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New Toy: Tokina ATX SD 400mm f5.6

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bgalb

bgalb

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Yup. Just paid too much for a pristine 400mm lens on ebay.







Tested it on small birds in my back yard today to see if it was going to be worth keeping. The day was cold, cloudy, with snow and I shot thru by basement storm door glass as usual in this weather. All shots (shown in next post) were at exactly 11 feet. Shooting at f8, 1/160 with a wireless bounce flash outside the door. There WILL be a learning curve using this lens!
 

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Here are some bird shots taken with the lens on tripod with IBIS on (I know what they say about IBIS and tripods). Focusing was difficult and had to be precise. DOF at 11 feet was 0.6 inches, so you can see that 11 feet is way too close with this lens. DOF 2.04 inches at 20 feet, 3.24 inches at 25 feet, 4.7 inches at 30 feet, and 30 inches at 75 feet. Looks like 25 feet is good for small birds and 50 t0 75 feet for Ducks.

























Looks like some fun times ahead learning to manual focus (possibly hand held, but I doubt it) this lens come warm weather.
 

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I love the Jay especially! I'll bet you can't wait for good weather and some 'proper' shooting forays! Enjoy! And thanks for turning me green with envy....
 
SwatOx said:
SwatOx wrote:

I love the Jay especially! I'll bet you can't wait for good weather and some 'proper' shooting forays! Enjoy! And thanks for turning me green with envy....
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The guy I bought it from said he had it rechipped last year to bring the autofocus up to current standards. It's not as good as a faster, long Nikon lens, but it is much lighter and makes me idly think of picking up a (cheap) used Nikon body to take advantage of the autofocus. Probably won't, though.
 
I'm presuming this is manual focus and if it is you have got boht good technique and a good lens there, excellent results, particluarly under the coditions you describe.

I look forward to seeing what this can do in good light

(I'm keeping IS/1 on when shooting with my manual focus long lenses on the EM-5 off the monopod and tripod, seems to work OK for me too)
 
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I have read some reviews on this lens, but otherwise know little about it. Can you tell me why the lens has two sets of f number markings at the base? I haven't tried to focus it at infinity yet, so don't know how that will work with the Rainbow Imaging Nikon to MFT adapter I am using with it.
 
At 1/160 these are EXCELLENT !!. Fine shots and especially under those conditions. Good sharpness and contrasts. If I can hand hold a 500 F/4.5, then the 400 F/5.6 should be a breeze in decent daylight. Thats a pretty light weight lens, so you should have no issue at anything over 1/2000 at ISO 200, but yes you need good daylight. Looking at these, no problem and congrats on a great lens :-)

All the best and looking darn good.

Danny.
 
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When used with the Nikon cameras these were originally made for (not the newer models, but way back when, the only one that comes to mind at this moment is the F4), there was a little window underneath the overhang of the viewfinder box that would show you the Aperture setting through the viewfinder. The second set of numbers were for setting Aperture without looking through the viewfinder.
 
DerpyWebber said:
DerpyWebber wrote:

When used with the Nikon cameras these were originally made for (not the newer models, but way back when, the only one that comes to mind at this moment is the F4), there was a little window underneath the overhang of the viewfinder box that would show you the Aperture setting through the viewfinder. The second set of numbers were for setting Aperture without looking through the viewfinder.
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After seeing those shots, I have to ask "what learning curve", since you are obtaining great photos.
 
Thanks. I am a big fan of your bird photos. Also envy your location!!
 
These captures are beautiful.

I am sure you will have an enjoyable summer ahead.

How heavy is this lens? I checked the Tokina web site but could not find any details.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Try it handheld with the EM5. You will be pleasantly surprised at the stabilisation , even with a long lens (be sure to set the lens length in the camera). Handheld operation is not just possible, but, I think, often preferable , for flying birds, fast developing scenes, or just more comfort while hiking. That's an advantage the EM5 has over any Nikon body you can find, an advantage that may equal or more having AF.
 
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bgalb said:
bgalb wrote:

Here are some bird shots taken with the lens on tripod with IBIS on (I know what they say about IBIS and tripods). Focusing was difficult and had to be precise. DOF at 11 feet was 0.6 inches, so you can see that 11 feet is way too close with this lens. DOF 2.04 inches at 20 feet, 3.24 inches at 25 feet, 4.7 inches at 30 feet, and 30 inches at 75 feet. Looks like 25 feet is good for small birds and 50 t0 75 feet for Ducks.

























Looks like some fun times ahead learning to manual focus (possibly hand held, but I doubt it) this lens come warm weather.
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nice shots and a massive toy mounted in an OMD :)

--
reygon
----------------------------------------------------------------
Take nothing but photos... Kill nothing but time... Leave nothing but footprints...
 
are you using the small flash that comes with the kit to trigger the external flash or have you found a 3rd party trigger? (if so, which make?)
 
Outstanding detail and OOF rendering.

This reminds me, I have to find a Canon user that can help set my EOS 400/5.6 to f7.1 before spring arrives. You know, thoughts like this occur when inspired by work such as this. [g]
 
The pictures look really good, you made a good buy. Enjoy it.
 
Brian Wadie said:
Brian Wadie wrote:

are you using the small flash that comes with the kit to trigger the external flash or have you found a 3rd party trigger? (if so, which make?)
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I use a Pixel wireless flash controller that uses RF signal ($25-30 on ebay). I have a walkout basement with a covered patio and the flash sits on a tripod under the patio cover about 7 feet from my bird feeders. I have a 4'x8' aluminum foil faced insulation board attached to the ceiling as a bounce for the flash with a white card reflector on the flash to send part of the light direct. Flash and camera are set up all manual. It takes several test shots to get the right exposure. This location faces west and is highly backlit most of the day, so the flash is nearly always necessary as fill.
 
KrisPix said:
KrisPix wrote:

These captures are beautiful.

I am sure you will have an enjoyable summer ahead.

How heavy is this lens? I checked the Tokina web site but could not find any details.

Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...
 
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