heavy build
autofocus is fast enough
fast lens
no vignietting, no distorsion

weight- body goes lens down
strange AF/M switch (push/pull ring)
minimal focusing distance - 0.7 m

I was really surprised with this lens. After all this reviews i decided to buy Tokina and now i know: it was a very good choice. The lens is solid build with very good optical quality. Autofocus is fast. Front lens does not rotate during focusing. Works well when combined with F90X and SB28. Buy it !!!

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 50/1.8 AF (Japan)
Nikkor 70-300/4-5.6 ED D
Nikkor 35-70/3.3-4.5 AF
Nikkor 28-85/3.5-4.5 AF

Well-built like a rock; sharp; price.

None

This is a spectacular lens; especially considering its price. I used to think that only Nikon can make the best lens for its camera but my opinion has changed totally after trying this one. I strongly believe that Tokina has found a very comfortable position to place itself between the very best of Nikon (i.e., 28-70mm f2.8 AF-S), which is usually priced out of the reach for a lot of people ($1300 at B & H), and mid-range Nikon lenses that are good for versatility but with a trade off in optical quality (i.e., 24-85mm f2.8-4). Below is specifically what I like about this lens:

The Tokina is built like a rock, solid and professional looking. It fits nicely in my palm. The focusing and the zoom rings are large and very easy to operate. Once I put the lens on my FM2, immediately, I noticed how bright it is when I looked out through the viewfinder. The images (Fuji negaives) that it produces are sharp with excellent contrast. The color is well balanced and rich. This lens is little bit sharper than Nikkor 24-50mm f3.3-4.5, but Tokina has a better range and is faster. This is particular important if you will use the 50-70mm range for close-up and portrait. Tokina is far sharper than the new Nikkor 24-85 mm f2.8-4 lens. I would have keep the Nikkor lens and ignore its shortcoming in sharpness but it is more expensive than the Tokina ($480 after rebate at B & H). There is minimal distortion at wide and long. At wide open, the images are just a little bit softer. For all these reasons Tokina is the winner if you are looking for an excellent lens with an affordable/reasonable price.

I don’t have an AF camera so I cannot tell you how well it communicates with Nikon’s camera. It has the D-technology, though, so it should work well with Nikon camera with matrix metering. One potential problem for those who frequently need to switch between manual and auto focusing is the design of the so called M/A clutch. You can push the focusing ring forward to the "A" mode for autofocusing; once in the AF mode, you turn and pull the focusing ring to either infinite of the closest focusing distance to allow the lens to switch back to manual focusing. This design is supposed to help the AF speed. However, it seems that this may make it difficult you to make fine adjustments manually after autofocusing. The Nikkor 28-70 has a M/A switch which allows you to make adjustments on the fly, but again, the Nikkor costs 3x as much.

Customer Service

via e mail and they responded very quickly.

Similar Products Used:

Nikkor 24-50 f3.3-4.5; Nikkor 24-85mm f2.8-4.

Cheap & strong

Focus & Image quality

For amateur use it’s OK. Protruding rear lens element can be damaged easily if not careful when mounting on camera body. Focus & sharpness simply cannot be compared to Nikon version.
Generally it’s OK for non-critical image quality use.
Professional's just forget it, you'll just end up selling it like I did after a few months.

Customer Service

None needed

Similar Products Used:

Nikon version
(I own one)

Price,optics,build qulity

none so far!

This lens is exellent!Picture quality is outstanding.pictures are sharp from center to corners.I have shot both slides and print film with exellent results.This lens produces fantastic color and contrast!I purchased this lens after one year of research,by reading various posts and writing via e-mail to other users of this lens.I have no regrets so far.I just wish that i had known about the Tokina ATX pro series lenses years ago.This lens is a keeper,you have got to try it to beleive it!For those of you who for what ever reason have had bad luck with this particular lens,well thats sad!And for others who insist on trashing this lens because its not the original manufactures lens,why did you buy it? Like one of the other review's that said "the proof is in the pudding" well then that is this lens!I can put the extra money i saved toward my medium format set up!

Customer Service

not needed

Similar Products Used:

minolta 28-80
sigma 28-80
sigma70-300
minolta 50-2.8 macro
minolta 28-135

Metal body, internal focusing, max aperature at 2.6-2.8, hood and soft case.

Incompatible with Canon EOS 3 in AF mode.

Though good with its competitive price and quality to lens from big manufacturer, the company should revise the instruction sets to increase compatibility.

Customer Service

N.A.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Solid metal build. Fast, accurate and very cost effective. Slides are sharp.

None

Sure, I'd like the Nikkor 28-70mm/f2.8 AF-S, but can afford the $ 1,400 price tag. For $1,000 less you get a very similar lens just a little slower AF speed.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-70mm/f2.8

Fast and Accurate. It produces good quality pictures.

None at all !

For the price compared to Canons' comparable lens I recommend this sturdy lens! A little bit heavy but it's a profeesional lens not made of plastic.

Customer Service

I don't need it !

Similar Products Used:

Canon and sigma lenses