Tokina 300mm f/2.8

Umbrella, 01 June 2017. Nikon D810, Tokina 300mm f/2.8 hand-held at f/4 at 1/320 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.

Wow, even stopped down to f/4 it's super sharp, and the backgrounds melt away to give a three-dimensional image.

Tile Roof, 01 June 2017. Nikon D810, Tokina 300mm f/2.8 hand-held at f/2.8 at 1/500 at ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution.

Only the front line of the roof is in focus, and as you can see, it's super sharp from edge to edge even wide-open at f/2.8.

Introduction

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The Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AT-X is an ultraspeed ultratelephoto lens from the 1990s.

Today it's inexpensive and easy to find, built like a tank, and has great optics. It's an inexpensive alternative to Nikon's or Canon's 300mm f/2.8 lenses. It gives far better bokeh and much softer backgrounds for professional portraiture at a fraction of the price of any new 70-200/2.8.

It comes in mounts for Nikon, Sony, Sony A, Minolta MAXXUM and possibly other mounts. I have the Nikon mount.

For Sony E, I'd suggest finding one in Minolta MAXXUM (Sony A) mount and using the Sony LA-EA4 adapter which ought to give fast autofocus and full automation. Since Minolta mounts are hard to find (this was an exotic, expensive pro lens in its day, and pros never shot Minolta), you'll have an easier time finding one in Canon mount and then using a Canon EOS EF to Sony E mount adapter. Good luck.

Versions

I have the AT-X AF version.

There is an earlier manual-focus only version, which presumably has the same optics.

There is a newer AT-X AF II version.

The newest version is the AT-X PRO version, which I believe also has the same optics, but adds a push-pull clutch to the focus ring to speed-up auto/focus switching. This version speeds that up, but once in manual, I suspect the feel is better in the earlier versions.

Good

● Very sharp.

● Reasonably close focussing: 7.9'/2.4m.

● Fast manual focus; flicks with a fingertip.

● Solid all-metal construction.

● Simple, sturdy technology suggests long service life — there's nothing to break!

Bad

● As with all third-party lenses, there's always the potential for incompatibility with some models of camera or lens adapters.

● No instant manual focus override; have to move a switch.

Format

This is a full frame lens, and I'm reviewing it as such.

It works great on APS-C, too, on which you may make the usual inferences.

Compatibility

Nikon

This is a traditional screw-focus AF lens, with electronic contacts as well as a traditional AI-s aperture ring for use on old 35mm Nikons.

I tried it, and it works great on my Nikon D810, Nikon D3, F100, FA (uses the low-speed program optimized for landscapes)), F4, N5005, N55 (gives the high-speed program optimum for sports), N75 (gives the high-speed program optimum for sports), D70 (gives the high-speed program optimum for sports), D300, D200, N2020, N70 (gives the high-speed program optimum for sports) and Pronea S (gives the high-speed program optimum for sports).

Auto exposure control works, but focus is manual only, on my F6 and D40.

It works fantastically well on manual-focus cameras like the F2AS, F3, FE and FA as well, since it has real manual-focus and aperture rings that work exactly as they should.

This screw-focus lens will not autofocus with the cheapest D40, D40x, D60, D3000, D3100, D3200, D3300, D5000, D5100, D5200, D5300, D5500 or D5600, but if you focus manually, everything else works great. These cameras have in-finder focus confirmation dots to help you.

I haven't tried it, but I suspect it should be fine on the D7500 but not have any metering or AF on the D3400.

It works with the Nikon TC14 teleconverter to make it a manual-focus 420mm f/4.

See Nikon Lens Compatibility for details on your camera. Read down the "AF, AF-D (screw)" column for this lens.

Be forewarned that at a third-party lens that there is always the potential for incompatibility.

Canon

I haven't tried it, but Canon's EF lenses work on all their EOS cameras, so I'd hope that the Canon version ought to work on all Canon EF EOS cameras.

Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AF AT-X. bigger.

Specifications

Name

Tokina calls this the Tokina AT-X SD 300mm f/2.8 AF.

AT-X: Tokina's name for it's best lenses.

SD: Magic extra-low dispersion (ED) glass for reduced secondary chromatic aberration.

AF: Autofocus.

Optics

9 elements in 7 groups.

No aspherical elements.

2 extra-low dispersion SD elements.

Multicoated.

Diaphragm

Rear, Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AF AT-X. bigger.

7 straight blades, at least on the Nikon version. Other versions may have different diaphragms.

Stops down to f/32.

Focal Length

300 mm.

When used on an APS-C camera, it sees the same angle of view as a 450 mm lens sees when used on a full-frame or 35mm camera.

Autofocus

Internal focus.

On Nikon, traditional screw-type autofocus. Needs a motor in your camera body to drive it.

Close Focus

7.9 feet (2.4 meters).

Filters

Metal 112 mm front filter thread.

35.5mm filters screw into a rear snap-in holder.

There must always be a 35.5mm rear filter installed for focus to be adjusted properly; it's part of the optical design.

Hood

Hood, Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AF AT-X. bigger.

Solid alloy hood with rubber bumper included.

Caps

Front lens cover, Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AF AT-X. bigger.

The front cap is actually a full-body vinyl sock with a reinforced flat front.

Case

Included case, Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AF AT-X. bigger.

It comes with a hard tubular case lined in fine red velvet.

Size

4.656" maximum diameter (5.329" including the hood & bumper) × 8.386" extension from flange (8.740" extension with included filter, 10.748" with included hood extended).

118.2 mm maximum diameter (135.36mm for the hood bumper) × 213 mm extension from flange (222mm extension with included filter, 273mm with included hood extended).

Exposed front glass diameter: 101.67 mm (for comparison, the Nikon manual-focus 300mm f/2.8 ED-IF AI-s has 106.42mm worth of glass at the front)

The included filter is 9.00mm thick.

Weights (actual measured)

77¼ oz. (4 lb. 13¼ oz. or 2,190 g), lens only.

88 oz (5 lbs. 8 oz. or 2,490g), lens and hood.

91 oz. (5 lbs. 11 oz. or 2,580g), lens, hood and filter.

Tokina's included 112mm filter: 3.360 oz. (95.35g).

Hood only: 10.725 oz. (304.0g).

For comparison, the Nikon manual-focus 300mm f/2.8 ED-IF AI-s weighs 86 oz. (5 lbs. 6 oz or 2,440g).

Included

Lens, 112mm front filter, 35.5mm filter in the snap-in holder in the rear of the lens, drawstring sock cap, rear cap and tubular case.

Price, USA

$550 used, June 2017, if you know How to Win at eBay.

$750 used, 2008.

Performance

Overall Autofocus Breathing Bokeh Distortion

Ergonomics Falloff Lateral Color Fringes

Macro Mechanics Sharpness

Stabilizer Spherochromatism Sunstars

Overall

The Tokina 300/2.8 is a big, fat all-metal lens that performs amazingly well for its bargain price today.

Autofocus

Autofocus is fast enough on Nikon, with one full turn of the AF screw pulling it from infinity down to 65 feet.

Focus Breathing

Focus breathing is the image changing size as focused in and out. It's important to cinematographers because it looks funny if the image changes size as focus gets pulled back and forth between actors. If the lens does this, the image "breathes" by growing and contracting slightly as the dialog goes back and forth.

The image from this Tokina gets larger as focussed more closely.

Bokeh

Bokeh, the feel or quality of out-of-focus areas as opposed to how far out of focus they are, is superb; better than any 70-200/2.8.

Backgrounds just melt away into soft washes of color, and this is from about 10 feet (3m) away:

Davis 6250 weather station, 01 June 2017. bigger or camera-original © file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display full resolutions images properly).

Also look and see how sharp it is, where it is in perfect focus.

Distortion

The Tokina 300/2.8 has minor pincushion distortion. If you care; it's easy to correct fully with Photoshop's lens distortion filter using these correction factors.

	On full frame
∞	-0.70
100' (30m)	-1.50
30' (10m)	-1.50
10' (3m)	-1.70

Ergonomics

This 300/2.8 feels good. It's all metal; you don't feel like you got scammed buying some plastic garbage.

Manual focus is great, flicking with a single finger tip, but you do have to move a switch to get from auto to manual; there is no instant override.

The permanently-attached tripod collar rotates smoothly, has click stops at 90º intervals and has a smoothly-operating lock knob.

There is a grip ring towards the front.

Most of its weight are the huge front elements, so we hold a camera in our right hand and cradle the front of the lens in our left hand. When we do this, all the weight is at the front and the back, which makes for a very stable arrangement which, through a high rotational moment of inertia, naturally stabilizes our images.

Falloff

Falloff on full frame is moderate at f/2.8, minor at f/4, and gone by f/5.6.

I've greatly exaggerated the falloff by shooting a gray field and placing these on a gray background:

falloff on FX and 35mm at infinity, no correction:

f/2.8	f/4


f/5.6	f/8

Lateral Color Fringes

Miraculously as shot on my Nikon, which by default is probably correcting for them, there are only the faintest blue/yellow fringes at the corners, as seen at 36MP full frame.

Macro

Kienzle Flieger Automat 800/2843, 01 June 2017. Nikon D810, f/2.8 at 1/2,000 at Auto ISO 100. bigger or full-resolution © file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display full resolution images properly).

It doesn't get that close, but it is very, very sharp:

1,200 × 900 pixel crop from 36MP image above. bigger or full-resolution © file to explore on your computer (mobile devices rarely display full resolution images properly).

If this is 12" wide on your screen, the complete image printed at this same magnification would be 75 × 50" (6 × 4 feet, or 2 × 1.25 meters)!

I'm impressed; it is very sharp wide-open at its closest focus distance.

Mechanical Quality

Rear, Tokina 300mm f/2.8 AF AT-X. bigger.

This is a tough lens built to last. It's all metal!

Hood

Solid alloy.

Front Bumper

Yes; rubber bumper on hood but not on lens.

Filter Threads

Metal.

Hood Mount

Recessed area around front of metal lens barrel; covered with a line of tape to prevent the hood attachment screw from scratching the lens barrel.

Front Barrel

Anodized aluminum.

Focus Ring

Rubber-covered metal.

Rear Barrel

Speckle-painted metal.

Focus distance window

Plastic.

Tripod Collar

Speckle-painted metal.

The collar doesn't come off.

90º click stops with a lock knob.

Identity

Simply painted on the middle of the barrel near the focus window.

Internals

Seem like all metal!

Moisture Seal at Mount

No.

Mount

Dull chromed metal.

Markings

Paint.

Serial Number

Engraved and filled with paint on the rear bottom of the barrel near the aperture ring, on Nikon.

Date Code

None found.

Noises When Shaken

Once you remember to snug-down the filter and tripod collar lock, only the slightest clicking from the diaphragm mechanism.

Made in

Japan.

Sharpness

To my pleasant surprise, this super speed Tokina is sharp all over on my 36 MP Nikon D810. Bravo!

Be careful, it has spherochromatism, which will lead to color fringes on things that are not in perfect focus.

Obviously a 300mm f/2.8 has such shallow depth of field that almost nothing is in perfect focus at f/2.8, but what is in focus is super sharp.

Image Stabilizer & Vibration Reduction

It has no VR or IS, but since the weight is concentrated at the front of the lens, this works with the weight of your camera body at the rear to have a lot of polar inertia which tends to stabilize the whole camera and lens system, giving much sharper images than you'd expect.

This is a huge advantage of this lens over lightweight plastic 300mm zooms; it's self-stabilizing.

Hold it around the front, not in the middle, and it works very well.

Sunstars

The traditional 7-bladed diaphragm ought to create great 14-pointed sunstars, at least on the Nikon version. Other versions may have different diaphragms.

Spherochromatism

Spherochromatism, also called "color bokeh" by laymen, can cause colored fringes on slightly out-of-focus highlights, usually seen as green fringes on backgrounds and magenta fringes on foregrounds.

It is an advanced form of chromatic aberration in a different dimension than lateral color. Spherochromatism is most commonly seen in fast lenses of moderate focal length when shooting contrasty items at full aperture. It goes away as stopped down.

As expected for a long, fast lens, this 300/2.8 has moderately strong spherochromatism. You will probably see colored fringes on contrasty objects that are just a little bit out of focus.

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