TOKINA AT-X 400mm f/5.6 Telephoto Lens | Test Footage

TOKINA AT-X 400mm f/5.6 Telephoto Lens | Test Footage

I’ve been using my Tokina 400mm f/5.6 ever since I bought it as an alternative to my Canon 100-400mm as that lens was getting a bit to expensive for the amount of time I was using it. Here is my test video, which shows how Tokina performs against the 10 times more expensive Canon. In the end the result were not different enough for me to stick with Canon.  The Tokina is quite compact for 400mm lens, has a great, smooth focusing ring and nice optical performance. This quick video shows what it’s capable off.  It does have some chromatic aberration and flares easier than Canon, but in right lighting conditions it performs beautifully and definitely worth it’s money.

Note, the one I have is a Canon EF mount, so only works with Canon DSLRs. On a plus side you get auto-focusing for stills. If you want to use such lens with different cameras go for Nikon mount, which has aperture adjustment ring on the actual lens, however don’t expect auto-focusing for stills unless you’re using it on Nikon camera.

Tokina AT-X 400mm f/5.6
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6 Responses to TOKINA AT-X 400mm f/5.6 Telephoto Lens | Test Footage

  1. Well done and gives a good sense of what the lens can do… I think you could quickly become the GO TO source on the web for vintage lenses. I don’t see a lot of other people doing it… keep up the good work! BEST! Mike

  2. Hi

    I got this Tokina AT-X AF SD 400mm F:5.6 with Canon EOS mount, exactly the same lens as yours for very cheap because the old owner says the AF and aperture control via camera is busted, faulty. The aperture is stack on f22.
    Now I would use this lens on my Sony NEX 7 body but I would like to be able to control the aperture manually, ( as I looked up on Ebay it’s possible to get an adapter with aperture control for this lens ) do you know how it would be possible to unstack the aperture back to f5,6 without an Canon EOS DSLR body ?
    Is it possible to do it manually by disassembling the rear part of the lens ?

    I would very much appreciate your answer, thanks :-))

    • BTW, an excellent review and video about the 400mm lenses and a very good and informative site you have here !
      Would be nice to see more videos taken with the Tokina 400mm lens :-))
      Best Regards
      Ludwig Kepler

      • Hey Ludwig. Thank you for your comments. With Canon EF mount unfortunately it’s not possible to control the aperture manually. It can only be done electronically. Maybe if you take the lens apart you will be able to open the aperture back up, but no manual adapter will help you do that.

        Sorry about bad news 🙁

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