Tokina AT-X 242 AF 24-200mm f/3.5-5.6

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.

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??

None.

Not required in over a years heavy use.

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.

Robust build Great zoom range Sharpness

Slight softness in edges wide open.

None

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...

well build quality

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

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..

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..

sigmas, tamrons, nikons 24-120mm..

never needed..

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).

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.

many dozens of them.

have never needed