Tokina SZX 400mm f/8 Reflex Reviews
An interesting, flawed lens
By Josh
Rated 3 out of 5
Date: 2022-02-26
I've taken some good photos with this lens under the right conditions, and the donut-shaped bokeh certainly can be used to create some artistic effects.
However, under daylight conditions, the lens seems to be washed out, lacking color and contrast. In post, it is possible to recover some of this.
The lens focus is so sensitive that it is difficult to lock in focus, requiring the smallest movements, and then it is easy to bump out of focus again as you are trying to get it lined up for the shot... since to focus it, you really need to use maximum focus magnification.
Taking shots in anything but the brightest conditions requires a tripod, since this lens is so slow.
On the upsides, it is a 400mm lens, it is compact (about the same size as a Tamron 28-200), light, and cheap. The build quality feels reasonably nice, and the focusing mechanism is smooth with about the right amount of friction (it's just too sensitive, as noted above). It's also something of a novelty since reflex lenses are relatively rare.
Does it's job...
By Rodrick
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-01-13
Works as advertised. Narrow depth-of-field, muted contrast, only decent sharpness, as expected. Can be hand-held (sort of) with IBIS, focus magnification, but works best on evan a small tripod or beanbag with remote trigger. Can't beat the price, weight.
Fun lens.
By Garren
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2022-01-02
I own a 200-500 Nikon but wanted to try something physically smaller. This lens is perfect to throw in my sling bag and go. A great match for my mirrorless cameras. Perfect when using my lighter tripod - I use a swinging gimbal type mount for larger lenses.
interesting but ...
By Robert G.
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2021-11-22
I'm long familiar with catadioptric lenses. For the price, this one can actually do some fairly decent work, but on faraway targets it suffers clarity issues. The basic summation here is don't crop anything you photograph with this lens and you'll be OK. For now my glass 300mm is still a better performer. More of a curio than a substitute for a glass lens but it is very light weight and portable. That's something to think about.
Fun lens to play with, but not the sharpest
By Carl
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2021-11-13
I can confirm all the other reviews about this lens: it's compact, well constructed, and very close focusing. And it's also very soft, very low contrast, and really challenging to get an adequately sharp image.
I tested this on distant subjects on overcast days and sunny days. When it's dull outside, the images are so low contrast that it's virtually mush. Things improve when the weather is nice. I shoot Micro Four Thirds, so this 400mm gives me a effective focal length of 800mm--super telephoto for sure! I did all my testing handheld and the IBIS in my Olympus easily let me handhold this at 1/200s.
The 800mm effective focal length means that even for subjects that are kilometres away, focusing on my subject does not guarantee that the sky will be in focus, or vice versa. And then there's the issue of atmospheric haze: from that distance, haze is magnified so that even if you nail the focus and shutter speed, the images can still come out soft. Focusing on closer objects, like a plant in my living room still comes out soft, with a very tiny plane of focus. I figure using Topaz Sharpen AI could probably rescue many of these images.
Along with this lens, I also own the Olympus 40-150 R (consumer version), Olympus 40-150 PRO, with both the 1.4 and 2.0 teleconverters. This Tokina is far softer than even the R zoom at full zoom. I can get a 600mm effective focal length with my PRO zoom & 2x teleconverter, but then the setup is quite large and bulky. This is where the Tokina can come in handy, when I just want to be creative and not worry too much about image quality.
I would actually rate this lens 3 1/2 stars only, but I gave it 4 stars because it's so inexpensive and I applaud Tokina for designing this lens. They probably did the best they could do given the limitations of the catadioptric design.
(Note: I tested with and without the hood, which greatly extends the length of this lens. Didn't see much difference, but if you shoot into the sun, it's probably a good idea. The hood is metal screw-on and a bit of a hassle to put on and off.)
My attached photos have only basic editing, but no additional sharpening.
Nice Lens
By Robert
Rated 5 out of 5
Date: 2021-10-18
After using the SZX with a Nikon D850 here are some observations...
1. Subjects need to be well illuminated.
2. To take a sharper picture:
A. Use an exposure of 1/2000 sec.
B. Leave your hand on the focus ring until the shot is taken,
removing the hand pre-shot risks nudging the ring and
softening the image.
C. If time permits take two or three shots of a subject and
re-focus before each shot.
Photos *:
Goose: Exp 1/2000 sec., ISO-5000, Distance 25 feet.
Flowers: Exp 1/1000 sec., ISO-2000, Distance 8 feet.
Cactus Bugs: Exp 1/2000 sec., ISO-1000, Distance 60 feet,
Note: The bugs are slightly less than inch long.
* All photos are hand-held
Super-telephoto but with flaws
By James
Rated 3 out of 5
Date: 2022-02-15
What it has going for it; reach, and lots of it. Fairly light and compact for it's focal length, but the required T-mount adapter adds length and weight. One advantage is that you can swap T-mount adapters for other lens mounts.
The drawbacks; it's hard to focus well, and the constant f8 aperture makes it all but impossible to shoot hand-held on any but the brightest daylight. Even with in-body stabilization, that much reach really requires fast shutter speeds. Also, due to the front mirror impacting the focal path, the bokeh is distinctly halo shaped. That can look cool with lights, but darker objects leave a weird pattern of smoke rings across the image.
Bottom line, I wanted a cheap option, but this thing is too limited in it's uses for me to call it a good purchase.
This lens is a worthwhile addition to my lens collection.
By Maciej J.
Rated 4 out of 5
Date: 2022-02-01
I have used this lens a number of times now - mostly for landscape oriented photos and a few portraits and bird shots. The good, it is small and convenient for a 400mm lens, when properly focused it is very sharp indeed.
The bad, focusing is critical and manual - you do have to get used to it.
Overall this is a fine lens for a number of applications and will yield very sharp results once you put in the time to get familiar with it. Bracing yourself against a wall or rail is helpful, a tripod is very helpful if available.
I decided to keep it - for the price it is a worthwhile addition to my lens collection,
