Tokina AT-X 270 AF Pro II 28-70mm f/2.6-2.8 35mm Zoom
Tokina AT-X 270 AF Pro II 28-70mm f/2.6-2.8 35mm Zoom
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[Jan 11, 2003]
Mitz Molo
Expert
Strength:
Solid Metal Construction Sharp but not the sharpest. Little distortion Cooler Contrast
Weakness:
Focusing at infinity can be tricky. Manual Focusing take time to get used to. Very competent lens, at 35 mm wide open compared to Nikon af 17-35 its just a fraction soft with the line details on the shadow. At 70 mm it performed better at f4.5 than Nikon's 28-70 3.5-4.5 noticeable sharper lines and less distortion and vignetting. At the smallest aperture its every sharp as with any other lens. It suffered a little bit when focused at inifinity. I'm comparing this to the AFS but at this price its d*** close. If only the lens has one or two increments focus more than it has would match the Nikons AFS in the infinity department. My rating was based on the comparison with this lens and the AFS 17-35. Customer Service Have no used for it yet. Similar Products Used: AFS 17-35 mm 2.8 AF 28-70 mm 3.5-4.5 AF 24-120 mm 3.5-5.6 |
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[Nov 09, 2002]
Stan M
Professional
I offered a review of this lens, but I posted it in the section desginated for the Pro I model. |
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[Jun 19, 2002]
Leone
Intermediate
Strength:
Super Sharp, metal build/overall solid construction, nice colors/contrast.
Weakness:
Slight lens flare when shooting into sunlight or brightlights. This lens is amazing. I purchased this lens after many sleepless nights looking for a lens that offers pro/high quality images, color, contrast, build and performance. This lens saved me $1000 AND performs as good as the Nikon 28-70mm f2.8 version. Even with a HOYA multicoat (UV0) UV filter, this lens produces sharp, nice pictures. Very impressive. For $339, it's a steal!!!!! Customer Service Haven't had any problems. Considering the build of the lens, it looks like i won't either. Not for a long time. 90 Rolls and counting... Similar Products Used: Nikon 28-70mm f2.8 AF-S ED Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 EX Aspherical |
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[Jun 10, 2002]
Intermediate
Strength:
Price, Built, f2.8
Weakness:
Noisy Focusing, Weight, soft at f2.8 Built Quality: Solid like a ROCK !! Built just like a tank. Weight: Heavy, you'll have either a sore neck or sore arms after shooting with this lens for a couple of hours. Optically: Soft at large apertures (e.g at f2.8). At f5.6, sharp corner to corner. Try to shoot at least f4.5 or smaller apertures to obtain sharp pictures. The f2.8 comes in handy shooting indoors when tripods and flash are not permitted. Focusing: Noisy. Price: For $369, unbeatable. Canon/Nikons cost at least 2.5x as much. Customer Service Never used Similar Products Used: Canon 70-200mm f4 L Canon 20-35mm f3.5-f4.5 |
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[May 26, 2002]
halaqah
Expert
Strength:
Sharp, Relatively fast focusing, very well built looks very pro
Weakness:
Heavy (but I like that) Very noise (compared to the L series i use) Manual Focus ring very hard to use Exceptional Piece of engineering. Very well built. Very well designed. Good looking. All metal. The build quality makes you feel the part. A joy to shoot with, very good handling. Solid metal feel Customer Service Not compatable with my new EOS 3 have to upgrade electronics outcome pending. Not to happy about having to do that Similar Products Used: 70-200 2.8L canon |
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[May 15, 2002]
snackelroy
Intermediate
Strength:
-very sturdy, all metal, with a feel and heft that inspires confidence. -great manual focus ring feel and distance of travel. I keep it in MF 90% of the time. -good colors across entire spectrum (at least better than the other zooms I''ve used) -very sharp -superb handling in general - makes it my favorite lens to have on.a
Weakness:
-dark corners, and not even just wide open. I find this unacceptable for a pseudo-pro lens. maybe that''s why this "pro" lens can cost $370 (even less now) and maybe others find it acceptable. -barrel disortion at wide end. I know this is apparent on many zooms, but it''s pretty bad at the edges. just keep straight lines away! The best aspects of a lens should be represented by the pictures taken with it. However, my favorite aspect of this Tokina is the way it handles, and that is why I have chosen to keep it. Not that it doesn''t sport nice optics, but it has some major shortcomings in that department that keep it from being a *great* lens. I also wish the AF/MF clutch mechanism was single-touch instead of the barrel movement AND switch you have to manipulate. It''s not hard or time-consuming, but sometimes it can be a pain trying to find the right barrel position for getting it back into manual. This len''s major shortcomings are a fair amount of barrel distortion from 28-45mm and noticeable vignetting at < f/5.6 with NO filters. Granted it was a bright sky, but at f/5.6?!?! Come on. Customer Service the lens shipped from B&H without the reported soft case. B&H was useless to help but contacted Tokina directly and they sent one in days. good people. Similar Products Used: Canon 28-105 USM (I still keep this one around for travel) Canon 28-80 USM V (gotta start somewhere!) Kiron 28-70 manual |
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[Apr 29, 2002]
Melvin Bramley
Strength:
Compared to other zooms it has decent optical quality. It has above average focus speed. It has little distortions. Good build quality.
Weakness:
Heavy,Uses expensive 77mm filters,Adequate image quality but not good wide open. I purchased my lens used & in good condition for $500 CDN .It overlaps with my Nikkor 24-120 which I use as a travel lens. It is sharp enough one or two stops down & has very little distortion. I use this lens for sports photography;such as basketball & volleyball. It is an ideal lens for photographing from the sidelines.It''s major strength is it''s focus speed which is much faster than any of the Nikkors I can afford. Customer Service Not required Similar Products Used: Nikkor 24-120. Nikkor 35-105 |
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[Mar 16, 2002]
roger o
Professional
Strength:
Build Price
Weakness:
Noisy While I would prefer the Canon version, I''m very happy with this lens. It produces very acceptable pictures and is a robust and well-constructed piece of equipment. My only gripe is that it is quite noisy. The AF broke within the first six months, but the importer''s technician in the UK was very helpful and returned the lens to me within a couple of days. Otherwise, I''ve had no trouble - not even after the lens got soaked at sea. I will one day buy the Canon equivalent, but not before the Tokina gives up the ghost, which, based on the punishment it''s taken so far, may be never. Customer Service In the UK, outstanding |
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[Nov 29, 2001]
paulalen
Intermediate
Strength:
Fast Autofocus Very solid
Weakness:
None as of yet After looking for a medium AF lens, I think I found a very good low cost quality lens to replace my Tameron 28-105 f4-5.6 lens. I was going to buy the new Tokina 24-200 AT-X 242 lens, but after some research and talking to other photograhers I found that this is a much better rated lens to use on my Nikon N90s camera. The build quality is very solid and produced some very nice images, but is a little heavy. On the wide angle side is very good but I still perfer using my small Nikon 24mm f2.8 over this lens. I think this lens will be used quite offen in the future Customer Service no Similar Products Used: Nikon 24 f2.8 Sigma 105 f2.8 macro Nikon 70-300 f4-5.6 ED D |
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[Nov 27, 2001]
john
Intermediate
Strength:
Good Optical and mechanical quality. Have used Nikon equivalent and there is not too much difference. Not enough to justify the cost differential. Heavy, but I like the weight as it balances the camera better
Weakness:
Customer service - see below Have used the lens for some time now. Love the quality , both optical and handling. service times can be very long. Customer Service Damaged the barrel slightly on a not too severe knock. Quoted and accepted a 3 - 4 week repair time. Finally got the lens back 3 MONTHS later. Similar Products Used: Nikon AFS 28 -20 Sigma 28 -70 2.8-4 |