Tokina AF 193 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 35mm Zoom

Tokina AF 193 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 35mm Zoom 

DESCRIPTION

This lens replaces the AF235 II (20-35mm f/3.5-4.5) in Tokina's quality middle line of AF series lenses. The AF193 is constructed with high refraction, low dispersion (HLD) glass and multicoated lens elements produced by Hoya Corporation, the world's largest manufacturer of optical glass. While using the same mechanical design as the AF235 II, the AF193 has barrels made from black poly carbonate to reduce the overall weight of the lens, making it more convenient for photographers to carry while traveling, hiking or engaged in other activities where encumbrance is an issue.

USER REVIEWS

Showing 11-20 of 40  
[Aug 06, 2003]
grbelja
Intermediate

Strength:

Under AU $1000 Solidly built Tack sharp 19mm!!

Weakness:

Heavy - but that makes it solid as well. 77mm filters are not cheap.

I just love 19mm!!! Its given me a new dimension to work in. This lens is definitely the best value lens in this range. The quality is brilliant and its tack sharp. I would recommend this lens to anyone moving into wide angle photography.

Customer Service

not needed but I heard its great.

Similar Products Used:

EF20-35 canon

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 23, 2003]
jpandolfo
Professional

Strength:

- Price on used market is attractive. - Lightweight.

Weakness:

- Not built well at all - not up to Tokina's usually high build quality. Consider this lens as disposable and don't get too attached to it. - Plenty o' distortion at 19mm - might annoy some people. - Zoom and focusing rings are not smooth.

An affordable find on the used market if you need a very portable wide angle zoom. Don't expect the world, however - you will get what you pay for and this lens is no exception. Great as a set of training wheels to learn about wide angle composition. After you're done learning, consider spending your money on the better Canon/Nikon equivalents.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

n/a

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
[Dec 20, 2002]
Marc
Expert

Strength:

Cheap, It's allways functioned and felt nice.

Weakness:

Soft especially open wide. lens flare, but what do you expect.

A good lens to buy, if you only use wide angle ocasionally on a film camera. If you plan to use it a lot, pay for something good. I bought this lens, to do some occasional wide angle with my F100. It worked well for that. I didn't use it enough to justify the big bucks for the Nikon version. Since then I bought a Nikon digital SLR that has a small APS size sensor and the 1.5 lens multiplying factor. Because of this, I need use the wide angles more often. I am really starting to hate the softness of this lens. Mayby I'm just imagining it, but the pictures on the D100 look softer then on my film camera using this lens. I'm not really sure why, it might be that the lens can't resolve enough for the small sensor. That's my guess.

Customer Service

Well, I dropped this lens and broke plastic ring that holds your filters and lens cap on. Other than that the lens works fine. So I brought it into the local Camera Repair shop (a very good one), they quoted me about $64 to fix it. They were taking forever to get the parts. Three months later they said they couldn't find anywhere to get the plastic ring from, and to come and pick up the lens. To bad so sad. I'll keep that in mind next time I think of buying Tokina.

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
4
[Oct 28, 2002]
haefr2000
Intermediate

Strength:

1> Tank tough 2> Good optical performance, but not strong for architectural work due to noticeable barrel distortion in the short focal settings. 3> Great for scenics - just keep the horizon centered vertically in the frame.

Weakness:

No lens hood. I'll be in the market for another super-wide zoom for a new Canon I purchased. The recently introduced Tamron 19-35 (which includes a hood and a 6-yr warranty) looks VERY interesting.

This lens, in Minolta AF mount, is well constructed with a durable polycarbonate barrel. The focus action is smooth and adequately damped in manual mode, and quiet and equally smooth in automatic mode. It has withstood everything I've thrown at it for the three years I've had it with no malfunctions. Like all "super wide-angle lenses" - prime or zoom - it exhibits light fall-off in the corners wide open (This is NOT the same as vignetting!), and mediocre performance at the smallest aperture from diffraction effects (and THIS is physics, NOT a design defect). It is contrasty and exhibits good color balance. Flare can be a problem wide open, and Tokina should be taken to task for not supplying the petal-type lens hood (BH-774) packed WITH the lens. (The box and interior packing clearly have room for the hood, and I suspect not including it is a decision of THK in the U.S. purposely removing it for separate sale. B&H wanted $29.95 for one three years ago.

Customer Service

Never had occasion to find out.

Similar Products Used:

None

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Oct 26, 2002]
adphoto
Intermediate

Strength:

price sharp pics with good contrast

Weakness:

build quality (iffy not up to tokina standards) filter size (lots of vignetting) distortion ( there is less on my 17mm tokina)

a great cheap wide angle zoom for people who dont use this area much i love the 20mm length which i struggle to find a filter that wont vignette and cokin forget it below 28mm distortion an issue compared to my pentax fa 20mm this lens is a poor performer but at 4 times the price the pentax should kill it and it does. compared to my tonina 17mm the distortion is greatewr on the zoom and it is less sharp however having read many reviews i might think my example was a poor one anyway its been sold

Similar Products Used:

20mm pentax 17mm tokina

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 22, 2002]
Star Child
Intermediate

Strength:

-internal zoom, internal focus -build quality -gets you out to 19mm for not a lot of money -reasonable AF performance

Weakness:

-flare control is awful without using the hood, which as others have pointed out is not supplied with the lense -images are a little flat and lack punch... a polarizer seems to help here. -distortion at wide focal lengths and large aperatures, but honestly, what did you expect? It's certainly not as bad as it could be for the $$ and once you get past 22mm or so it's under control

This is a great choice for an ultra-wide zoom if you don't want to drop the $$ on a name brand or a better third party offering (Tokina ATX-Pro or Tamron 20-40). Don't expect gorgeous results, but don't be surprised if you like the prints you get back. For the money it's really tough to beat this lense.

Customer Service

n/a

Similar Products Used:

Canon EF50mm f/1.8 Canon EF28-135 IS

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 22, 2002]
loriath
Intermediate

Strength:

Cheap compared to the capabilities, Lightweight, Results acceptable for most amateur and intermediate photographers

Weakness:

At the edges of the frame (at the wide end) the image seems to be a bit blurred when taken at open aperture, 77mm wide filters, Acceptable distortion

I've used this lens for a few months, and I'm very pleased with the effects. For as little as 300 USD, it allows me to have my very own, very wide angle lens - very useful while photographing interiors and taking interestingly looking outdoor shots. I like this lens and allways take it with me. The only real weakness is that at the wide end, with the aperture open, the image seems blurred at the edges (when enlarged to more than A3 size) - all needs to be done is to close down the aperture a little - fault that you can surely live with,especially when you pay as little as 300 USD.

Customer Service

Never had to contact them - the product works well.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 23, 2002]
mepuppys
Intermediate

Strength:

Cheap Better than ok construction 19mm

Weakness:

Flare can be a problem outside Hood not included Large expensive thin filters needed

Had very little use for this lens except for a few scenic shots here and there. It wes not as sharp as my 50mm 1.4 Cannon lens nor could my flash cover the 19mm wide end for good indoor shots. I bought a STO-FEN Omni Bounce for my flash and now I find myself photographing interiors more than anything else. Yes there is some distortion of straight lines at the edges but hey for the price I can't complain. I just do not put the straight lines at the edges of my interior photos if possible.

Customer Service

none needed

Similar Products Used:

Canon 50mm 1.4 Tamron 28-80 Tamron 70-300

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jul 17, 2002]
ezryder
Intermediate

Strength:

Good built. Great optics, consistantly great shots. Good contrast. price

Weakness:

Are you kidding?

What can I say about this lens. It's my most consistant and favorit lens. Contrast is very good, build:- well last weekend I was at the Botanic garden shoting the some shots of the family when it fell to the pavement and bounce two feet off the ground. I picked it up hopeing for the worse. However, not a trace of damage was evident. I am very happy with this lens. What a deal.

Customer Service

none

Similar Products Used:

Canon 100-300mm 5.6L Canon 50mm MkII Conon 28-80mm MKII Conon 75-300mm II Sigma 105mm 2.8 Macro Sigma 400mm APO Macro

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 16, 2002]
Evrim
Professional

Strength:

- Price/Value

Weakness:

- Flare, I sold this lens because I was not happy with flare control of this lens - Not very contrasty - Manual focusing not easy but then this is a wide angle.

Great value for money. Very good lens if you use wide angles only occasionally. If you are going to use wide angles a lot, get a better lens, lik Tamron 20-40.

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 15-30mm Canon 17-35mm (not much though)

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 11-20 of 40  

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