Thefocallengthmightnotbeideal
forclose-ups,buttheclose
focusingdistanceof28cmand
wideapertureoff/2.8helpswhen
youneedtoshootin thisway
Canon EOS 5DS R, 1/500sec at f/2.8, ISO 100
Aswe’dexpectfromsuchan
optic,lateralchromaticaberrationis
visible,butit canbeeasily
removedduringpost-processing
Canon EOS 5DS R, 1/60sec at f/11, ISO 100‘Thefocussystemisgoodbut not quite spectacular’lessof a concernfora lenssuchasthis
oneovera portrait-focusedoptic,
althoughtherelativelywideaperturedoesat
leastopenit toblurringbackgrounds,aswellas
fornight-timeworkwheretheremaybesmall
out-of-focuspointsof light.Tokinadoesn’t
specificallymentiona roundeddiaphragm
here,butthisis madeupof nineblades,which
is encouraging.
Thelens’sfocusingringis designedwiththe
OneTouchFocusClutchmechanismcommon
tomanyTokinalenses.Thisnegatesa switch
forchangingbetweenautofocusandmanual
focus– yousimplypullthefocusingring
towardsyoutoentermanualfocusandpush
it awayfromyoutoengageautofocus.
There’snoimagestabilisationsysteminside
thelens,andthisisn’tincludedin theDSLR
cameras for which the lens is designed,althoughNikonZ-seriesusersdobenefitfrom
thistechnologyin theircameras,shouldthey
choosetomountthislensvia the FTZ adapter.Buildandhandling
Thedesignis consistentwithsimilarwide-
aperture,wide-zoomoptics,in thatit hasa
large,bulbousfrontelementencircledby
anintegratedpetal-shapedhoodanda more
slenderbarreltowardstherear.Tokinahas
donewelltokeepit relativelystreamlined,
butit remainsonthelargeandweightyside.
Theexternallayoutis muchthesameasthe
A-TXPROlens.Thezoomringis positioned
closertotherearof thelens,whilethefocus
ringsitsaheadof it justbeforethehood.As
is generallythecaseonsuchlenses,a small
focus-distancewindowhasbeenfashioned
into the barrel in between the two.Boththezoomandfocusringarerubberised
andarefinelygroovedtoimprovegrip.The
focusingringis nicelydamped,andwhilethe
zoomringis noticeablymoreresistant,thisis
understandablewhenyouconsiderthatit has
toshiftmoreglass.
Focusitselfis internal,whichmeansthat
thelensstaysthesamelengthregardlessof
itsfocusedposition,althoughthefrontelement
doesmovebackandforthasthefocallengthis
adjusted.Theprotrusionof thefixedlenshood,
however,meansthatthiselementremains
protectedat alltimes.Thelackof a filterthread
meansthatround,front-mountedfilters
can’tbeused,althoughtherearealternative
solutionssuchastheLEEFiltersSW150
MarkII systemandSTC’sClip-infilters.
Bythestandardof moregeneral-purpose
andlighterlenses,thefocusingsystemis good
butnotquitespectacularin termsof itsspeed.
Thatsaid,thisis oftenthecasewithheavy
wideanglelenses,andif you’replanningon
usingthisforlandscapesorothertripod-based
subjects,thiswon’tbeanissueat all.Perhaps
notsurprisingly,focusingspeedalsoappearsto
beinfluencedbythehostbody;ontheCanon
EOS5DSR,withwhichit wastested,the
systemis goodif a littlehesitant,although
mountingit onthenewerEOSR viatheEF
adaptershowedit tobea littlemoresprightly.
Whilethelensresidesin a premiumlensline,
it doesn’tclaimanykindof weather-resistance.
It’sa pitywhenyouconsiderthelikelihoodof
the lens being used for landscapes and other