying the Sigma or Tamaron. This is my first Tokina lens and I love it so much.

Besides the weight, purple fringing, and auto-focus noise it is a very good lens in-terms-of price.
   
Banned

Registered: November, 2010
Location: Williston, VT
Posts: 268

3 users found this helpful
Review Date: July 3, 2011 Recommended | Price: $580.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Very sharp wide open, great color and contrast, super-fast AF
Cons: A tad heavy, terrible MF clutch system

I can't believe I've never heard of this lens before. One of the unsung heroes in the fast sports telezoom range. Everyone's always talking about the Sigma 70-200mm, Tamron 70-200mm and Pentax 80-200mm lenses, but no-one ever mentions this fine example of Tokina engineering. Maybe because there really aren't that many examples out there.

My first reaction when I picked up this lens was "wow, this thing has weight". It's built like a tank, entirely of metal. Very nicely put together, it looks indestructible. While heavy, it actually weighs about the same as the Pentax FA* 80-200mm F2.8. The tripod mount is rock-solid, however it's not removable and it does not have 90 degree notches.

The AF is blazing fast on my K-5. It just bangs into focus in a fraction of a second. The dual floating elements in the lens design means the mechanism is very fast and positive. Following the action at sporting events is no problem at all. I also tried it with my K-x, and while the AF speed isn't quite as blazing fast there, it's still among the fastest I've experienced on that camera.

The manual focus clutch, however, is the worst design ever. The focus ring can only slide back into MF mode when it's lined up with an invisible slot hidden inside the lens. This invisible slot changes location depending on where the lens is currently focused, which is impossible to tell by looking. So to enable manual focusing, you have to blindly turn the focus ring back and forth while pulling back on it until it finally comes upon this invisible slot. But even once you've put the focus ring in MF mode, you still can't focus manually. The screw-drive mechanism is still engaged at the camera, so turning the focus ring would wrench the AF motor. You have to ALSO set the camera to MF before you can turn the focus ring. Whoever came up with this MF design should be shot. It's hard to believe Tokina actually dares to brag about it like it's some kind of brilliant innovation.

Luckily, it's all kinda moot since the AF is so effective. I never feel the need to use manual focus with this lens. I just leave it in AF and let it do all the work.

Image quality? In a word: stunning. In-focus subjects are sharp and detailed. Contrast and colour are top notch. The only real deficiency I've found is that out-of-focus highlights have a tendency to fringe purple, but it hasn't really affected my results. My K-5 did need some AF adjustment to get the right results (custom function 26 in the menu), but once it was calibrated, it never missed a beat. AF on my K-x is perfect, which is a good thing since it has no AF adjustment feature.
   
Site Supporter

Registered: April, 2010
Location: Adelaide, South Australia
Posts: 813

1 user found this helpful
Review Date: September 6, 2011 Recommended | Price: $520.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Solid build, sharpness, fast and accurate AF
Cons: Some PF in high contrast scenes, heavy, and rare!
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 10   

A good alternative to the Sigma and Tamron 70-200 AF lenses, but this lens has even higher resolving ability.

AF is very fast, but tends to jerk the whole body when hand held!
Good enough to use with a 1.5x TC
Excellent on a monopod, or tripod.
Nearly fast enough for sports action.
It's really a 9.5, but I will give it 10 for its military spec build!
   
Senior Member

Registered: February, 2012
Location: Shrewsbury, NJ
Posts: 108

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: April 23, 2012 Recommended | Price: $550.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: Sharpness, Contrast, BUILD QUALITY, f2.8 fast.
Cons: CA, Autofocus, Noisy, Heavy, No Really Heavy!
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 10   

This review is being done based on usage with a k20d body.
I own the little brother of this lens (the Tokina AT-X 280 AF PRO 28-80mm f/2.8). These two and the Tamron AF 17-50mm F2.8 XR LD Aspherical IF round out a lethal trio for any Pentaxian. I find I leave the primes and other lenses home, more than not.

My only problems with this lens:
  • CA can be be brutal. Usually not bad at all, but on high contrast shots and in certain lights, IT'S THERE!
  • The torque on this lens when focusing makes your hand tilt.
  • BIG and HEAVY! If you don't like big and heavy, this is not your lens.
  • Metal screw on lens hood is excellent, and stores on the lens, but not lens cap compatible.
  • Minimum focus is about 8 feet. (Not really a negative, just a statement.).

What's great about this lens:
  • Sharpness: I'd Love to see a comparison between this lens and the Sigma/Tamron/Pentax in the same range.
  • BUILD!!! This lens will last forever! It is built like a tank! It's heavy, which I like, because it makes tracking moving items easier.
  • Colors: Tokinas have a contrast all there own.
  • Focus: It amazes me how this lens can catch a flying bird in the sky, almost instantly.
  • The tripod collar (though I don't use it as often as I should, or ever) is heavy duty and is marked at 12, 3,6 and 9
I recommend this lens to anyone that needs high quality results; needs a durable lens; does not mind the weight. I haven't used any of the other brands lenses in this range at this speed, but am always amazed at the shots this lens can produce.
   
Senior Member

Registered: February, 2011
Posts: 118

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: May 27, 2012 Recommended | Price: $580.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: sharpness wideopen, contrasty, excellent build quality
Cons: heavier than primes
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 10   

Bought this lens from a forum member at a discounted price, came with the box. It was pretty hard to find one in pentax mount out where I am.

After reading great reviews on the net, let me just say I'm surprised by the IQ it delivers at F2.8, very sharp indeed. It doesn't need to be stopped down much to get extremely sharp images across the frame. The only drawback is that fast tele-zooms are quite heavier than primes I'm used to carry with my pentax system.

Compared to the Tamron 70-200 2.8 I had previously, which I sold due to its size, this is a lot easier to hand held because its about 10cm shorter. I got pretty good balance with it handheld and the all-metal build quality is superb compared to the tamron. I generally don't like large zooms but plan to keep this one for sure. It actually fits into my electronic drybox full of primes without having to adjust shelf height.

On photodo testing, they rated it higher than Pentax FA* 80-200 2.8, but someday I'd hope to get a good copy of that lens to compare it myself.
   
Inactive Account

Registered: September, 2011
Posts: 6
Review Date: July 20, 2012 Recommended | Price: $680.00 | Rating: 10 

 
Pros: very sharp across zoom range, great build quality, internal zoom internal focus
Cons:
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 10    Value: 9   

This review is being done based on usage with a k-7. I've had this lens for about two years. This lens is of excellent mechanical and optical quality. I like to use it for shallow depth of field photography. The bokeh this lens produces is fantastic. AF is extermely fast on my K-7. Only minor focus adjustment was needed. Images taken with this lens has a rich color rendering like those of DA* lenses. Excellent on a monopod, but not a must. Great lens to bring along for wild life and sports action photography.
   
New Member

Registered: November, 2010
Posts: 5

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: August 28, 2012 Recommended | Price: $540.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Great build, good IQ, fast autofocus
Cons: some fringing
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 10    Value: 10   

I just picked up this lens and I am beginning to quickly love it. It is almost as sharp at 2.8 as it is at 8.0. You have to look closely to see much difference, and that is at 100%. At anything close to the full image, there are only small, almost undetectable differences. The build is excellent. It is a joy to use. The autofocus is super fast and it really does apply torque to your wrist when it snaps into focus.

What I am really pleased about is my Sigma APO EX DG 2x teleconverter will mount to this lens. The Sigma has a protruding front element, but the Tokina has a recessed rear element, and the two mate perfectly. The autofocus works great, even though it is now a f5.6 400mm lens. I was testing it in sunlight. In dark shadows, it had to hunt some of the time, but all AF lenses struggle in the dark. There is no significant loss of IQ with the Sigma 2X, meaning I no longer will need to consider purchasing a 400mm af lens.

The Tokina also works perfectly with the Tamron 1.4 Pz-AF MC4 converter. It is like the lens was designed for these two converters.

I gave the lens a 9 due to its tendency to purple fringe. Shooting a soccer game in bright sun, the white ball had a noticeable fringe, of 6 or 7 pixels wide on a 16mp image. It was just noticeable when I viewed the entire photo, not enlarged, on a 19" monitor. I have also had similar fringing when shooting birds against a cloudy sky.

Here is a full size crop (1043 by 1043) of a hummingbird photo taken at a distance of about 8 feet. It shows that the lens is remarkably sharp. This photo has only had some minor noise and exposure adjustment. Nothing else was done to it. (1/1000, f8.0, 400ISO, 200mm, K-5 shooting RAW)

   
Senior Member

Registered: July, 2009
Location: Greenville SC
Posts: 179
Review Date: September 23, 2012 Recommended | Price: $600.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Build Quality, IQ
Cons: AF/MF Clutch, Hood
Sharpness: 9    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 8    Value: 10   

Picked this up the other day and have already had some time to use it and shoot with it. The con list is extensive but it is the only things keeping it from being in my opinion a perfect lens.

Pros:
Built like a tank with phenomenal IQ. Haven't noticed the purple fringing yet, but will report if it shows up.
IF and I-Zoom are really nice, but with the screw-on filter, I wish they had put a front element on there to help protect the front of the barrel.

Cons:
Collar not removable.
No HSM/SDM whichever you want to call it.
The clutch mechanism is probably the biggest beef I have with this lens, but I have been spoiled with Sigma and Pentax's quick-shift.
The hood is the second beef not being reversible and requiring removal of filter. I'm not sure how the bayonet mount filter works as far as that goes, but this screw on filter is slightly irritating.
Wish it was weather sealed, but such is life.

All minor irritations, that need to be made aware of, but love this lens and would recommend to anyone.

Should also not that this backfocused like mad on my K10d. Set the in camera adjustment and ended up with +250um to get it to focus properly. This is likely a combination of the camera and the lens as the rest of my lenses were starting to backfocus slightly.
   
New Member

Registered: December, 2012
Location: Moscow
Posts: 13

2 users found this helpful
Review Date: June 3, 2013 Recommended | Price: $530.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: IQ/Price ratio, quick AF, internal focus, internal zoom, DURABILITY!
Cons: None. Oh, maybe screw-on hood?
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 9    Bokeh: 9    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Camera Used: K-30   

If you ever heard unofficial Tokina slogan - "Built like a tank!" - you'll find this lens as perfect illustration. No any white, silver or other funny colours - this black metal bulk shape means serious one for real pro. Looking like Bazooka little sister, this full-metal jacket, however is some lighter, in reality, than FAmous star 80-200! You may not believe, but that's true.

Ok, let's go further. Open-wide, you'll find out "Tokina glow" - all objects in focus are sharp, but still like in a light haze. At /3.2 you almost don't see it, and at /3.5 the haze would disappear completely. I don't see this as anything disturbing, moreover - I like this effect. And /3.5 is fast enough for street shots as well as AF speed. Lens was some slow on my K20d, but K-30 speed is really fast for moving street objects. Internal AF is very good thing, but beware - this lens, however, is NOT weather-proof.

PF/GF sometimes could be found while wide-open. But so very-well known for any Tokina user, it's not a problem for this lens. However, I'm lazy and don't screw this thing out. Yes, this is the only minor thing i could complaint - screw-on hood!

I know, this not The Star. But it costs triple less and works out every cent of the price. Durable, sharp, with good IQ and bokeh (yes!), this fast lens is outstanding performer in your bag.



My other shots by this lens
   
Junior Member

Registered: October, 2012
Location: Pathum Thani, Thailand
Posts: 47
Review Date: March 23, 2014 Recommended | Price: $515.00 | Rating: 9 

 
Pros: Build quality, sharp, bokeh, price/value
Cons: pf/gf, noisy focus, heavy
Sharpness: 10    Aberrations: 8    Bokeh: 10    Handling: 9    Value: 10    Camera Used: k5   

Just purchased off eBay, the lens in near mint condition, so a good value purchase. Very solid construction, feels dependable, if rather heavy.

Limited testing so far has shown the lens to be sharp from f/2.8, albeit with a slight 'glow' as others have commented... gone by f/3.5.

The bokeh is wonderful, but PF/GF can be a problem in strong sunlight and especially on any blown out-of-focus highlights.

On my k5 this lens suffered some extreme back focus, but I have managed to resolve that and the lens now seems to be spot-on.

Compared to the f*300 the auto-focus is very noisy, but still quite fast... but you do feel it when it hits the stoppers at either end of the focusing range. I don't mind the AF/MF clutch... it's not too dissimilar to that of the f*300, but there is no readout of the focussing distance when running in autofocus mode since the focus ring (with the markings) does not rotate.

Screw-on lens hood is reversible and when reversed the lens cap cannot be attached... Have a feeling that a 72mm cap may fit, but the 77mm that cane with the new is too big. Lens cap CAN be fitted when the lens hood on and not reversed.

Need to give it a more thorough workout than can be achieved in the garden, but think that it's a keeper, especially now the back focus no longer a problem.
Add Review of Tokina AT-X 828AF PRO 80-200mm F2.8



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