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CSStevens Offline • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #1 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Hey all, until today I didn't even know that Tokina made a 300mm 2.8 lens, so I was curious about anyone's experience with it, both in terms of IQ and AF, and samples would be great too. I freelance for a daily, but also shoot concerts pretty often, and was curious how this would be for soundboard shoots (there's one venue here that's always soundboard, it sucks, and my 70-200 2.8 only manages to an extent - whereas my friend uses a 400mm on FF, usually getting 3/4 and torso shots, for perspective), and also for sports (I shoot some basketball, not so much else, though, but might expand to some football in the Fall), and I suppose some wildlife/birding too. Would be using one mostly with a 1D Mark III. Jul 23, 2012 at 02:23 AM

Bifurcator Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #2 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? What are "soundboard shoots"? At first I thought it said snowboard shoots which I know - but soundboard? What the....? What, shots of someone operating a mixing board or something? Jul 23, 2012 at 02:49 AM

JohnBrose Offline • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #3 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? I'm assuming he means that he can't get closer to the stage than the soundboard tech. I don't have experience with the Tokina 300 f2.8, but I have the Canon and it works well for football and many outdoor sports. It's a bit long for some indoor sports, but I have used mine for volleyball and some for basketball. The 70-200 is a much more flexible lens for indoor sports though. I would think the Tokina would be slower to focus which might be an issue for sports. Another option might be the sigma 120-300 if you like the flexibility of a zoom and I believe the newest version has stabilization. Jul 23, 2012 at 02:59 AM

CSStevens Offline • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #4 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Yes, soundboard is where all photographers are relatively far from the stage at the soundboard, thus needing more reach, but still lowlight. Typical for some "older" bands that are a bit worried about there appearance, I think, though for some venues (i.e. pool at the Cosmopolitan, The Wiltern in Los Angeles, the MGM Grand Arena) it's standard and all shows are shot that way. I'm not expecting the Tokina to be great for sports, but for distant action might not be so bad, especially if using a 70-200 2.8 on a second body. The Sigma 120-300mm is something I was taking a look at too, I've tried it out before, and it had good handling and decent IQ, but not the fastest AF - didn't shoot sports with it though, only tried it out at a convention. I don't get enough work that would justify or need the Canon 300mm 2.8, but for the Tokina 300 2.8, the situation is a little different given the price. Thanks for the feedback so far! Jul 23, 2012 at 03:05 AM

Bifurcator Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #5 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? CSStevens wrote: Yes, soundboard is where all photographers are relatively far from the stage at the soundboard, thus needing more reach, but still lowlight. Typical for some "older" bands that are a bit worried about there appearance, I think, though for some venues (i.e. pool at the Cosmopolitan, The Wiltern in Los Angeles, the MGM Grand Arena) it's standard and all shows are shot that way. Oh OK, so concert and stage performances from the back on the ground floor. So my absurd guess was actually kinda close... Well, kinda... I dunno that specific lens but usually AT-X and AT-X Pro series lenses are sharp to a fault! And sometimes suffer from the slightest amount of CA wide open. Of the ones I have usually a half of an f-stop click (or less†) will clean all that up. The AT-X and AT-X Pro lenses in my collection produce extreme global contrast. This is awesome for landscape and cityscape shots! For stage shots where glowy gradient volumetric spotlights and pick-gard reflection beams are part of the light-show they might render a little harshly - I dunno. But more than likely you will be very pleased with the level of detail it captures! † With mine I look into the front of the lens and turn the aperture ring till the blades creep out from hiding just enough to occupy about (what me brain tells me is) 10% of the area. That clears up all CA but the most extreme PF. Jul 23, 2012 at 10:14 AM

ricardovaste Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #6 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Hi. I used this lens some years back, but quite extensively, so I will try to help. It is a typical Tokina lens in many regards; it has great build quality, capable of high levels of detail (reference: 12MP), rendering slightly cooler colours, and it's only really issue being CA. The CA is marginal, but perhaps an issue depending upon subjects, although generally quite easy to remove. In my use (wildlife, natural, outdoors) I never found CA to be an issue. But it is there, so be prepared for it. I found auto-focus good for this time of lens, but not lighting fast... I was able to track large birds in the sky with it without much trouble (only problem being my technical abilities). It had a slip-engage (can't think of the real jargon) AF ring, so on my camera you could easily tap the AF/MF button on the camera, pre-focus in manual on the ring, and then re-engage AF to tidy up. That worked very well, and was one of the main reasons I enjoyed using the lens. One thing that did bother me, and something you don't really read in the reviews is the weight of the elements on the AF mechanism. If pointing upwards (say above 60 degrees) the mechanism would really struggle to move, and would make a really clunky noise trying to focus... not so nice. But this was on small occasions when birds would pass right above me, so probably not an issue for yourself. It's a really nice piece of kit, very solid, comes with a nice case too. Jul 23, 2012 at 10:48 AM

andyjaggy82 Offline • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #7 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? If it's up to the same build quality as other Tokina lenses then it will probably weight about 10 pounds. I'm pretty sure this one is actually discontinued and might be pretty difficult to find. Tokina has a nasty habit of discontinuing lenses after a few years. Jul 23, 2012 at 03:40 PM

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CSStevens Offline • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #8 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Thanks for all the input. Based on what you've all said on here and the other (minimal) info around the internet, it definitely looks worth going for as a much more reasonably priced alternative to the name brand 300 2.8s. Looks like its time to wait for a couple paychecks to come in and then the next step will be finding one. Someone is selling on the Buy & Sell forum here which is what piqued my interest, and maybe I'll end up with that one. Also, any experience with a 1.4x teleconverter? I read that the Canon one won't work because of the protruding element, but the Kenko copy will. 420mm f4 makes it even more tempting. Jul 23, 2012 at 04:46 PM

ricardovaste Offline • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #9 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Oh yes, I mainly used it with the Kenko 1.4 tc. Worked very well. I had that on my 200/2.8 as well. It's good quality, minimal loss of IQ (if you notice any at all). Jul 23, 2012 at 05:09 PM

arthurb Offline • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #10 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? My only experience with long Tokina lenses was the 80 - 400mm zoom. It was good but much sharper at 80mm than at 400mm and I really only ever used it at the long end. I have since sold it and bought a Canon 400 mm f5.6 which is tack sharp. Jul 23, 2012 at 05:17 PM

Bifurcator Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #11 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Yeah, at 1.4x I doubt any degradation would be humanly detectable. At 2x we can notice a tiny bit tho. BTW, my 80-400mm AT-X is plenty sharp at the long end - just not up close. If close focused 2m to about 5m, then it's a tad soft but after 5m it's very sharp. This is true only from about 370mm to 400mm however. Here's some shots of mine wide open IIRC at 400mm with subjects over 5m away: ^^ Massive Crop ^^ ^^ 100% Crop ^^ And under 5m away: BIF at MFD Edited on Jul 23, 2012 at 05:55 PM · View previous versions Jul 23, 2012 at 05:17 PM

mikethevilla Online • • • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #12 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? I owned the Tokina back when I was on Canon and now I own a Tamron 300 2.8. I've had good experiences with both. I rarely need that much reach, so I couldn't justify the fatty Canon/Nikon versions, and so far I haven't felt the need to upgrade. They're both decently sharp wide open (with the Tokina perhaps being a hair sharper). Don't expect "L" level quality out of them, but I have no issues getting usable shots for paid work wide open. Stop either down to 3.5 or 4 and they become very sharp. AF tracking is largely dependent on the camera. With a 1D mkII you should be fine. They're accurate, but a bit slow. Even so, I haven't really had any issues using them for sports. The Tokina is built like a TANK. Solid, super heavy, very cool. The Tamron feels all rubbery and not quite as tank-like, but still solid. Samples (Tokina): Tamron: Jul 23, 2012 at 05:40 PM

Bifurcator Offline • • • • • Upload & Sell: On p.1 #13 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Nice shots Mike! Is she planting a kiss on that player here? http://www.blog.mikevillavisuals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Womens-Soccer-10.30.10-7681.jpg Jul 23, 2012 at 05:48 PM

CSStevens Offline • • Upload & Sell: Off p.1 #14 · Tokina 300mm f2.8 AT-X Pro experience/users? Awesome stuff. I think I'd prefer the Tokina over the Tamron if not just for the build. Pretty set on getting one now. CPS loaning a Canon 400mm 2.8L for a week or so to shoot a soccer game of Real Madrid vs Santos Laguna, but hopefully that won't leave me wanting only wanting the Canon version of the glass... not that I could afford it/get enough specific paid work to justify it, but the Tokina is another story. Jul 23, 2012 at 06:52 PM

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