Tokina AT-X 840 80-400mm AFII f/4.5-5.6 35mm Zoom
Tokina AT-X 840 80-400mm AFII f/4.5-5.6 35mm Zoom
USER REVIEWS
[Aug 07, 2021]
stussy
Strength:
They get to keep the home they’ve lived in, get to continue to live where they’re comfortable, www.caregiverincorona.com and still have access to assistance around the clock. Weakness:
none so far Purchased: New
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[Jul 13, 2021]
katelinx
Strength:
Good Optics, Great Built, very compact, Hood, tripod ring, and lens bag included, and nicely priced. | Commercial Tree Services Weakness:
None so far Purchased: New
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[Jul 10, 2010]
sfpeter
Intermediate
Strength:
Sturdy build, but see below.
Weakness:
A little soft at full aperture
This lens fits a rather uncommon category, being an ultra-long zoom with a f5.6 maximum aperture at 400mm. It's heavy, old school metal construction, and can turn in very good photos. It's basically as fast as you can get on a 400mm zoom without things getting seriously expensive. Customer Service Didn't use Similar Products Used: Tamron 28-300mm
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[Apr 04, 2009]
martinr
Intermediate
Strength:
build
Weakness:
performance wide open at long end
great lens if you know how to use it properly. At the long end wide open performance is pretty average to poor; images are very soft and printing above a4 ain't great. However stop down to f9.5 - f11 and images are really zingy with nice contrast & colour. Anything below 300mm is pretty good anyway but I'd still recommend leaving this lens at f8.
Customer Service never needed to use Similar Products Used: canon 100 - 300
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[Feb 23, 2008]
pwsonline
Expert
Strength:
Build quality is absolutely superb, all metal!
Weakness:
Too much chromatic abberation at 400mm
I was encouarged to look for a Tokina telezoom, because I also have the Tokina 12-24mm Wide-angle lens. (very good indeed)
Customer Service not used Similar Products Used: Sigma 70-300mm Macro, (a lot less than the Tokina)
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[Aug 28, 2007]
kebwebs
Intermediate
Strength:
Solid
Weakness:
Bright apeture that can't be used (f8 + is only decent) f11+ is better
My Tokina 840 AT-XII is either defective or junk. If I can't get a clear shot of a brick wall tripod mounted at f22 and 1/1000 speed then I can't get a clear shot of anything. SOFT SOFT SOFT
Similar Products Used: Nikon 70-300mm VR |
[Dec 07, 2005]
mike r
Expert
Strength:
Sharp pictures. Solid construction. Reasonably fast for its wide zoom range.
Weakness:
Physically long at 400 mm setting with the lens hood attached. I bought a second hand (like new condition) of this model which does not have the tripod collar and barrel lock. My impression so far is WOW. I have put it through some tests on my Nikon D70 and am very very pleased. Images are sharp and clear.....even at 400 mm (1.5X for the D70 = 600mm in 35mm equivalent), as long as you respect some basic photography rules: 1) when handholding any camera, minimum shutter speed should not be slower than 1/ the focal length of the lens.....ie for a 500mm lens, the shutter speed used should not be slower than 1/ 500th of a second. This minimizes blurr and fuzzy or soft pictures caused by camera shake. 2) the longer the lens, the shallower the depth of field will be....so precise focusing is key....telephoto lenses can have a depth of field of only a few inches when wide open....using a smaller aperature (larger "f" number) increases depth of field, hence pictures seem sharper. I wonder how many of those who dismiss a lens for being soft actually respect or even know about these 2 basic rules... All the features of the D70 seem to work just fine with this lens. Auto focus speed is fine for most situations, although it does hunt in low light or with low contrast subjects. This is completely normal and I think this has more to do with the camera rather than the lens, as it is the camera that determines when focus is achieved....not the lens. Overall I am very pleased to have such a good lens at such a great price. I was also looking at the Sigma, Tamron, and Nikon 70 - 300 mm units. Glad I picked this one! It is very solidly constructed with METAL.....it is heavier than the other contenders for this reason, but has a good feel in my hand. Zooming action is smooth and not too loose. The others felt and sounded cheap and clunky when zoom ring was rotated. Customer Service not used Similar Products Used: Sigma, Tamron, Nikon (cheapest model...they have two) 70 - 300 mm. |
[Oct 17, 2005]
lordfreddy
Expert
Strength:
Good Optics, Great Built, very compact, Hood, tripod ring, and lens bag included, and nicely priced
Weakness:
Manual Focus ring can be smoother, non-removable tripod ring, and slow AF. This lens is really a bang for your buck: Good optics: Sharp and usable images @ wide open, very sharp when step down to f8. I have used compact tele-lenses such as Sigma 55-200mm and Tamron 70-300mm; @ wide open f/5.6, Tokina is much better than sigma and Tamron. Great Built: This lens will last forever, all metal construction, beats every Canon consumer level lens in built quilty. Very Compact: this lens is so small in size for a 400mm, I was thinking it was a EF-S type of lens when I first saw it. Very nicely priced: for $350 I paid, I just can't go wrong with it Similar Products Used: Tamron 70-300mm |
[Aug 18, 2005]
rogerslade
Expert
Strength:
Sharpness & contrast
Weakness:
Autofocus I have the original lens without the tripod collar although I believe that there are no differences between this & the current model. I do a lot of photography at air displays & this is a very sharp lens at all apertures & focal lengths. The autofocus speed is a real letdown & very slow & invariably I focus manually. To autofocus well the lens needs a really high contrast subject but still "hunts" a lot. Nevertheless the quality of photographs taken with the lens are very sharp, contrasty & free from distortion. Customer Service N/A Similar Products Used: None |
[Aug 15, 2005]
Philippe Roussel
Intermediate
Strength:
Weight, length, price for the stated features, manufacturing quality.
Weakness:
Image quality is really poor above 200mm It is always more pleasant to give a nice review about an enjoyable product, but this review is not going to be nice…. I own a Canon 20D with several lenses: Canon 10-22mm, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Canon 18-55mm (original kit lens) and a Tamron 18-200mm f/3-5-6.3 which I like very much. Was missing in my arsenal a long range tele-zoom. I did my home work and I chose the Tokina ATX-840 AF II APO 80-400mm based on the reasonable weight (1.050 kg) and its length, since I don’t feel like carrying a bazooka. I wanted a long range tele-zoom to shoot objects which cannot be approached, such as aircrafts in an airport. The available reviews of this product from Tokina are scarce and non-conclusive. I though it might be because this brand is not as widely available as Canon or Sigma. But it comes from a subsidiary from Hoya, largest lens maker (based on their web site). So I ordered it for approximately $420. Sounds like a great deal. But it is not. Ok the lens is made of metal and feels and looks good. The manufacturing quality is there, but unfortunately not the imaging quality. The focus motor reacts promptly but keeps on adjusting when shooting at a long distance. I did testing shots of houses located at a long distance. I used a tri-pod, setup the image quality at the highest possible and even used the timer to avoid any shaking. I used the Tamron 18-200mm as a reference, although this is not the sharpest lens at 200mm. Conclusion: the Tokina’s sharpness is equivalent to the Tamron 18-200mm at 200mm, but slightly less contrast. At 300mm the image loose some of its sharpness, and, in my opinion, becomes unacceptable. At 400mm, the center of the image looses some more sharpness, while the edges become really blurry. When displaying the images on my computer, it appeared that the shots taken at 200mm magnified 200% are sharper than the shots taken at 400mm. And shots taken at 300mm x 1.5 are equivalent to those taken at 400mm. I have tried all apertures. The apertures under f/8 provide unacceptably soft images at 300 or 400mm, the quality does not get much better after that. Conclusion, if you already have a lens going up to 200mm, crop the image on your computer you’ll get better results that using the Tokina 80-400mm. If you feel that you need the range 80 to 200mm, there much better alternatives out there. The only positive note out of this experience is that I am now fully convinced of the interest of the Image Stabilization feature for such tele-zoom. I hope this sad review will prevent others to feel disappointed by a product which does not deserve to be marketed. Customer Service No need, the case is hopeless. Similar Products Used: Tamron 18-200mm, Canon 10-22mm, Canon 50 f/1.8 |