Weight, length, price for the stated features, manufacturing quality.

Image quality is really poor above 200mm

It is always more pleasant to give a nice review about an enjoyable product, but this review is not going to be nice…. I own a Canon 20D with several lenses: Canon 10-22mm, Canon 50mm f/1.8, Canon 18-55mm (original kit lens) and a Tamron 18-200mm f/3-5-6.3 which I like very much. Was missing in my arsenal a long range tele-zoom. I did my home work and I chose the Tokina ATX-840 AF II APO 80-400mm based on the reasonable weight (1.050 kg) and its length, since I don’t feel like carrying a bazooka. I wanted a long range tele-zoom to shoot objects which cannot be approached, such as aircrafts in an airport. The available reviews of this product from Tokina are scarce and non-conclusive. I though it might be because this brand is not as widely available as Canon or Sigma. But it comes from a subsidiary from Hoya, largest lens maker (based on their web site). So I ordered it for approximately $420. Sounds like a great deal. But it is not. Ok the lens is made of metal and feels and looks good. The manufacturing quality is there, but unfortunately not the imaging quality. The focus motor reacts promptly but keeps on adjusting when shooting at a long distance. I did testing shots of houses located at a long distance. I used a tri-pod, setup the image quality at the highest possible and even used the timer to avoid any shaking. I used the Tamron 18-200mm as a reference, although this is not the sharpest lens at 200mm. Conclusion: the Tokina’s sharpness is equivalent to the Tamron 18-200mm at 200mm, but slightly less contrast. At 300mm the image loose some of its sharpness, and, in my opinion, becomes unacceptable. At 400mm, the center of the image looses some more sharpness, while the edges become really blurry. When displaying the images on my computer, it appeared that the shots taken at 200mm magnified 200% are sharper than the shots taken at 400mm. And shots taken at 300mm x 1.5 are equivalent to those taken at 400mm. I have tried all apertures. The apertures under f/8 provide unacceptably soft images at 300 or 400mm, the quality does not get much better after that. Conclusion, if you already have a lens going up to 200mm, crop the image on your computer you’ll get better results that using the Tokina 80-400mm. If you feel that you need the range 80 to 200mm, there much better alternatives out there. The only positive note out of this experience is that I am now fully convinced of the interest of the Image Stabilization feature for such tele-zoom. I hope this sad review will prevent others to feel disappointed by a product which does not deserve to be marketed.

Customer Service

No need, the case is hopeless.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 18-200mm, Canon 10-22mm, Canon 50 f/1.8

Fairly easy to handhold, Long reach, sharp lens!

Heavy, looks like a bazooka at full extension.

I just bought this lens second hand in mint condition. I tested the Sigma 70-300 and Nikon ED 70-300 and found them soft right off. Slapped this on the D70 and I could instantly see it was much sharper. It's heavy due to metal construction, but is pretty easy to hold. Zoom range is very pleasing and my example appears tack sharp at 400mm. AF is not too slow and manual focus is smooth and worth using. I did tests for sharpness at 400 and am very pleased! It's a lot of lens and you can get a new one for well under 500.00.

Metal construction, solid tripod mount, nice lens hood is included, stays at f4.5 all the way to 300mm in the zoom range. Fast autofocus, not like USM but still pretty fast for a 3rd party lens.

A little heavy, but it is metal. It has only a minimum apature of f5.6 at the long end but for around $400 you can't expect it to be a f2.8 lens.

This is a great lens for someone who needs a good lens at a moderate price. I use this for wildlife as well as many other situations and I find it to be very sharp, especially when mounted on a tripod(mine is the new model with the tripod mount)I sometimes use a 1.4X teleconverter and my Elan IIe will still autofocus when using it outside in sunlight. I find the pictures produced to be sharp with minimum distortion at the edges and they have very nice contrast. Email me if you would like to see a sample pic from this lens at wrktoohrd@hotmail.com

Customer Service

I called to be sure that it would work with my Elan IIe and they were very informative and plesant on the phone.

Similar Products Used:

Canon 70-300mm f4-5.6, Sigma 400mm f5.6

Great range and maximum focal length, works well with a 1.4x teleconverter and monopod, light weight and compact size, low price and good build quality. It also has a nice manual focusing ring.

Slow to auto-focus, and the lens speed is slow. The lens hood is pretty bulky, it could be made more compact. The close focusing distance is pretty far out.

This is a follow-up to my previous review. I spent about a year shooting 100-speed film through this lens with the use of a monopod (I use the older version that doesn't have a tripod bracket, which I prefer). I'm impressed at the quality of the pictures at 400mm, and like the lens for its compact size and light weight. This year I wanted to do a little birding and more distant wildlife shots. I used the 80-400 with a Kenko 1.4 teleconverter that I purchased for my 180 2.8 Nikkor. I didn't expect much, but was really surprized at the quality of the shots with the teleconverter attached. I expected to see a lot of light fall-off, but there was none. Some very fine detail was lost in comparison to using a 180 2.8 for instance, but the images I took were good enough for publication. I considered getting a Nikkor 80-400 VR lens or a Tokina 300 2.8. However, this lens with a telenconverter and monopod does a very acceptable job. Besides, for most of my bird shots I use a faster speed slide film, and this seems more a factor in image quality than the optical differences of competing lenses.

Customer Service

Always courteous and responsive --unlike Nikon.

Similar Products Used:

70-300 Sigma and Nikkor lenses, 180 2.8 with various teleconverters.

Focal range, Reasonable price, compact size and weight. Pretty good glass for the money; as good or better than competition's 70-300 lenses.

A little soft over 300mm, but what can one expect from a lens with this price and focal range?

Great range in a single lens. Reasonably light and compact. Glass gives very good results 80-300 with good results at >300. Arpeture stays at f/4 out to 300. Best results achieved using tripod/monopod. I purchased the old version with a Kirk tripod mount, which works really well with the lens. Manual focus is smooth and easy. All in all, good value for the money.

Customer Service

Not needed so far.

Similar Products Used:

Tamron 70-300mm Canon 100-300mm Canon 75-300mm (Junk)

Glass quality is very good. Handlng is good. For its size, it can be kept onto my camara bag. Filter size 72mm is a bonus.

AF slow during low light situation but not always. I tried taking owls at night and the lens surpisely did a good job. No tripod collar, lens hood too big where changing filters is a problem.

Feels very solid on hands. Weight and size is reasonable. Used on Dynax 800si, I find the AF is good and fast when lights are sufficient. Lens must be used on a tripod for best results. Zooming action and AF is smoother compared to Sigma 70-300mm Apo Marco. Glass quality is excellent from 80-300mm and good at 300-400mm with 8R size development.

Customer Service

not yet

Similar Products Used:

Sigma 70-300mm Apo Tamron 28-200mm DL super

Grate range 80-400 F4.5 - F5.6 Grate optics. Small and Compact. Value for money WHEN compared to Canon''''s 100-400 IS zoom.

Price - compared to a Tamron 70-300 mm which you can pick up for £150, you have pay nearly 4 times as much to buy a lens which is JUST 100 mm MORE than the Tamron. You cant focus in Macro mode unless you buy an additional Macro filter from Tokina for another £50-£60 which considering how much i paid for the lens in the first place IS a rip off. Autofocus is slow some times, but i have never used another lens with similar range so this could be normal with lenses of such power. HEAVY compared to Tamron 70-300 mm zoom.

Bought the Tokina AF80/400mm f/4.5/5.6 ATX APO II version of this lens in October 2001 with a Canon EOS3 and x 2 converter. Overall the lens is grate, it has good optics, it has the range i want and considering it goes from 80-400 the lens is small, compact and has outstanding F stop of 5.6 at 400 mm zoom range, which is the same as my Tamron 28-105 mm zoom. It can also be used with a x 2 converter so you get a 160 - 800 f8 - f11 zoom which grate for taking pictures of wild life. I have never used any kind of tripod in my life, so its always hand held and does what i want it to do. If you dont want to spend £2000 buying the Canon 100-400 mm IS lens, then the Tokina is THE lense to have as its half 1/4 of the price but NOT 1/4 of the quality of the Canon lens. I highly recommend the lens to any one.

Similar Products Used:

Vivitar 70-300 mm zoom on a Canon AE1 Program.

compact in size, light, sharp to 300, still OK for amateurs >300mm. Solid built. Great buy

Still no IF or RF. Slow focus. Some hunting in dim light. Needs a chip upgrade (through customer support) to work on Minolta Maxxum/Dynax 7. Optically slightly inferior to Sigma 50-500.

A must-have-zoom for all casual or amateur photographers. This is an update to my earlier review. The lens is now supplied with a tripod collar by Tokina, I bought from B&H at 150$. I have now a much sturdier tripod and had much more excercise experience to operate focal lengths above 200mm. I took the Tokina on several safaris in Africa and it proofed that, if used with propper technique & support, it is indeed a very good performer. Many of the slides I took have pro quality! Even in direct comparison to my 300mm f/4 it does very well, provided it is stopped down to f/6.5 to 8. The use of Provia 400F overcomes shutterspeed problems when fast speed (wildlife) is required. The two, lens and film, make a great combo!

Customer Service

The German branch didn''t recognize my US warranty. I had to pay 75$ for my chip upgrade.

Similar Products Used:

Minolta 300m f/4 and with 1.4x TC as 420mm Minolta 100-200 f/4.5

Very light, and can be handheld. Easy to carry around.

Focus gets very soft beyond the 300mm point. For the typical $550 price it ought to deliver better results. The sigma 70-300mm lens I use gives me sharper pictures at a much cheaper price.

Its a good lens if you want range and are looking for something light. If you looking for enlargements or are going for slides / serious publishing then this is not for you - just forget it.

Customer Service

Haven't tried.

Similar Products Used:

Tokina 300mm/2.8, Sigma70-300

Great range, well built, no distortion.

Some flare if shooting into sun, external focus

Great range and not too heavy of a lens. A little soft when you get out at about 350-400 but very good in the 80-350 range. Only wish is that it were internal focus.

Customer Service

Haven't tried

Similar Products Used:

Nikon 80-200 2.8