Tokina AF 100mm F/2.8 Macro at-X 100AF PRO D - Nikon

I received the lens today, and was a little concerned about the condition of the Tokina box - one corner had that crinkly-crushed look (small, but still...), and the top flap was popped out of the box. After opening it, however, the lens appeared to be in pristine condition.One sour note was that this did NOT come with a USA warranty from wikideals, but I figured it was no big deal with Amazon's return/exchange policy, which is great.Took the lens for a quick test drive on my D7100... autofocus worked like a charm. The limiter switch made focusing in telephoto mode nearly instantaneous and virtually silent. Macro focus was fairly quick as well, albeit a bit noisy in comparison to telephoto focusing. Not LOUD, mind you, but fairly audible as compared to my Tokina 12-28 and Nikon 55-200.All my daylight shots were taken at ISO 100, with varying F-stops. Initial macro shots were pretty good - I was very pleased for handheld results. I couldn't see any sharpness issues that I could distinguish from depth-of-field issues.Telephoto shots were encouraging, but not quite as sharp as I'd expected.I withheld judgement on both macro and telephoto until I was able to get the camera and lens at home (I was shooting at work), and do some auto-focus fine-tuning using a very handy chart I've been using on all my lenses. As it turned out, I needed to adjust the auto-focus fine-tuning to a -8 setting for this lens to reach top performance. (Not a surprise - Ken Rockwell had mentioned he needed a -10 on his D7000 and a -7 on his D3.)FYI, I also checked DXOMark and compared like lenses before choosing this one, so my sharpness expectations were set pretty high... especially so, since my Tokina F/4 12-28mm DX lens is incredibly sharp at 28mm. (There's minor softness in the corners at 12mm if you pixel-peep.) In fact, at 28mm, my Tokina zoom surpasses all my other lenses in terms of sharpness, with the possible exception of my Nikkor Prime F/1.8 35mm. This new Tokina 100mm, however, may end up in that class as well.After fine-tuning, I ran some macro shots against a quarter on a flat surface, as well as a small dish of jewelry. Macro was outstanding, and I could clearly see depth-of-field issues versus focus issues! Wherever the focus was, was razor-sharp! I also tested a quick test distance shot from across the room (about 20 feet), shooting at a lampshade with the light on. The lampshade is cloth, and I could see individual stitches - heck, I could even see where the fabric had tiny "hairs"!I'll be taking this lens for a test drive several more times this week, but if the above results stand up, then this is likely to become my main medium telephoto lens and not just my macro lens!I'll post a follow-up on the weekend and let you all know how I feel about the telephoto performance of the lens. There's no doubt that as a macro lens, this is stupendous. :)*******************UPDATE 8/5/2014*******************After I wrote this, I couldn't help myself - I ran some more quarter and dime shots using a tripod. This time, however, I ran the F-stop all the way down to F/32... all I can say is that I am absolutely stunned by the macro quality, especially with the lens stopped down. I'm not sure there IS a sweet spot for aperture settings on this lens, at least regarding sharpness!Jury is still out as a telephoto... as I said, I'll update this on or after the weekend. :)*******************UPDATE 8/5/2014*******************No need to wait until the weekend. I decided to take the lens out and take some shots off my back deck at sunset. All my pictures were RAW at ISO 100, F/2.8, and telephoto only. Shutter speeds ranged from 1/60 to 1/2000, depending on what I was shooting... the telephoto capabilities of this lens are WONDERFUL. Bokeh is great, sharpness is great... I have NO complaints about this lens in either macro or telephoto usage.Great purchase - don't hesitate. Get one. :)*******************UPDATE 8/21/2014*******************Still thrilled with the lens, but I ended up re-doing the auto-focus fine tuning. After shooting many images as a telephoto lens, I was a little frustrated with inconsistent sharpness - sometimes it would be amazing, other times, soft when I pixel-peeped. (Macro was perfect regardless - just telephoto was an issue.) Today I had an opportunity to re-do the tuning calibration outside, where the lighting was much better. I found that I needed to increase the AF fine tuning to a -9. Just for the record, a -10 worked well in the tests... but I did some real-world shooting at both -9 and -10, and it appeared to me that -10 was the way to go - we're talking MINUTE difference here, though... although the difference between -8 sharpness and -10 sharpness is pronounced.If you buy this lens (and you should!), make sure you evaluate it for AF fine tuning if you're going to use it as a medium telephoto - as a macro, though, it's not needed.

This lens is amazing! It's sharp as no other I have seen and over the entire frame (at least in my D7000).The ergonomics is excellent with the focus clutch mechanism, although it forces you to either use or remove the hood (no reversed hood possible if you want to access the focus ring).The limit switch, although it has only two positions, allows operation in three distances ranges: full distance range, 1:2 magnification to infinity (short tele range) and 1:1 to 1:2 magnification (macro range): The limit set applies to whichever range the lens is at the time you move the switch to the limit position.Bokeh in this lens is also excellentThe focus speed is good over the entire range (consider that the lens almost doubles its length when focused at minimum distance). To compare it to a general use short tele, if you keep it in the 1:2 to infinity range, the lens focuses very quick in good light. Please remember the lens has no built-in motor and requires the body to move the focusing screw (no auto focus on D3XXX and D5XXX series, for example). I've seen some reviews with low star counts indicating the lens do not auto-focus with the mentioned bodies.The distortion is minimal, as is the falloff, however, my copy does exhibit some chromatic aberration when shooting very contrast scenes.I've read some reviews complaining that the aperture falls to 5.6 when focused to close distance! As for most macro lenses (I would say all the macro lenses or any macro arrangement using extension tubes or bellows) the light reaching the focal plane changes as you focus closer due to the movement of elements away from the focal plane. I'm almost sure that the reduction in light accompanies an effective reduction in aperture, affecting DOF, and not only the light. Although I've read reviews that state the DOF stills the same of the maximum aperture at infinity, I suspect that it is not the case and that the maximum aperture does change.This tokina lens indicates that reduction in light by increasing the f number the lens reports to the camera body when focusing closer. The f changes from 2.8 at infinity down to 5.6 at minimum focus distance. Regardless if it is a real reduction in aperture or an apparent reduction in aperture, DOF is so narrow at close distance that you could only use 5.6 when shooting flat subjects. Any real object of 1/10 of an inch depth or more would require f stops of 16 or more to get it in focus complete or even just partially. So, to those complaining the lens changes aperture, all lenses and arrangements do and if you find a lens that don't, you will have to do it yourself to be able to get some DOF.Warning: if you are using any modern camera that sets the aperture in the camera body, please remember to set the lens aperture ring to f/32 AND move the aperture ring secure switch (at the right of the f scale when looking from above) to the lock position. Otherwise, you can accidentally move the ring from its "auto" position (f/32) and get an error in the camera.There is no VR, VC or whatever you call vibration compensation in the lens. While it can be useful in the short tele range, it's worthless in macro. In real macro, you are so close to the subjects that the lightest movement on your side will change the focus. You need a tripod!Put on a UV filter as soon as you get it out of the box. The front element is placed so deep into the lens that it should be a pain to get it clean.All in all, if you want to get into macro, I really believe there is no better lens in the market today to do it. You'll only need one of this lens and one flash that can operate off the camera, either wireless or with synch cable, a remote to operate without touching the camera (use mirror up also) and a tripod.