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Re: [OM] Tokina 80-200 f/2.8 - any good?

Subject: Re: [OM] Tokina 80-200 f/2.8 - any good?
From: "John Petrush" <petrush@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Fri, 1 Jan 1999 16:36:42 -0800
It's not cursing in church <g>.  I have one.  Have since 1989, bought new
for the French GP Formula One race.  There is no complementary lens in the
Olympus lineup with the requisite f/2.8 speed.

I find it an excellent lens provided you like the one-touch zoom design.  If
you are not perfectly comfortable with this design, perhaps it's not the
lens for you.  Mine delivers fine results.  I've compared it to the 135mm
f/2.8 Zuiko (MC) and the Tokina isn't giving anything away to that
particular Zuiko in similar shooting circumstances.

It is a big lens, with 17 elements in 11 groups.  It's 172.5mm long and
weighs a hefty 1,080g.  It uses a 77mm filter size.  Minimum focus distance
is 1.8m.  It is fully multi-coated.  The built-in tripod mount allow the
camera/lens to rotate for vertical shots.

My experience with this lens was very heavy usage in the first few years.  I
shot in all kinds of weather and situations with it and it performed
flawlessly.  Then it sat on the shelf for a while.  When I finally started
to use it again, I noticed an odd mottling on the front elements.  It was
some lubricant that has seeped in between the front element pair.  It was
not noticable in photos, oddly enough, but I sent it to Tokina for repair
under the 10 year USA warranty.  I got it back in three weeks in perfect
condition.  I've had no difficulty since.

This lens is now discontinued.  There is no manual focus replacement that I
know of.  If you find one, carefully check the front elements.  If there is
what looks like water inside, either walk away from it or consider the
repair cost in your offering price.  My understanding is it happened to many
of these lenses in the late 80's.

John P
______________________________________
there is no "never" - just long periods of "not yet".
there is no "always" - just long periods of "so far"

Claes <claes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> asked:
>
>Is the Tokina 80-200 SD ATX f/2.8 any good? Do any have experiences from it
>or similar zoom lenses?
>




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