Home

Please support mflenses.com if you need any graphic related work order it from us, click on above banner to order!
SearchSearch MemberlistMemberlist RegisterRegister ProfileProfile Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages Log inLog in

Tokina 300mm f/6.3 Reflex Macro
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
View previous topic :: View next topic  


PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 9:41 pm    Post subject: Tokina 300mm f/6.3 Reflex Macro Reply with quote
Given my interest in mirror lenses, getting this one was just a matter of when. I received it last week, took it out this weekend, and I am very happy with its performance. Finding worthy subjects was more challenging.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8065375363


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8065376094

For those looking for a quality mirror lens, this is it. Thanks Tokina!


PostPosted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
are those crops or original size photos?


PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 1:36 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
WolverineX wrote:
are those crops or original size photos?


They are not cropped. This lens focuses down to 80cm, so it offers up to 1:2 magnification - this is what justifies the macro denomination.


PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 6:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
nice. that's that new mirror for m43?


PostPosted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 1:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very interesting, what's the MFD? Looks like a great bug-hunter.


PostPosted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 10:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
fuzzywuzzy wrote:
Very interesting, what's the MFD?


80cm. I reviewed it here. I took more shots recently - I will upload them over the next few weeks.


PostPosted: Tue Nov 13, 2012 6:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
Here are a couple more samples. First one was shot at over 7 miles distance and I converted it to B&W because colors were faint due to haze.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8181271690


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8181271642


PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 12:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Very interesting bokeh - looks unique on the "cactus" picture!


PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 6:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
GaborF wrote:
Very interesting bokeh - looks unique on the "cactus" picture!

'unique' is one word to describe it, 'drunk' is another Laughing


PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 7:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
GaborF wrote:
Very interesting bokeh - looks unique on the "cactus" picture!


It's what you can get when the background is busy and too close to the foreground. Lots of small donuts there.

Here's one more set:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8184011067


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8184010997


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8184047218


PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 9:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
nice results. the bokeh is a little funky, but thats to be expected with a mirror.


PostPosted: Wed Nov 14, 2012 10:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Excellent images! They make me want to buy this lens. I am however worried about just how sharp this lens really is. A lot of the reviews I've seen tend to criticise it rather a lot. The resolution test below is taken from this review. The measure the resolution at something like 800 LW/PH



Comparing with their review of the Panasonic 100-300mm lens, the measure the central resolution to be about 1200 LW/PH (falling to the level of the Tokina mirror at the edges).



On that basis, the Tokina can hardly be considered "razor sharp". I too would like to see full size versions of some of your images to better judge the real sharpness.

Mark


PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 3:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
SXR_Mark wrote:
Excellent images!


Thanks.

SXR_Mark wrote:
They make me want to buy this lens. I am however worried about just how sharp this lens really is.


I had seen that review before and I thought that the Tokina fared well in that comparison of 100% crops with the 75-300. Most differences there could come from shooting the Tokina at a higher ISO - note that the background is noisier. That kind of differences would require very large prints to notice. In the end, I think your choice will be determined more by whether you want a zoom, AF, and no donuts than by the relative sharpness. The images from mirror lenses sharpen very well so with a little PP you will get similar performance from a smaller package.

Here's an unprocessed 100% crop from the first image I posted, where I used a tripod:



And here's an unprocessed 100% crop from a handheld portrait:



There is plenty of detail to work with in these. The main challenge will be to use this lens to its full potential because 300mm is very tricky to handhold on MFT.


PostPosted: Thu Nov 15, 2012 3:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
hifisapi wrote:
nice results.


Thank you!

A B&W set:


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8187341646


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8186298657


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8186298617


http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurentiucristofor/8187341544


PostPosted: Fri Nov 16, 2012 7:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
@ Laurentiu Cristofor

Thank you for posting the crops. I agree with your assessment of the merits of this lens. I have several mirror lenses and they can never quite match the ultimate sharpness of a good refractor, but in the real world sharpness is limited by handling and precise focusing. In skilled hands (like yours!) remarkable results are possible. I think the fact the Tokina has a chip that triggers the auto-magnification on the camera will be a real asset in getting correct focus.

Also, the B&W set is great. Who would have thought a 300mm lens could be so versatile!

Mark


PostPosted: Sat Nov 17, 2012 6:46 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
SXR_Mark wrote:
Thank you for posting the crops. I agree with your assessment of the merits of this lens. I have several mirror lenses and they can never quite match the ultimate sharpness of a good refractor, but in the real world sharpness is limited by handling and precise focusing. In skilled hands (like yours!) remarkable results are possible. I think the fact the Tokina has a chip that triggers the auto-magnification on the camera will be a real asset in getting correct focus.

Also, the B&W set is great. Who would have thought a 300mm lens could be so versatile!


You're welcome and thank you for your kind words. One thing that I like about mirror lenses is that they don't have much of a problem with CA - this is the part that worries me a bit about the refractor designs. The price is good too. And I like that this Tokina focuses close - the zooms focus down to only 1.5m.

About the chip - I found out that I actually prefer to trigger the magnification myself - just got used to it and I don't have to wonder about how much it would stay on. Might come in handy sometime, but for now I turned the feature off. I do like that I get EXIF information recorded - not that it changes much between shots Smile
Post new topic   Reply to topic
Home   Manual Focus Lenses
Page 1 of 1