Bernard Frangoulis wrote:
>Moose, may I quote you here? This is what you said on 24/03/04:
>
>
Saved me the trouble!
The only thing that's changed is that I happened across the hood for the
Tokina, described in item 12 of my post.
I've revised my conclusion about the hood design. It's slightly goofier
than the Oly hood, what with the empty filter ring sitting on the lens.
On the other hand, by designing the hood around the depth of a filter,
they can design tight coverage without any danger of any actual filter
causing vignetting. Whether it maks any difference in practice, it's a
theoretically better idea.
I'm still certain that the Zuiko isn't simply a rebadged Tokina. There
are just too many mechanical and optical differences that wouldn't add
any functional pluses and would cost quite a bit of development/tooling
money and waste the incremental returns from greater production of the
same lens with only cosmetic changes. Whether it might have been
designed and made by someone else or designed by Oly and made by someone
else, I don't know, but it isn't a straight rebadge of the Tokina.
Moose
>>I've always been curious about the occasional posts suggesting that the
>>35-105/3.5-4.5 might have been made by Tokina, presumably a custom
>>version of the Tokina SMZ 35-105/3.5-4.3. So I invested (ha, ha) $44 in
>>a Tokina to satisfy my curiosity.
>>
>>I can see where someone could at a casual look think they might be the
>>same underneath. They are very similar in size, weight and overall
>>appearance except for very different rubber focus/zoom ring covers. On
>>closer inspection, I note the following:
>>
>>1. Coating reflections are different colors, indicating different
>>coating design/technology, and size/depths, indicating different
>>internal element shape/configuration.
>>
>>2. Front mounting of the front element of the zooming group is slightly
>>different.
>>
>>3. The Zuiko focusing helicoid takes considerably less rotation of the
>>focus/zoom ring to get to its
>>minimum of 1.5m and than the Tokina takes to go to its minimum of 1.6m
>>
>>4. Zoom ring travel from 35-105mm is 20.8mm on the Zuik and 20.6mm on
>>the Tokina.
>>
>>5. Although the close focus mechanism uses the same principle of acting
>>as an extension tube, the ring moves in opposite directions on the 2
>>lenses, locks into CU position on the Zuiko, but not on the Tokina and
>>has a different extension length, 6.6mm on the Zuiko and 8.3mm on the
>>Tokina.
>>
>>6. Both have 6 blade diaphrams that point their fingers clockwise, but
>>they are mounted opposite ways, with the fingers on the Zuiko toward the
>>front and the Tokina to the back. The Zuiko hexagon is also a bit more
>>symmetrical and consistent as it is stopped down.
>>
>>7. The rear element of the Tokina is considerably larger and mounted
>>into its cell differently than the Zuiko.
>>
>>8. The finish of the visible part of the mount is classic Oly matte on
>>the Zuiko and shiny on the Tokina.
>>
>>9. The mechanisms that convey aperture setting to the pin on the rear
>>and operate the diaphram from the other pin on the rear are quite
>>different designs, with the Zuiko using the same basic design as in
>>other Zuikos I've had apart.
>>
>>10. The Zuiko has 16 elements in 12 groups and the Tokina has 16 in 13.
>>
>>11. Ths Zuiko is styled pretty much like the 70-150 and 35-70/3.6 &
>>35.-4.5 except fot the close-up ring, which isn't on those zooms, but it
>>is in the same relative position as the zoom rings on those 2 touch
>>models. I assume the otherwise odd design of the CU ring with the groove
>>around the middle is to differentiate it from the zoom rings on the
>>others. The Tokina is styled just like the other Tokina zooms I have.
>>Finish of the body surfaces is very similar.
>>
>>12. The nose of the Tokina in front of the zoom ring is much shorter
>>than on the Zuiko, so the Oly hood doesn't clamp on as securely. The
>>Tokina hood, which I didn't get, is a screw-in design which apparently
>>is calculated for use with a filter and uses something like an empty
>>filter ring when a filter isn't used to keep the hood in the right
>>place. The Oly solution of a clamp on hood that doesn't interfere with
>>filter use is much nicer.
>>
>>My conclusion? It is extremely unlikely that the Zuiko is an adaptation
>>of the Tokina. There are just too many differences that wouldn't make
>>sense if it were, especially things like reversing and changing the
>>length of travel of the CU helicoid, changing the pitch of the focusing
>>helicoid and changing the internal design of the auto aperture
>>mechanisms. It also really does appear to me from the reflections that
>>the internal elements differ quite a bit in surface curvatures and/or
>>locations.
>>
>>Which is the better lens? I'll probably never know. I'll try some pics
>>with the Tokina, but the chances of carefully matched comparisons are
>>slim to none. The zoom action on my Zuiko has always been quite stiff.
>>The Tokina is nicer without being in any way loose or liable to creep.
>>Build quality? A toss up from external visuals and handling. The CU
>>rings are both plastic, but the Tokina doesn't look like it. Which one
>>to use on a chrome OM-1? The Tokina 'cause it is a silver nose! (Just a
>>joke folks! Easy now!)
>>
>>A compulsive Moose
>>
>>
>
>
>Anyway, a very fine and useful performer. I like it very much.
>
>Bernard
>
>==============================================
>List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
>List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
>==============================================
>
>
>
>
>
==============================================
List usage info: http://www.zuikoholic.com
List nannies: olympusadmin@xxxxxxxxxx
==============================================
|