Or that good? Lovely presentation, but a little loose with the facts.
SZ-X is not Tokina's "best", as he put it. AT-X is their top line. Below
AT-X, Tokina has produced a bewildering array of labels. SZ-X is
apparently one of the better lines, at least sometimes. I'm trying out a
35-200/4-5.6 SZ-X because it has its 1:4 highest magnification at 200mm,
rather than the widest fl, like many zooms. So far, it hasn't really
impressed me on a few casual shots, but I haven't given up on it. From
the name, it would appear at first glance that the lens on *Bay is from
the same series. But, even though it is an "SZ-X", it is not the same
grade. The giveaway is in 2 places. First, there is not a red ring
around the lens somewhere near the front. Second, it doesn't have the
letters "SD" on the front ring after the word "Tokina". Those are the
way Tokina shows that a lens has at least 1 SD glass element (Other
makers call this ED glass or some other designation. By whatever name,
it is more expensive and allows better performance.)
Probably a perfectly decent lens, but nothing special. I personally
would pass.
If real close-ups are important to you, be aware that manufacturers
throw arond the term "macro" with little definition. Many zooms, like
this one, claim to be macro with a maximum repro ratio of 1:4. 1:4 is
pretty good, much better than a lot of zooms, but not really macro for
many of us.
1:4 means that a US quarter would be 1/4 the height of the frame at
closest focus. The Tamron SP 60-300 has a max. repro ratio of 1:1.55, so
a quarter would fill 65% of the height of the frame. The Tokina AT-X
50-250 goes to 1:1.4, and the quarter would fill 71% of the height of
the frame, about 3 times larger than 1:4. My bet is that either of these
lenses would be much better overall than the one you ask about. As would
other SP or ST-X lenses in this range. I have more experience with the
SP 60-300 and, like others here, am very impressed with its performance.
Here is a shot taken with it wide open at 300mm
<http://www.geocities.com/dreammoose/TechMisc/>.
Moose
Ali Shah wrote:
>The following is up on Eb*y. Item # 3840648919. Doesnt seem that bad...your
>
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