Tokina AT-X 24-70mm F2.8 PRO FX

[Zoom] Wide-zoom | Standard-zoom | Tele-zoom | High-zoom  
[Fixed-focal] Wide angle | Standard | Telephoto | Macro

Tokina joins the heated competition of the F2.8 constant standard zoom lenses with this ambitious one using three glass-molded aspheric and three ultra-low dispersion glass elements to pursue the best image quality. Rendition is very sharp wide open and bokeh is nice and natural. So, you can focus on shooting without worrying about the change in rendition according to aperture.

( Photography & Text : T.Takahashi )

At F10, wide open. This is a scene with the direct sunshine through the light and a scene like this best reveals the potential of a lens. The soft sky tone and the detail of the clouds look realistic. Also, the resolution of the ripples on the calm ocean and the outline of the ship is very high. And, the 3D separation of the three people in front is outstanding.

The scene of the storehouse has a big luminance gap between the light passing through the trees and the dark forest. Yet, the reproduction of shadow and highlight is wonderful. By shooting wide open, I could get this soft rendition, which expresses the atmosphere of the scene very well.

Wide-end, wide open. The bokeh around the sharp rice stalks is so gentle and creamy. This bokeh quality at close distance is unexpectedly high for 24mm focal length and it temps me to get close to subjects.

Realistic texture reproduction of the fresh cut Muscat grape, cream, and mint on the roll cake. The rich shadow tone around the table makes the dish pop out. Thanks to the short 38cm minimum focus distance, you can shoot things on the table easily.

Focused on the door handle. The bokeh is soft on this image, too. Despite the high-key, the tonal reproduction is great and the clarity is high, making the sunshine look pleasantly bright.

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How about some Japanese shots? The focused water surface has a great 3D quality thanks to the soft front/back bokeh. And, it even expresses the dignified atmosphere, proving the high optical performance.

Even an ordinary tatami mat looks special because of the excellent reproduction of the texture and the smooth gradation between light and shadow.

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These cranes looked like giraffes in the prairie. Check the high resolution of the wires and iron frames. The rendition of the dim light is sweet, too.

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A F2.8 constant standard zoom lens is a dream lens and manufacturers produce excellent ones with their own characters. This one from Tokina is sharp wide open, and the resolution is outstanding at smaller apertures. And, the contrast and shadow tone are amazing. It doesn't have image stabilization, but the image quality outweighs its absence. It's a fairly big lens, but the weight balance with the EOS 5D body was so great that I didn't feel it was heavy. The one-touch focus clutch mechanism and the intuitive operability are specialties of Tokina who always gives serious consideration to users' perspective. And, the quiet and brisk AF let me focus on shooting. You can't go wrong with this standard zoom lens and it will let you discover the new world.

( 28.10.2015 )