Couldn't find anything else in the midrange tele price that can do all it does for me.

Maybe earlier Q/C? Wish they would have made more of them, maybe the pricing would have dropped a little more.

Never had any problems with mine and I'm the third owner. Used it on dx/fx/film, colors are always sharp, contrast always has been wonderful. Shot it under and in all kinds of light, never had any halos. Personally love the soft at 2.8 and 4 - makes middle age women and cougars love the pics they buy. Haven't shot anything yet its 'sweet spot' couldn't cover, or maybe never asked it to. Paid for itself the first time out. I work out so the weight of it isn't an issue. Maybe earlier models had q/c issues, its gotta be that or the problems reported were all behind the glass.

Customer Service

I"ve called Tokina (CA) maybe 4 times in the past year with a variety of questions, never had any problems with them.

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 28 and 50mm 3.5 Ais MF
2 gen Tokina ATX PRO 820
70-200mm VR (1st gen)

Build like a tank - glass and metal, 0.8 kg.
Internal focusing, SD glass, 2 aspherical elements corrects aberration, high contrast and sharpness right to the edges.
The next great "+" is the one touch focus clutch mechanism. I like it because I'm able to fast change the focus to make "special effects" - I like it.
eBay price (300 - 400$) is very very low comparing to the quality and performance of the lens - buy it if you have a chance.
Brand new price is 650$ and it is worth of every penny.

No more in production.

I've been using a many lenses in my life from large format Linhof to medium Mamiya and small picture - Canon lenses. I've bought (400$) the 28-80 2.8 Tokina lens because I own 80-200 2.8 and I know the excellent Tokina AT-X quality and durability.
And when I've completed the tests of the 28-80 I wasn't disappointed at all.
The sharpness is excellent from f2.8 to infinity, color contrast is perfect, not to soft and not to high. Just like it should be. It's heavy and stable when I'm shooting the picture (Canon body+lens 2kg).

Customer Service

I've never needed but available.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 17-40 L
Mamiya 45 2.8
Tokina 828 80-200 AT-X AF PRO

Sharpness, build quality, price, zoom range.

It is a bit heavy,

This lens is very sharp and contrasty. the first time I used it a made a full frame print of a head shot of my wife. The skin tone was very smooth but also sharp at the same time. The lens is built like a tank. The autofocus is acceptable for the kind of work I do. I have shot an entire wedding with this lens only. The price is less then 1/2 of the Pentax 28-70 f/2.8 pro lens.

Customer Service

have only used Tokina service one time, it was OK.

Similar Products Used:

various lenszoom and fixed.

Sharp from F4 to F11
Contrasty results with strong colours
Nice bokeh - perfect portrait lens
Extremely well made - equal to the best pro Nikons (even 28-70 F2.8)
Easy to switch from AF to MF
Not a "G" type lens so has aperture settings!
Can be used on 35MM and Digital alike
Stands up to continual use and will last forever (mine still looks like brand new)

Bit heavy & bulky for travel photography (even more so then Nikon 17-55)
F2.8 performance not great but I never expect good max aperture performance
AFS would have been nice

I have owned this lens for 2 years or so now and it continues to be my most used "people" zoom. I really cannot understand any negative comments about this lens except maybe at F2.8 where it is noticeably soft but again that too can be very good for portraits. It compares well enough with my Nikon 50mm F1.4 at max aperture.

Consider that I recently owned the "legendary" Nikon 17-55 F2.8 AFS DX and out of the 2 lenses chose to sell the Nikon! I admit the Nikon was much sharper at F2.8 than the Tokina which is the Nikon's strength but from F4 the gap has closed considerably and by F5.6 the Tokina is easily up with the Nikon.

In the studio using flash and shooting at F8-F11 (as dictated by studio flash output) the Tokina is more versatile and the lens I just keep coming back to. Lately I have largely gone back to primes for maximum quality & detail for landscape shots however this zoom even gives the primes a run for their money!

This lens is not only a useful 120mm F2.8 lens at the long end but can also be used with film cameras which helps as I still have an F5 as well as a D2X.

One thing I really like is that not only is the lend internal focussing but it also doesn't cnage length when zooming. Also layout is the same as most Nikon "PRO" lenses, i.e. zoom ring closest to the body and zooms in same direction.

This is an absolute top performer. I also think the People who wrote negative reviews must be doing something wrong...

If it had AFS it would have been perfect!

Customer Service

Never used

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 17-55 AFS DX F2.8
Nikon 28-105 F3.5-4.5
Sigma 28-105 F3.5-5.6
Nikon 17-70 DX

Build quality is excellent. Focus clutch-no need to use on camera switches. fast focus. very sharp and contrasty.

Only weakness I see is the lens mm markings are silk-screened vs embedded.

I researched long and hard (partly on this site). After reading some of these reviews, I was confused. They seem to be all over the map. When this lens arrived, I immediately set up a test of it vs a tamron 28-300 3.5-6.3 and a nikkor 35 2.8. I expected it to outperform the Tamron but not the Nikkor. I can't figure it out but it beat both. I tested all only at 5.6 (portraits mainly shot here). Tokina was significantly better than Tamron at 28, 35, 50, 65, and 80. I was very pleased! It may not have been a fair test against the nikkor since it was a 22 year old lens. Maybe technology has improved greatly but it beat the prime hands down-I am very suprised at this. The focus clutch is perfect for my style. Use auto focus but pull back on ring and instantly switch to manual. I looked at the 28-70 2.8 nikon: three times the cost, slightly faster focusing, quieter-build quality not as good.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 35 2.8 Nikon 105 2.5 Nikon 24 af 2.8 ordered two hours ago! Tamron 28-300 3.5=6.3 many Mamiya 6x7 lenses large format wide angles

Very sharp. Beautifully built. Fantastically smooth operation.

Minor, very minor irritation that the f stop ring lock is not quite as stiff as it could be.

Having read some of the reviews of this lens and now having used it, I can't believe the negative reviewers have been using the same lens! Some people have actually said this lens is soft! I don't think so. I bought it to replace my Nikon 35-70f2.8 because I needed a wider zoom range. The Nikon is a fine lens and very sharp. But listen up (brand snobs are not going to like this so turn away now), the Tokina is sharper - across the comparible zoom range. Both lenses are not as sharp at F2.8 and better at f5.6, but both are sharp enough for publication. But then all lenses are better two stops from fully wide open. The Tokina resolves slightly more information than the Nikon. This is a beautifully built lens, it feels solid and is beautifully damped. The images are contrasty and sharp, sharp sharp. If you are a brand snob, go ahead and buy the Nikon 28-70 f2.8 AFS, remortgage the children and sell your wife to get it. Or buy this. It won't focus as quick, it isn't quite as prestigious - but picture editors won't be able to tell the difference and all but the extreme snob will claim to justify the vast difference in price tag.

Similar Products Used:

Lots.

Superb optical and mechanical performance. High quality finish and construction, Very sharp with neutral colour rendition. Constant fast aperture.

None that I have encountered. Physical weight and size might be a problem for some users who like to travel light.

After 3 years constant use, this lens has been pointed at a wide variety of subjects in an even wider variety of situations and has never let me own in any respect - nor have any of my clients ever responded negatively to any images produced by this lens (well at least not from a technical point of view ! ). Build quality and finish is first rate. 'Real world' optical performance is superb throughout the entire focal range. Colour rendering is neutral. I have never encountered a problem with flare - even under high contrast studio lighting conditions (though sensible working methods are always observed to minimise this risk anyway). Resolving power and overall sharpnes is both remarkable and consistant. All in all a big bang for your buck ! If you're a brand snob - consider this little known fact - Tokina have for many years now manufactured (under licence) a range of lenses for Zeiss Contax - need I say more !?

Customer Service

Never needed.

Similar Products Used:

A variety of Nikon, Canon and Contax/Zeiss lenses during 20 years in corporate and advertising photography.

metal body finish etc.

none

Fine lens

Customer Service

none yet

Similar Products Used:

none

Very sharp throughout the range from f/5.6. Bright viewing due to f/2.8. Very solidly built, won't collect dust, easy MF with enough damp.

Some distortion at 80mm, heavy

Great lens for the price! It might not be perfect at 80mm, but very sharp from f/5.6 - f/11. No one should be whiny about it's performance at 80mm. Nikon's 28-70AFS is 3 times more expensive, so consider the Tokina 28-70 with 10mm bonus!

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

most Nikkor AF/MF from 20-180, Pentax Limited lenses

Very sharp at all apertures and lengths. mecanics are top of the line.

none if it is the way it should be. slite pinchsion distortion at the tele end.

I wrote a review about this lens here, The first lens I saw at the importers was a lemon. very soft. I run into a second hand of this very lens in a shop in Helsinki and this one was a killer. Something must have gone wrong in Tokina's quality control.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 28-70 2.8 Nikon 28-70 3.5-4.5. Sigma 24-70 2.8 Tokina AT-X 35-70 2.8