> I Just got some more Tokina Glass. Congratulations, Ryan. Tokina has produced some fine glass in its AT-X lenses.
> The Tokina 150 - 500mm f5.6 ATX SD manual focus Zoom lens, brand > new with warranty and everything for $400.00 US !!! It has a 95mm > filter front ! Yee Ha ! "Yee Ha !" (?) - <g>. > I already own the 100-300mm f4 ATX SD, the Tokina 80-200mm f2.8 AF > ATX PRO, and the 28-80mm f2.8 AF ATX PRO. I LOVE THEM ALL. I've also owned a few specimens of fine AT-X glass: 35-70/2.8, 60-120/2.8, 80-200/2.8, 100-300/4, and 150-500/5.6. Currently, though, I only have the 60-120/2.8 (two copies). > Does anyone else have the Tokina 150-500mm f5.6 ATX ? > If so, what do you think of it? I used to have one of these critters. It's mechanically very well built (as are/were all the other AT-X lenses I had/have). It's very heavy, of course, but it is actually hand-holdable even at 400mm-500mm in bright light (if not for too long - it ~is~ heavy), although you'll use that tripod socket for serious shooting a lot. It has decent contrast (but maybe not as high as with the other AT-x's I've used), and it has pretty good resolution up to about 300mm or so, but I found that it gets somewhat soft at 400mm-500mm. The push-on/fall-off front lens cap is a nuisance - it can't be relied upon to stay on and protect the lens when in the field. (I picked up a machined aluminum 95mm screw-in Nikon lens cap - the only Nikon gear I've ever owned - which was much nicer for protecting that 95mm front glass. By the way, the "fancy" Pentax A 2X-L TC will fit this lens (although the A 1.4X-L TC will not). I sold my copy of the 150-500/5.6 design when I got my A* 600/5.6 lens, which sort of made the AT-X a little redundant (since I used it mostly at the long end of its zoom range, anyway). Enjoy your new lens. It'll be fun - <g>. A Fellow Pentaxer, Fred - This message is from the Pentax-Discuss Mail List. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.pdml.net and follow the directions. Don't forget to visit the Pentax Users' Gallery at http://pug.komkon.org .
