benhai_zhang1 Posted December 16, 2009 Share Posted December 16, 2009 <p>I just got a Tokina 24-40mm F2.8 AT-X. How's this lens? I am currently using D70. So this manual focus lens would be a lot of work for me. If I'd like to sell it, how much would be a fair price?<br>Ben</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 <p>Glad to see another 24-40 AT-X owner !, There aren't many out there. I'm a prime lens guy, I find zooms with optical characteristics equal to primes to be just too darn big & heavy, BUT, I've owned & shot with many zooms over the years in reaching that conclusion & two I've retained are the Tokina AT-X 24-40 f/2.8 and 35-70 f/2.8. I use mine of MF film bodies, (F3, FM & FE2's) so I can't say you'll see the same results on your digital D70, but they are high quality, rock solid, heavy & with optical qualities/sharpness equal to their Nikon counterparts. One problem I've seen with third party lenses when shooting with film is that differing optical glass formula's result in color casts being introduced on your slides & negitives. Not so with the Tokina's, they seem to produce results identical to Nikon. This may not present a problem with your D70 as you can tweek WB to compensate. The 24-40 does have a tendency to flare when shot towards the sun, a good hood is mandatory & hard to find. I finally settled on a 'Sonia' wide angle hood, it does work well.<br> Give yourself time to get used to the controls on the Tokina, (f/stop, zoom & focus), and I think you'll find that it's a fine, high quality lens.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted December 17, 2009 Author Share Posted December 17, 2009 <p>Thanks for the info. On D70 I have to do manul exposure and manul focus. It's kind of pain now. But I'll play around with it and see how's the result.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted December 17, 2009 Share Posted December 17, 2009 <p>Everything has it's time & place. There is a time when Auto-Everything will produce an excellent photographic result. But given the correct circumstances it rarely produces the sense of satisfaction and self fullfillment that I get with a properly focused & exposed photograph that I have made with MF equipment. I shoot digital/AF 90% of the time and I've never felt the sense of joy that I get using my older MF gear.........just a personal matter, but that doesn't take away from your initial question, the Tokina AT-X 24-40 f/2.8 is an excellent performer & your camera body, unlike most Nikon digitals will meter with it, I have to use an external, hand held meter when I use mine on my D80 :(.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 <p>Hi William:</p> <p>I found this Tokina is a well performer. The most thing that astonished me is that there is no noticeble distortion in my eyes. The sharpness is OK. It can't beat Nikon. Color seems quite different with Nikon. Compare to Nikon 28mm F3.5, Tokina 24-40mm is huge and too heavy. I think I can keep either one of it. :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 <p>Hi William:</p> <p>I found this Tokina is a well performer. The most thing that astonished me is that there is no noticeble distortion in my eyes. The sharpness is OK. It can't beat Nikon. Color seems quite different with Nikon. Compare to Nikon 28mm F3.5, Tokina 24-40mm is huge and too heavy. I think I can keep either one of it. :)</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 6, 2010 Author Share Posted January 6, 2010 <p>A picture.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted January 6, 2010 Share Posted January 6, 2010 <p>Benhai,<br> The Tokina is, indeed, heavy, but this is due to it's solid construction! It is sharp but I don't find it's minor color shift objectionable although that is a common problem with after-market, (third party) lenses. I think that is caused by differing optical glass formulations. I've found that the older Vivitar Series I very close to Nikon , followed by Tokina AT-X's, Tamron & Sigma. Sigma is by far the worst, it's color rendition being very different than Nikkor's & is especially noticable on film if you expose part of a roll with a Nikkor lens & part of the same roll with a Sigma. Particularly bad if you are photographing a wedding or other social function & try to assemble an album that results in a Nikon print right next to a Sigma print!<br> Bill</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>Try to post a picture.</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>Benhai,<br> I don't know why you post a message to "Try to post a picture", but heres one taken at Gettysburg National Monument (USA) with the Tokina 24-40 AT-X on an FE2 body.<br> Bill</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>Benhai,<br> Image was too large, I've had to reduce it & will try again,<br> Bill</p><div></div> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>William<br> I put my pictures here. Are they similar to what you got with your lens?<br> http://picasaweb.google.com/Benhai.Zhang/Tokina_ATX_240_F28#</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>Benhai,<br> Look here, B&W photo's on the first page are taken with my Tokina AT-X 24-40 f/2.8 mounted on a Nikon FE2<br> Bill<br> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/photo_opus/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/photo_opus/</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>Benhai,<br> Look here, B&W photo's on the first page are taken with my Tokina AT-X 24-40 f/2.8 mounted on a Nikon FE2<br> Bill<br> <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/photo_opus/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/photo_opus/</a></p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>Very nice pictures! Seems your B&W pictures are better then my 24-40mm. It's sharper. Do you hand held? What apeture are you using?</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>I don't recall the specific exposures but I used Kodak Professional BN400CN film (ISO 400) and the day was very cloudy & dull, so I'm certain that the exposures were in the range of 1/60-1/125 @ f/2.8 - f/5.6. All were hand held.<br> Bill</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>Bill,<br> I'd check why my picture quality is not as good as yours. I can get better quality pictures with 28mm prime lens. I'd guess the weight of this Tokina disturbs my ability to hold the camera steady enough. A tripod would check that out ^_^.</p> <p>Ben</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
william__bill__crabill Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>A steady hold is important and is a learned skill. I started my SLR photography in the 1950's with slide flim & the standard ISO (ASA then!) speeds were 25 & 32. ISO 50 & later on ISO 100, were considered high speed films so learning how to hold a camera solidly & steady was (is) mandatory for sharp images.<br> The Tokina Lens has obviously been around for a while, so be sure to check it carefully for any interior conditions that could contribute to a less than sharp image, I'm thinking of possible fungus or oil film if was ever improperly lubed. If clean, it should be a fine performer, by the way, just an afterthought, but the heavier weight of the lens should help you hold steady, not the other way around :).<br> Bill</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benhai_zhang1 Posted January 7, 2010 Author Share Posted January 7, 2010 <p>This lens is clean. I can get very sharp images when hold it steady. You can see it from the kid shot. It must be my hands shaking. I used to body heavier and lens lighter. Now it is lens heavier and body lighter. I'm sure once I used to it, it will produce sharper images. So far I'm happy with this lens. Wish I can have more time to play with it.</p> <p>Anyhow I use Nikkor 50mm f1.8 AF much more then others. It's light and can get sharp and vivid results instantly.</p> <p>Ben</p> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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