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Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.

Explore the world of vintage lenses through repair notes, real test shots, and detailed archive threads packed with images.
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RMC Tokina 3.5/17 on Sony A7
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:15 pm
Post subject: RMC Tokina 3.5/17 on Sony A7
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:15 pm
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There's been a lot of talk about (ultra) wide-angle lenses and their performance on the Sony A7, especially with rangefinder lenses. I feared a bit that this would spoil my fun with the A7 and that i'd need a modification even when only using normal SLR lenses.
The Tokina 17mm is a normal SLR lens and i think it performs well on the A7!

I took it with me on the sunday walk and made some shots, no.5 is a crop of the far left edge out of pic no. 4.

1.
Tokina 17mm on A7 no.1 by René Maly, on Flickr

2.
Tokina 17mm on A7 no.2 by René Maly, on Flickr

3.
Tokina 17mm on A7 no.3 by René Maly, on Flickr

4.
Tokina 17mm on A7 no.4 by René Maly, on Flickr

5.
Left edge of no.4 by René Maly, on Flickr


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:25 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:25 pm
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Looks good!
I have the lens and I'm pleased with its performance. There is a bit of distortion that I can live with.
Also I have to take care of vignette. It's your case too.


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:56 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 2:56 pm
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One interesting thing, Rene:

That same shot which you show the edge, I looked at the full and the opposite edge:

Tokina 17mm on A7 no.4 by René Maly, on Flickr

The lens seems decentered if you compare the sharp left edge to the right.

The windmills really get soft as you move right, and the same effect is confirmed in the railing on the lower right.


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:06 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:06 pm
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uhoh7 wrote:
One interesting thing, Rene:

That same shot which you show the edge, I looked at the full and the opposite edge:

Tokina 17mm on A7 no.4 by René Maly, on Flickr

The lens seems decentered if you compare the sharp left edge to the right.

The windmills really get soft as you move right, and the same effect is confirmed in the railing on the lower right.

+1.

My copy are also suffered from decentering: the left side never gets sharp. Rolling Eyes


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:19 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:19 pm
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Distortion and vignetting: no problem, for me that's part of the character of this lens.

The other issue is quite interesting though!! I did not realise this, i chose the left edge because there's more to see than on the right edge.
Here are 3 more shots, first uncropped, second (left) and third (right) are the exact opposite edges. Well, i guess these old pieces of glass aren't all perfect then! But hey, i can live with it!

1.


2.


3.


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:45 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 3:45 pm
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Your look much better than mine. I can live with slight imperfection but it is not the case on my copy. Tuzki with lens


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:47 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 6:47 pm
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Interesting results. Can you post a couple photos of the lens?


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 7:15 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 7:15 pm
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invisible wrote:
Interesting results. Can you post a couple photos of the lens?


Thanks! Sure, here you go:
RMC Tokina 17mm f/3.5 by René Maly, on Flickr


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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 8:18 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2016 8:18 pm
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Those pics make me happy that I bought a few back in the days... Wink Wink Wink


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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 1:41 am
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 1:41 am
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TrueLoveOne wrote:
invisible wrote:
Interesting results. Can you post a couple photos of the lens?


Thanks! Sure, here you go:
RMC Tokina 17mm f/3.5 by René Maly, on Flickr

Thank you. Now I want one. There's two of them on ebay right now, but both are in Canon FD mount, and only one is in good shape ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/172058128911 ). I need one in Nikon Ai mount!


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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:32 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 12:32 pm
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invisible wrote:
TrueLoveOne wrote:
invisible wrote:
Interesting results. Can you post a couple photos of the lens?


Thank you. Now I want one. There's two of them on ebay right now, but both are in Canon FD mount, and only one is in good shape ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/172058128911 ). I need one in Nikon Ai mount!


I have two in Nikon mount (but will need to confirm that), you can have one if you like. PM me.


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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:56 am
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:56 am
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kds315* wrote:
invisible wrote:
TrueLoveOne wrote:
invisible wrote:
Interesting results. Can you post a couple photos of the lens?


Thank you. Now I want one. There's two of them on ebay right now, but both are in Canon FD mount, and only one is in good shape ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/172058128911 ). I need one in Nikon Ai mount!


I have two in Nikon mount (but will need to confirm that), you can have one if you like. PM me.

Well, I had started to consider buying a Tamron 17/3.5 instead, but if you're dead set on giving one of yours away, then that'd be an offer I couldn't refuse Wink


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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:18 am
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 5:18 am
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invisible wrote:
kds315* wrote:
invisible wrote:
TrueLoveOne wrote:
invisible wrote:
Interesting results. Can you post a couple photos of the lens?


Thank you. Now I want one. There's two of them on ebay right now, but both are in Canon FD mount, and only one is in good shape ( http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/172058128911 ). I need one in Nikon Ai mount!


I have two in Nikon mount (but will need to confirm that), you can have one if you like. PM me.

Well, I had started to consider buying a Tamron 17/3.5 instead, but if you're dead set on giving one of yours away, then that'd be an offer I couldn't refuse Wink


Can't locate my 2nd one, sorry Wink


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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 6:28 am
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 6:28 am
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invisible wrote:

Well, I had started to consider buying a Tamron 17/3.5 instead



I'd love to see some results from the Tamron Adaptall on a stock A7. Even so from the Rokkor 4/17, is it worth double the price?


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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:06 pm
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 8:06 pm
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I own a Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 but have no experience with the Tokina 17mm F3.5. What I know is that when these lenses were new, the Tamron cost more than double the Tokina:

Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 ......... £224
Tokina 17mm F3.5 ............... £108

Certainly the Tokina was/is a good lens, but the prices when new reflected the perception of the photographers of the time about the relative quality of the two lenses. The Tamron was aimed at the professional market, and it was a cheaper alternative to the Nikkor 18mm F4 (£420) and Canon 17mm F4 (£282). The Tokina, on the other hand, was intended for the amateur enthusiasts market. Nonetheless, it is good to remember that ultra wide-angle lenses were never cheap. At the time, one could buy a Summicron M 35mm F2 for £205.

Below a close-up shot with my Tamron 17mm F3.5 on a Sony A99, ISO 6400, focus distance 25cm.



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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:39 pm
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 9:39 pm
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I had both , Tamron sold , Tokina kept for longer term , none of them top lens , but none of them price in sky , so what you pay what you get is fair.
Tamron is more versatile due interchangeable mount perhaps that is all major difference I rate them more less to equal.

Tokina is a great inexpensive super wide option , best one what I know on low cost , bellow 500 USD.


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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 10:08 pm
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Posted: Tue Jan 12, 2016 10:08 pm
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The tokina is very good, I have three copies, one being a later AF AT-X version, none decentred as far as I can tell.

However, it's clear that ultra wide angles are where the most improvement has been made in recent times. The mid 90s Tokina 3.5-4.5/20-35 zoom illustrates that, it's better than 90% of older ultra wide primes.

One area the Tokina 17 really shines is BW film, especially architectural work in that medium. I'll have to dig out some of my old BW film work with one of my Tokina 17s.


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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:39 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 12:39 pm
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Interestingly, in pentaxforum.com the Tokina SL 17mm F3.5 has rating of 9.0 and average price of $95, whereas the Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 has rating of 7.25 and average price of $205.


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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 11:28 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 11:28 pm
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Gerald wrote:
What I know is that when these lenses were new, the Tamron cost more than double the Tokina:

Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 ......... £224
Tokina 17mm F3.5 ............... £108


Gerald wrote:
Interestingly, in pentaxforum.com the Tokina SL 17mm F3.5 has rating of 9.0 and average price of $95, whereas the Tamron SP 17mm F3.5 has rating of 7.25 and average price of $205.


I guess people are trying to recoup as much as possible of their original investment Wink


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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 2:15 pm
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Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 2:15 pm
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Nice results.

I have a Soligor 17/4 which I think is the same lens.

Works well enough imo too.
Esp given the price.


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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:42 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:42 pm
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Just received my Vivitar 17mm f 3.5 made by Tokina and wanted to try it in difficult conditions: facing the sun and infocus subject in corner (had to reduce definition to upload to 1600*1280, but did not modify anything):



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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:46 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:46 pm
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I have to add: picture taken by Sony A 6000 (APS-C) f 8.

The flowers are pretty sharp and the lens does flare and CA.
But pretty good overall


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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:56 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 1:56 pm
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There's a Tamron SP 17mm (adaptall lens) on it's way to me, could not resist at that price. Can't wait to shoot with it, i wonder how much better it will be compared to the Tokina.


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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 2:52 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 2:52 pm
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According to this link
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/comparisons/2010-08-10-17mm-sharpness/
The Tokina 17mm is not such a bad lens when compared to Nikons primes and zooms...actually sharper in the corners than the 4 Nikons (and AF Tokina) tested...
Obviously I don't know about Tamron and wish you the best.


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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:29 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 3:29 pm
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Antoine wrote:
Obviously I don't know about Tamron and wish you the best.


I really like my Tokina, i think the results above show why. Some say the Tamron is better, it was twice the price of the Tokina when new back then!
My experiences with other Tamron Adaptal lenses, especially the SP series, are quite good, but i've never used the 17mm before.

As soon as i've taken some pictures with it i will open a new topic and show my results!

Cheers, René!
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