Range
Usability
Consistent optical performance
Mechanical quality
Quality feeling
Weight
Look

Optical performance on wider apertures
Weight, when carried around a long day

I must have been very lucky with my sample, since it seems there is a good deal of variation in quality of different samples of this lens, OR maybe the difference is really what expectations people have to this lens? It`s far from a miracle when it comes to optical performance. It is quite soft and without contrast wide open, vignetting is there under f/8, and so on.. BUT stopped down it`s very good, not excellent, but very good, with consistent performance at all focal lengths. When using a good quality DSLR this is no problem. Use f/8-11 and ISO3200-6400 and go on shooting if the light drops. Anyone NOT post processing images these days? Of course one can not improve the sharpness of a lens in post processing, but colors, contrast, vignetting, etc, etc is of course not desided by optics or chemistry anymore (if anyone missed that point..). This lens leaves nothing to be desired when used as intended. What puts this lens on the top of my list of "all purpost wide range zoom`s" is the EXCELLENT quality of the construction when it comes to mechanical precision, finish, handling, look, balance and the confidence it radiates to the user. It tells you every time you put it to use; "trust in me, if you handle me properly, I`ll produce"! There is just no other lens with this combination of range and quality. DON`T BUY IT as your only lens. For critical sharpness use primes, or spend big $$ on expensive limited range zooms (like I do..)

Customer Service

not used

Similar Products Used:

Nikon AF-S 24-85mm
Nikon AF-S 17-35mm
Nikon AF 28-80mm

For the money, a great lens. build quality is excellent.

A little heavy, but it balances out my D70 very well, so I'm not sure I would even call that a weakness. Not as sharp as my Nikkor 60mm, but then, what is??

I use this very versatile lens all the time. It has only been off camera twice since I purchased it, and only to put my Nikon 60mm Micro on for close/micro work. Maybe my shooting conditions have been such that I have not found the problems that others mention regards this lens, so I am happy with it's renderings especially at f8 thru f11. Very sharp, and I find nothing that PS can't fix with a few mouse clicks.
I recommend this lens to any amateur photographer.

Customer Service

Not required in over a years heavy use.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Robust build Great zoom range Sharpness

Slight softness in edges wide open.

Bought this lens used because I love the range which covers very wide for landscapes as well as people pictures. I found the lens to be very sharp with good contrast and color. Wide open the edges appear slightly soft but not seriously so. The lens is quite sharp. It is great for trips and vacations when only 1 lens would do.

Customer Service

None

well build quality

1. on EOS 5D visibla CA 2. extreme vignetting 3. slow AF 4. manual focus complicated to use

You get what you pay for it. Build like a tank but bad autofocus and medium bad/medium optical performance. Stop down to 8 for medium performance. Pictures are soft, wide open you will see significant vignetting. That means realy dark corners... Unusable for available light conditions because the vignetting. Night shots are impossible. I've used this lens with my EOS 300 and compared it on my EOS5D with the 24-105 4L and my canon 75-300 III USM. 24-105 is in all conditions clearly better (less vignetting, no ca) but this isn't surprising.... Surprising is the difference between this one and my 75-300... the reviews for this lens are terrible. But this usm lens is also from 75 to 200 visible better then the tokina... This is a walk around lens but if you want good pictures dont by this one. The price is attractive for beginners but they can't get good results with this lens. This lens killed some holiday shoots...

heavy, solid, well build, good design, nice matching hood.. smooth zoom ring and tight..metal mount is a plus..

optics suxs..glares, lost light on high zoom..soft images on teles..can be too heavy for lighter digital cams..

well, well, after reading over 50 reviews on this tokina 24-200mm..ive decided to buy it..cuz most reviews were pleased with it..i now have 3 lenses to compare to..i have the nikon 28-200mm g lens, the nikon 24-120mm, and now the tokina 24-200mm..i have sold the nikon 24-120mm after 2 yrs of using it, it just wasnt good enough for me..so i bought the nikon g lens 28-200mm, and its pretty good lens over all..but im here to talk about tokina 242- 24-200mm f3.5..1st impression was " WOW" watta awesome lens dood!!, its looks so nice n feels very hefty, well design, solid, heavy, all metal. perhaps best looking lens out there in its class. then of course i started shooting, mounted it on my fujis2 pro..and shot it with av mode, and p mode..the results were very sad..at wide its seemed good enough, got nice edges..not bad in sharpness..good contrast, nice colors..but after that i shot at mid ranges to high end zoom..the results were dissapointed..its got lens glares, soft images..lost light..colors are weak..and i even tried to shoot it at f6.7 n higher..came out better at higher f stop toward the smaller apatures. i must agreed with those whos give it low score on this lens..i will try to shoot more tests, but i know in my heart it will end up in ebay.. too bad!! watta good looking lens, but optics are suxs big time.. ill keep my nikon 28-200mmED G lens for now, its the best out of 3 lenses ive mentioned here..too bad so sad on tokina.. for the money its not too bad for those who wants a good starter lens...but i wouldnt recomended to any of those whos cares for quality in pics..

Customer Service

never needed..

Similar Products Used:

sigmas, tamrons, nikons 24-120mm..

real metal, real glass, smart design - so quality of pics is overwhelming for such a zoom, sharp already at 5,6 thru the zoom (maximum at8 - 9,5), high contrast and color, low vignetting( almost gone), at least on my Fuji S2. Chromatic aberration is very well under control thru the zoom, corner to corner.

heavy, color friging sometime present under condition of strong backlight.

Better built then any similar on market, so is heavy. Front element isn't loose, lens is short and solid, nice hood. Sharpness is very high for such a zoom, you can not believe your own eyes. Very well suited to digital photo (what I am telling about).

Customer Service

have never needed

Similar Products Used:

many dozens of them.

compact feels professional sharp warm colors great value

none

The built quality is excellent. The lens is very small at 3.5 inches and has a professional feel and good heavy weight which balances well on a SLR. The zoom is very smooth and focus is fast on my Pentax ZX-7 SLR. I took this lens to New York with my Pentax ZX-7 SLR and took about 15 rolls of pictures with it with great results. Time Square photographs at night were very sharp with good warm colors with 400 and 800 speed film. 5th Street photographs with 100 speed film in good sunlight came out very sharp with good warm colors as well. I use 35mm film and process them to 4 X 6 prints. I am very happy with this lens!

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 24-70 f3.5 - f5.6 Tokina 19-35 f3.5 - f4.5

BUILT LIKE A TANK! Professional, no-nonsense appearance. Very sharp compared to similar lenses. Super zoom range. Nice color and contrast in good cond.

Flare and low contrast in some situations. Some vignetting at 24mm. 24mm is more like 25 or 26mm. :-) Minimum focus distance is measured in feet. Some distortion, though not as bad as you'd think.

I first bought this lens a couple of years ago for use with my EOS-D30. There were a couple of things I thought I was unhappy about (see weaknesses), so I sold it off and moved on. Big mistake! I didn't realize how much I'd used it and how nice a lens it really was until it was gone. It's got a hell of a range, especially on digital 1.6x crop, and it outperforms nearly everything else in its class, including Canon's offerings. I just recently acquired another copy from KEH and now that I can appreciate what this lens can do, I'm enjoying using it! It's become my basic walkaround lens, replacing my bulky and less flexible 28-70mm f/2.8 in many situations. Sharpness is very good for a lens of this type throughout the zoom range. Even wide open, this lens is quite usable, and at f/8.0 it's very usable indeed. Focus isn't spectacular but isn't all that slow. The zoom ring requires more distance turning than I'd like in order to move through the entire range, but that's a minor complaint if ever there was one. The lens does have trouble with flare... which is why I sold it the first time around. Use the lens hood at all times and be careful about bright light sources or you'll get ghosting and/or very reduced contrast. Also, it has trouble getting colors sometimes in scenes with very high contrast; colors in darker areas of the shot may get lost (i.e. greyish or blackish).

Customer Service

Not needed with either instance of this lens that I've owned.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 Tamron 24-135 f/3.5-5.6 Canon 100-300mm f/5.6 Canon 28-80 f/3.5-5.6 II

fantastic zoom range value for your $$$ good sharpness if stopped down 1 stop

-Wide open >70mm is not acceptable for me. You have to stop down, so it is not a very fast lens. -Sometimes some post-processing needed to change color balance, therefore would advise to use it on a digital camera

Not bad, not bad at all! I use a Canon 10D and the 24mm makes a big enough difference compared to my 28-135 lens. Sharpness at 24mm wide open is good, if you zoom in make sure you always stop 1 down to get good results. If you follow this rule then it is really difficult to see the difference in sharpness with more expensive lenses. What I also like is the AF, it's faster then the Tamron 24-135 I've tried and makes less noice. But it is placed in front of the zoom ring and rotates when focussing. I don't find this hindering the handling though. Also the zoom ring rotates counter clockwise, like all other Canon lenses which I personnally find very pleasant. Tamron for example is the other way around but then again if you are in the Nikon camp you have to get used to this. Not a lens for inside, use it outside, when visiting cities, events and other outdoor activities and you will find it a very useful lens.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 28-135 Canon 24-85 Canon 28-105 Tamron 24-135 Canon 70-200L 2.8 IS Sigma 70-200 2.8 Canon 90-300 Sigma 15-30 Sigma 15mm FE

Build quality Unique focal range with 24mm low end

Could have more contrast and better edge sharpness, but hey, it's only $229.00 after rebate.

A good f8 lens with a unique range. Using this as my "if I only take one lens with me" lens. 24mm on the low end really helps with the 1.6x crop factor. No vignetting, no noticable falloff in bright conditions with DRebel. Less contrast than the 18-55mm kit lens, but still ok. Good colors. Very well built lens that is good for casual pics.

Customer Service

Has not required service

Similar Products Used:

None, bought the Tokina and it met my needs. Considered the Tamron 24-135 and Canon 28-135IS.