Tokina 28-70 F2.6-2.8 AT-X Pro II User Report

[La Fontaine]

Well, yesterday, while waiting for my car to be serviced at Sin Ming, I called up a few of the usual shops like MS-C, AP-F, AP-SL, TK - all got no stock. I found one at OP. So, after I got my car, went down there and checked the lens out. PQ looks great to me. Zoom ring felt smooth. But, then, BiG disappointment - saw one "elephant" inside the front element that cannot be removed from the outside and then, from the rear, another "elephant". Just cannot understand how could just a huge speck of dust got inside. So, it looks like it ain't my day for buying lens la.:angry:

 

[XXX Boy]

No the f2.6-2.8 AT-X Pro II is a older model but I find that it is better. I used it before in the past. It can match the nikon 28-70 quite well and is even sharper than the nikon at f8. Just my two takes.

Dun think its as good as the Nikon one la. Only it is way much cheaper nia.
Still prefer original lens and sold off all my third party one.

 

[La Fontaine]

Dun think its as good as the Nikon one la. Only it is way much cheaper nia.
Still prefer original lens and sold off all my third party one.

Well, it is a matter of different strokes for different folks.

Some prefer camera brand lenses just for the name or to show their customers or just that they believe such lens are just better.

Yet, some others find that third party lenses are good enough for their amateur use. Even some pros would use third party lenses as well.

Now, folks here might be wondering why I bring out this thread now.

Well, over the CNY period, I was playing with some macro shots of some flowers at home. A few relatives came over and I took a few portraits for them with this lens. My set up was very DIY, to simulate studio lights. The results was better than I expected. Shot at F8, this lens was so very sharp that I had to touch up some part of their faces.

Very sharp for the following reasons:
Light - studio light is ideal that is nicely diffused for the perfect exposure
Aperture - best at F8 for most lenses
DOF - deep enough for the entire body
Shutter speed - fast enough to eliminate camera shake, or can use tripod
Subject stationary -

 

[ajcreation]

Well, it is a matter of different strokes for different folks.

Some prefer camera brand lenses just for the name or to show their customers or just that they believe such lens are just better.

Yet, some others find that third party lenses are good enough for their amateur use. Even some pros would use third party lenses as well.

Now, folks here might be wondering why I bring out this thread now.

Well, over the CNY period, I was playing with some macro shots of some flowers at home. A few relatives came over and I took a few portraits for them with this lens. My set up was very DIY, to simulate studio lights. The results was better than I expected. Shot at F8, this lens was so very sharp that I had to touch up some part of their faces.

Very sharp for the following reasons:
Light - studio light is ideal that is nicely diffused for the perfect exposure
Aperture - best at F8 for most lenses
DOF - deep enough for the entire body
Shutter speed - fast enough to eliminate camera shake, or can use tripod
Subject stationary -

Would be nice to show us some samples?

I have the version 1, which I am pretty pleased with the results. Anything above f/4 is :thumbsup: *at least to my liking*

 

[La Fontaine]

Would be nice to show us some samples?

I have the version 1, which I am pretty pleased with the results. Anything above f/4 is :thumbsup: *at least to my liking*

Unfortunately, I cannot post any of the pictures here as they are not models and not suitable to be posted. Well, when I shoot some models later, I will post some samples here.

 

[Anthony Lee]

This was shot at MFB, F5.6, 1/80, ISO 400, FL 62mm and it's tack sharp. This my first AF lens as I own only MF lenses and at close focus, this lens' AF tends to hesitate. Overall, an extremely good value lens.

 

[Ben Ang]

havent tried this exact lens, but had tried the orange ring 28-70 2.8 as well as the latest 28-80 2.8. my issues with the lens were:

1: flare. this line of lenses all flare quite badly. its the kind where u loose alot of contrast. though resolution still stays, its just not easy to work around.

2: focus shifts at especially at the long end of things. this one was really irritating. at 80mm the focus shift was just too much for normal comfortable use.

3: in accurate colour rendition. the 28-70 was fine in normal light. but under flourescent, it made people's skin look very dry and almost crispy. very ugly. the 28-80 was also v nice for nature, but gave everything abit of a greenish cast.

so although i loved the build and the rest of the lens, these 3 issues really made me rethink and move on. that said, the resolution of this lens is really good.

in the end i moved on to the 24-40 2.8 also very good lens, and finally settled for the tokina 20-35 2.8 which i find has the nicest colour rendition. =)

regards,
benjamin

 

[Anthony Lee]

You used these lenses on what camera. On my EOS 5D I find the color rendering very natural.

havent tried this exact lens, but had tried the orange ring 28-70 2.8 as well as the latest 28-80 2.8. my issues with the lens were:

1: flare. this line of lenses all flare quite badly. its the kind where u loose alot of contrast. though resolution still stays, its just not easy to work around.

2: focus shifts at especially at the long end of things. this one was really irritating. at 80mm the focus shift was just too much for normal comfortable use.

3: in accurate colour rendition. the 28-70 was fine in normal light. but under flourescent, it made people's skin look very dry and almost crispy. very ugly. the 28-80 was also v nice for nature, but gave everything abit of a greenish cast.

so although i loved the build and the rest of the lens, these 3 issues really made me rethink and move on. that said, the resolution of this lens is really good.

in the end i moved on to the 24-40 2.8 also very good lens, and finally settled for the tokina 20-35 2.8 which i find has the nicest colour rendition. =)

regards,
benjamin

 

[Anthony Lee]

Another one, looks very natural on my EOS 5D.

 

[La Fontaine]

havent tried this exact lens, but had tried the orange ring 28-70 2.8 as well as the latest 28-80 2.8. my issues with the lens were:

1: flare. this line of lenses all flare quite badly. its the kind where u loose alot of contrast. though resolution still stays, its just not easy to work around.

2: focus shifts at especially at the long end of things. this one was really irritating. at 80mm the focus shift was just too much for normal comfortable use.

3: in accurate colour rendition. the 28-70 was fine in normal light. but under flourescent, it made people's skin look very dry and almost crispy. very ugly. the 28-80 was also v nice for nature, but gave everything abit of a greenish cast.

so although i loved the build and the rest of the lens, these 3 issues really made me rethink and move on. that said, the resolution of this lens is really good.

in the end i moved on to the 24-40 2.8 also very good lens, and finally settled for the tokina 20-35 2.8 which i find has the nicest colour rendition. =)

regards,
benjamin

1 Flare - well, I have not encountered any nasty flare yet. But, if you point the lens at the sun or at the spot light at night, do expect some significant flare. But, the important question is whether any other lenses could do much better?

2 Focus shift - it doesn't really border me at all.

3 Colour and WB - it is very, very rare that a lens would give you any significant colour cast. Actually, in real photos, the colour cast caused by the lens is INViSIBLE. It has got to do with the camera's white balance. It has got to do much more with the WB, monitor calibration or printer calibration, not the lens.

Just wish to clarify some points.

 

[Ben Ang]

1 Flare - well, I have not encountered any nasty flare yet. But, if you point the lens at the sun or at the spot light at night, do expect some significant flare. But, the important question is whether any other lenses could do much better?

2 Focus shift - it doesn't really border me at all.

3 Colour and WB - it is very, very rare that a lens would give you any significant colour cast. Actually, in real photos, the colour cast caused by the lens is INViSIBLE. It has got to do with the camera's white balance. It has got to do much more with the WB, monitor calibration or printer calibration, not the lens.

Just wish to clarify some points.

the lens has the veiling kind of flare, not the spotted multi coloured kind. so u loose alot of contrast when the sun/light is just out of the frame. was a big problem during morning shoots and stage stuff.

as for colour cast, every lens has its own unique colour rendition. i found this one blue, the tokina 24-40 was brownish. most of the newer nikkors are very clear. while the v old pre AI lenses are a v little bit yellow. its caused by the multi coating on the lens and though its subtle, it does affect the eventual feel of the image. especially under artificial lighting. white balance can be used to compensate, but not all the time.

 

[Anthony Lee]

I have owned and used the best lenses like Leica, Zeiss, Canon L, Nikkor, Olympus, Pentax, Mamiya and some other less known brands. I have tested, for example, the Zeiss ZE 35f2 against the OM 35f2, PentaxK 35f2 and Nikkor 35f2 and ended up keeping the less expensive OM 35f2. Each individual lens will have it's own character and color rendition and liking it is sometimes very subjective.

When I first tested the Tokina 28-70 f26-28, I was very surprised by its built and quality finishing. It was tack sharp at F4 at 35, 50 and 68mm. Color was very neutral and on a brighter day, tended to over-expose on my Canon 5D, but not a problem. I did many test after buying it against mostly prime manual focus lenses as I don't own any AF and zoom lens, and this lens is my first after a long while, so, I actually had to relearn auto focusing.

Here are 2 photos I shot for comparison. Both photos were shot at 50mm near the window with natural sunlight.

Tokina 28-70f26-28 at F4, 1/160, ISO 640

OM 50mmf3.5 macro at F5.6, 1/100, ISO 640 ( this lens has no F4 stop)

My conclusion after many such tests against my Zeiss and Leica lenses is that this lens is very good and excellent value for money.

 

[La Fontaine]

the lens has the veiling kind of flare, not the spotted multi coloured kind. so u loose alot of contrast when the sun/light is just out of the frame. was a big problem during morning shoots and stage stuff.

as for colour cast, every lens has its own unique colour rendition. i found this one blue, the tokina 24-40 was brownish. most of the newer nikkors are very clear. while the v old pre AI lenses are a v little bit yellow. its caused by the multi coating on the lens and though its subtle, it does affect the eventual feel of the image. especially under artificial lighting. white balance can be used to compensate, but not all the time.

It is true that the newer Nikkors have got very good coatings on all their elements. As a result, the flare would be much, much less than these older lenses. I guess it is a matter of balancing the price/performance.

 

[Anthony Lee]

Anyone can help suggest where I can service this lens? Thanks.

 

[La Fontaine]

Anyone can help suggest where I can service this lens? Thanks.

Here are some of the places to do it:
Fatigue - on of our CS member.
TCW - shop at Peninsular, also selling used and new gear
P&G - shop at Aldephi, also selling used gear
Cam Hospital - shop Tel: 63360025 around Bencoolen area.

My recommendation is Fatigue. :thumbsup:

BTW, what's the problem with your lens?

 

[Anthony Lee]

Here are some of the places to do it:
Fatigue - on of our CS member.
TCW - shop at Peninsular, also selling used and new gear
P&G - shop at Aldephi, also selling used gear
Cam Hospital - shop Tel: 63360025 around Bencoolen area.

My recommendation is Fatigue. :thumbsup:

BTW, what's the problem with your lens?

Thanks for your help. The lens MF clutch is very difficult to engage. Also, when the lens is tilted downwards, like facing the ground, there seems to be some movement of lens element that makes some "thug" sound. Not sure whether this is due to lens creep. Otherwise, the lens takes wonderful photos.

 

[edmundgoh]

Hi guys,

Recently inherited this lens from my friend who pass me his Nikon FX90 together with this lens.

Mine is not the SV version, it reads AT-X PRO 28-70mm 1:2.6-2.8 Ø77 JAPAN on the lens, so I dont know if it is the same as the PRO II ?

He seldom use it, and for the last 10yrs was kept in the cupboard.

I did some basic cleaning, rubber is in perfect condition, zoom is smooth, paint markings is like new, the front lens was in tip top condition as there was a UV filter over it but sad to say the rear lens there some sort of dust that is in the inner lens which I cant access to clean.

Do you guys recommend I get it service and fix up? How much will it cost?
Does it worth the effort? Is this lens comparable to those top tier lens lineup from Nikon?

 

[La Fontaine]

Hi guys,

He seldom use it, and for the last 10yrs was kept in the cupboard.

Hardly use it and for the last 10years, lens kept inside a cupboard.

Well, well, I would be surprised if there is no fungus growing inside the lens. If there is, it would continue to spread, due to the high humidity of our climate.

You could bring the lens to some shops in Peninsular/Aldephi and ask how much it cost to clean it up.

Do bear in mind that after cleaning, some of the lens elements might loose the coatings. Then, the lens performance might be somewhat affected.

 

[surflim]

Currently i have a loan Tokina 28-70 F2.6-2.8 AT-X270 Pro I which is so well kept since 1997 which he use it with his FM2.

And Boy this tank had taken off my hat every moment i snap it with my D3.

I found a link that provide some good information about Tokina 28-70/80 lense range

http://nikonglass.blogspot.com/2009/11/tokina-at-x-pro-28-70mm-f26-28.html

 

[glengoh]

Anyone experience any problems with the aperture setting of this Tokina lense? Mine seems to be stuck at F2.8 even when I have set it to other f-stops using aperture priority or manual on my D80! Need to fiddle abit before the aperture setting is corrected.