tokina lenses?

[V I Archer]

Has anyone tried the Tokina brand lenses?  I see they make a 80-400mm for around $800.00.  I am not familiar with Tokina lenses adn do not know what the AT-X refers to.  A friend of mine has the Nikon 80-400 for his d3, it takes great pics, I am sure due to the built in vibration reduction.  I just can't afford $1500.00 for a lens right now.  Should I sacrifice a few features for a little extra reach in the Tokina, or go for a cheaper Nikon 70-300 with the vibration reduction for around $550.00

[luv2bowhunt]

I have heard extremely good things about the Tokina brand. I have not used them myself, but would not hesitate to use their higher end lenses. I would use their lenses over Tamron or Sigma any day... I have used the cheaper 70-300 Nikon before and returned the lens 2 days later if that tells you anything, I don't know how this would compare to the Tokina or not... you really do get what you pay for when it comes to lenses, get the best that you can afford.

If you are looking for excellent quality and want the long telephoto range I would highly recommend looking for a used Nikon ED-IF 300mm f/4 (not the AF-S version, unless you can afford one) I owned this lens for several years and the image quality is superb... one of the best bangs for your buck in my opinion, you should be able to find one in the $400-$500 range... seriously, I HIGHLY recommend this lens to anyone that is looking for a good telephoto at a resonable price.

If you would like to see some sample pics go to  www.photosig.com  and register. Then you can search photographs by lens, they have an amazing database of images.

Let me know if I can be of any further assistance  :D

Kevin.

[smilinicon]

The 80-400VR seems to perform very well on full sensor camera bodies like the D3. I've used the lens on the D200/300 and gotten some good photos with it. The 80-400VR and lens in it's class really like a lot of light and higher shutter speeds. I prefer a sturdy tripod over the VR on that lens for best results.

I have a Tokina 12-24 and it is a good lens. I will see if I can find any info the their 80-400 for you. I second the advice on the 300 f/4 lens.

Cary

[seany916]

Tokina makes great lenses.  Tamron isn't bad either.

[seany916]

3rd party lenses are fine. But they vary is their quality. Some are almost as good as the "brand" lenses. Others are junk.

I don't believe most photographers will tell much of a difference between the results.

We've used Tamron over Nikkor on more than a few shoots with spectacular results.

We actually prefer the Tamron 18-50 over the Nikkor 17-55. The 2 that we tried (one after another) were both slightly soft at the edges and neither my wife nor I were happy with the results we got. We picked up the Tamron as a backup lens and LOVED it. Maybe we got 2 bad Nikkors and a great Tamron... just happy with the 3rd party brank.

I've shot Tokinas before with no major issues.

[fido dog]

Hmmmm............Get a Canon.

For real. I haven't used any. The best advise I can give is get the BEST glass you can within you price range.