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Tokina exhibits 70-200mm F4 FX and 12-28mm F4 DX lenses at CP+

Jan 29, 2013 at 11:53:21 GMT

CAMERA NEWS LENSES TOKINA

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Tokina has announced it will be exhibiting two soon-to-be-released lenses at the CP+ trade show in Japan. The AT-X 70-200 F4 PRO FX VCM-S is a telephoto zoom that's designed for use on both full frame and APS-C SLRs, and features both optical image stabilisation and a ring-type ultrasonic autofocus motor with full-time manual override. Meanwhile the AT-X 12-28 F4 PRO DX is a replacement for the company's existing 12-24mm F4 wideangle zoom for APS-C cameras. But rather than making the lens wider to match its competitors, Tokina has chosen to extend it further into the 'normal' range, to give an 18-42mm equivalent zoom.

The 70-200mm F4 was first shown as a mock-up at CP+ last year (click here for link). It appears that the version on display this year is fully-working, and will be released to the market soon. There's no information yet on pricing and availability, or even which mounts the lenses will be made for (historically Tokina has produced lenses in Canon and Nikon versions, and most recently the 11-16mm F2.8 in Sony fit too).

Click here for the announcement on Tokina's Japanese-language website

Tokina AT-X 70-200mm F4 PRO FX VCM-S

Tokina AT-X 12-28mm F4 PRO DX

Specifications

	AT-X 70-200 F4 PRO FX VCM-S	AT-X 12-28 F4 PRO DX
Focal length	70-200mm	12-28mm
Angle of view	34.5° - 12.4°	99.4° - 54.7°
Maximum aperture	F4	F4
Minimum aperture	F22	F22
Maximum format size	35mm full frame	APS-C / DX
Optical configuration	19 elements / 14 groups	14 elements / 12 groups
Minimum focus distance	1.0m	0.25m
Maximim magnification	0.28x	0.20x
Filter thread	67mm	77mm
Dimensions	82mm dia x 167.5mm length	84mm dia x 90.2mm length
Weight	1020g	600g

Tokina AT-X 12-28mm f/4 Pro DX

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Comments

Total comments: 53

The AT-X 12-28 f4 looks like a heck of a fine lens based on these samples.

http://www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/tokina/ogawa/atx12-28.html

0 upvotes

Looks like another non product to me.

0 upvotes

The 70-200mm f4 is about one-third heavier than the Canon equivalent. It will have to be cheap to make it attractive.

0 upvotes

No. It will have to perform well and be *less expensive* to make it attractive. And at $1200 for the Canon that leaves quite a lot of room.

Comment edited 38 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

The 70-200 f/4 seems like a competitive product next to the Nikon offering. I hope this means they will also update the little brother, the excellent DX 50-135 f/2.8 with VR. Now that is a stunning lens on DX.

The 12-28 is another obsolete lens on DX compared to the 11-16 f/2.8. With the 11-200mm range covered with excellent f/2.8 zooms (11-16, 17-55, 50-135, 70-200), and 35-50-85mm covered with excellent primes, DX needs some wide angle primes to be revived. With no fast 18 and 24mm DX primes, the system is dead compared to FX and MFT. MFT has 12, 14, 17 and 20mm primes.

0 upvotes

Recently ordered a Nikon 16-35 VR over the 70-200 F4 VR, as I wanted to wait for something solid from Tokina. Here it comes. However, the retail price might not be competitive looking at the weight (cost can be high).

0 upvotes

Stick with the Nikon 70-200 f4 VR. It's an excellent lens, and unlike the Tokina, it has a tripod collar.

I've always liked Tokina lenses, but really am puzzled by the omission of a lens collar on their 70-200 f/4.

1 upvote

28mm on a Canon is real close to 50mm equivalent (45mm) so that could be a very versatile lens. The problem with a lot of ultrawides is that they leave you lens swapping a lot because they are too wide even zoomed in. This gives you a nice normal focal length to use without swapping.

1 upvote

12-28 F4 DX. This is worth a look.

0 upvotes

well, 12-28 is more sensible than keep trying to go wider and wider still . Now we will have to see how Canon and Nikon come about with their D7000, D300, and 60D , 7D replacements. The like of what recent mirrorless bodies and the D5200 really push the envelope.

1 upvote

any quesses on pricing of the 70-200?

0 upvotes

Slightly cheaper than Nikons new 70 200 F4 I should think.

0 upvotes

Given the original 12-24 was co-designed with Pentax, and the Pentax lens roadmap shows a similar range lens, is it possible that the 12-28 is also co-designed with Pentax? http://www.pentax.jp/english/products/lens/K_Mount_Lens.pdf

0 upvotes

Pentax took out a patent a couple of years ago for a 12-35 that was either F4 or F3.5-4.5 I can't remember which. I would be interested in that range even more than a 12-28.

0 upvotes

By extending 12-24mm to 12-28mm they want it to be like a walk around lens, but it does not have VR/VC for some reason.

0 upvotes

Canon and Nikon make cameras that would be walk around cameras, but for some reason they don't include VR/VC on the sensor.

; )

1 upvote

Why isn't there a tripod mounting foot and collar for this rather large and heavy lens? Even my much smaller and lighter Tokina 50-135 f2.8 has one Hopefully the final version of this lens will have one as well, otherwise this lens becomes a real mount puller!
- Jon

1 upvote

Yes, for such a heavy lens a tripod collar really should be available.
Hopefully they will change the design or else it will not be attractive to many people.

0 upvotes

There may be one. Look at the lens. There's a focus ring and a zoom ring, but then there's a third ring near the lens mount, with an indicator mark for the landscape orientation. I doubt it's an aperture ring...

0 upvotes

AND the 70-200mm will be great IF it has a very fast, silent, autofocus motor.

The press info suggests it will have a ring type Ultrasonic AF motor, so that sounds good. But will it have ED glass???

Comment edited 2 times, last edit 8 minutes after posting

0 upvotes

The 12-28 is quite interesting in deed; that extra 4 mm range might prove to be useful. Sort of a combination of the 11-16 & 16-28 (or really just a slight extension/upgrade of the 12-24, having f/4 instead of f/2.8).

The 70-200 is quite heavy, especially compared to the e.g. Nikkor 4/VR and even more so compared to the similar Canon 4/IS. Let's hope the Tokina is well built and that the price is right. Could be tight to squeeze it in between the other third party 2.8 and original lenses though.

Comment edited 1 minute after posting

3 upvotes

Although a bit heavy for an f4, the 70-200 would be a great option for Sony folks, if priced right. Currently there are only huge/expensive f2.8 choices on that range from Sony, Sigma and Tamron.

2 upvotes

The Tamron 70-200/2.8 is 1112g/201mm vs this Tokina lens at 1020g/168mm, so barely any size/weight gain.

0 upvotes

@EarthQuake

The new Tamron 70-200 VC is 1470g, and like the non-VC Tamron, has a 77mm filter thread. So it's considerably more bulky.

The 70-200 f4 lenses from Canon, Nikon, and now Tokina have 67mm filter threads and are only 167 to 177mm (6.5 to 7") long. A lot more compact than the typical 70-200 2.8.

0 upvotes

I would be surprised if it comes in a Sony mount option.

0 upvotes

Mmm probably Tokina is using their usual built-like-a-tank material for the 70-200mm F4 since it not much lighter than some of the 70-200mm f2.8 out there.

1 upvote

Black stabilized 70-200/4 in EF mount? Oh, I will be tempted.

Comment edited 12 seconds after posting

0 upvotes

Well the Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L (with or without IS) is a very!!! highly-rated lens.

Not sure why the Tokina would be more attractive ... except for the color, and maybe the price?

0 upvotes

Because I have Canon's 7-2 and I hate the color.

0 upvotes

FF 70-200 f4 (APSC/DX FF FoV: 105-300 f4*)
APSC 12-28 f4 (FF FoV: 18-42 f4*)

Sigma with:
Canon EF-mount PLUS Metabone x0.71 Speedbooster (Option for NEX folks):
FF 70-200 f4 x0.71 = 49.7-142 f2.8 x1.5NEX-APSC = 75-213mm f2.8*
APSC 12-28 f4 x0.71 = 8.52-20 f2.8 x1.5NEX-APSC = 13-30mm f2.8*

hmmm...
Light EQ (not DoF EQ):*
*f4
*f2.8

0 upvotes

You seem to have missed the fact that lenses designed for APS-C SLRs will vignette heavily when used on a NEX with the Speed Booster adapter (Tokina lenses won't AF either). So forget putting the 12-28mm on it, it won't work any better than it would on a full frame SLR.

6 upvotes

LOL....AW....i have given up trying to tell people this....They just really really are not getting it.

0 upvotes

Any idea what mounts? I'm guessing Canon Nikon for sure. Pentax and Sony?

0 upvotes

does tokina know something we don't? why f4???

0 upvotes

Same reason as Canon and Nikon both make F4 zooms, presumably. Because they're smaller, lighter, and cheaper, and not everything is shot at in low light or at F2.8.

14 upvotes

Because Sigma and Tamron already make F2.8, while at F4 there are no third party options.

1 upvote

And high ISO performance of bodies are better now.
I love this brand.

0 upvotes

F4 is a gooD walk around wild life lens. Sigmas 100-300 F4 was AWESOME to have.

0 upvotes

I know. My Canon mount 100-300/4 is almost my most used lens.

0 upvotes

FINALLY!

Been waiting a year for the Tokina 70-200 f4.

Eagerly awaiting pricing and IQ.

If I shot more in this range on DX I'd get the Nikon f4, but if this comes in considerably cheaper, I'l pounce.

I have the Tokina 12-24 f4 II and it's a very good lens -- built like a tank, very good IQ. I wouldn't upgrade unless there's a huge improvement in IQ, which seems unlikely.

4 upvotes

AFAIK, the 70-200 f4 is Tokina's first lens with Vibration Reduction, which is definitely a good thing.

It doesn't seem to have a tripod collar which is surprising considering the 70-200 f4 Nikkor is close to 200g lighter, and has a collar.

Could be a great lens but there's a lot of competition at this focal length with the recent f4 and 2.8 announcements from Nikon and Tamron.

2 upvotes

You have to pay extra for the collar on the Nikkor. It does not come with the lens.

0 upvotes

So? You have to pay extra but at least it's an option. The Tokina doesn't seem to have a place to mount even a 3rd party lens collar. This is a serious problem that limits the usability of the lens.

1 upvote

The wide zoom is apparently new but the telezoom looks exactly like the one they showed a year ago under a slightly different name: http://www.photographyblog.com/news/tokina_at-x_pro_sd_70-200mm_f_4_if_fx/

0 upvotes

Last year the lens was described as a mock-up. This year, it appears to be fully working.

1 upvote

indeed, and another 6 months for price release and then another 6 months to reach the stores..

0 upvotes

The 70-200 F4 FX could be a contender against the Nikon F4 version if it is significantly cheaper. I await the pricing with baited breath, otherwise it's back to perusing endless Nikon 70-300 vr reviews and wondering if that will suffice...

1 upvote

It's going to have to be one heck of a lens to compete with the f4 Nikkor. Personally, the lack of a tripod collar is a deal breaker on such a lens.

2 upvotes

Same story with Canon. The 70-200 F4 L IS is considered one of the sharpest zooms ever made.

I think it will have a collar. Wait for the final specs before declaring a broken deal.

Comment edited 52 seconds after posting

1 upvote

Both of these look interesting, the 12-28mm is especially useful for crop sensor cameras as all too often find that with UWA while super wide, as soon as you want something even remotely normal you have to switch lenses. A very interesting focal range...

Any word on which mounts these will be available for?

1 upvote

agree, great range... I hope the price will be near the actual 12-24... with some CA reductions...

0 upvotes

I think that lens flare is more annoying with the recent tokina,s hope they did something about that as well..... altough I realy like my AT-X PRO 11-16 and 100 mm makro 2,8 Lenses

0 upvotes

Hopefully it will come in at under $1000.00
Then it will be competitive. I am sure Tokina is very well aware of the Nikkor price.

0 upvotes

Total comments: 53


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