Lens Reviews - Tokina AT-X 165 PRO DX (16-50mm f2.8)

Overview

The new Tokina AT-X 165 PRO DX makes an excellent standard lens giving the digital photographer the equivalent of a 24-75mm lens in terms of film. From the nature enthusiast to the portrait artist to photojournalist, everyone will be able to appreciate the AT-X 165’s bright F/2.8 constant aperture. This wide aperture allows for faster shutter speeds in low-light conditions or a more shallow Depth of field for more pleasing portraits. The out of focus background from a wide aperture setting concentrates attention on the subject giving the photo more strength and intimacy.

Tokina’s exclusive One-touch Focus Clutch Mechanism allows the photographer to switch between AF and MF simply by snapping the focus ring forward for AF and back toward the camera to focus manually. There is no need to change the AF-MF switch on Nikon cameras*** and there is no second AF/MF switch on the lens for Canon, everything is accomplished by the focus ring.

The front element of the AT-X 165 PRO DX has a newly formulated WP or “Water Proof” optical Coating on the glass. This new coating makes marks such as spots left by water or finger-prints much easier to clean than standard multi-coating.**

The rear optical group of the lens contains 1 SD (Super-Low Dispersion) glass element to reduce the number of elements (pieces of glass) in the optical design in order to make the lens more compact, light-weight and faster focusing.

Lens Specifications

Generic Lens Specifications

Lens Type: Zoom
IS / VR / OS: None
Min Focal length (mm): 16
Max Focal Length (mm): 50
Number of Elements: 15
Element Groups: 12
Max Aperture: 2.8
Minimum Aperture: 22
Diaphragm Blades: 9
Closest Focus Distance (m): 0.3
Filter Diameter (mm): 77
Diameter at widest (mm): 84
Lens Length (mm): 97
Weight (g): 610

Details

Mount availability:	Canon EOS, Nikon-D

Focal length:	16 to 50mm

Maximum aperture:	f/2.8

Minimum aperture:	f/22

Optical construction:	15 elements in 12 groups

SD glass:	One elements

Coatings:	"Water Proof” optical coating

Angle of view:	82° ~ 31°

Minimum focus distance:	11.8 in. (30cm)

Macro Ratio:	1:4.88

Zooming system:	Rotary type

Number of diaphragm blades:	9

Filter size:	77mm

Dimensions:	3.3 in. (84mm) X L 3.8 in. (97.4mm)

Weight:	21.5 oz. (610g)

Lens Hood	BH-777

Availability:	May 2007

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User Lens Reviews

Average user rating from: 4 user(s)


Overall rating (weighted)		3.6
Sharpness		3.3
Build Quality		3.3
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		4.0

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

Great value - excellent quality lens, Thursday, 08 July 2010


Overall rating (weighted)		4.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		5.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

Worked perfectly out of the box. Very sharp, good Contrast, fast focus, sligt CA that is easily corrected in PS. Only visible in high contrast areas and only at 100% magnification. Colors may be slightly on the cool side. Compared to the Nikon 17-55mm 2.8 at double the price you get same sharpness, smaller size and less weight. Tokina's Pro series are built very well and have good optical qualities. Nice damping of zoom ring and nice feature for manual/auto focus. This is my second Tokina lens and my experience with the 11-16mm 2.8 motivated me for the 16-50mm 2.8. I use the lens on a D300 and a D200 for portraits and weddings. NO focusing problems as I have seen reported on other reviews.
I am a pro photographer and I recommend this lens.

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1 of 10 people found the following review helpful

Band Focus, Bad Vignetting, Bad construction, Bad , Friday, 11 September 2009


Overall rating (weighted)		1.8
Sharpness		2.0
Build Quality		1.0
AF Speed		2.0
Value for Money		2.0

Compared to both the Tamaron and the Sigma, this lens is horrible! Images at f/5.6 were softer than my kit 18-50mm at f/5.6. Vignetting at anything but f/8 and smaller is unacceptable. Do some research and find that there are more people than just me with this problem. Do not trust this lens!

I chucked this lens (no one would buy it after trying it on their camera) and purchased the Nikon. Much better.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful

Great lens, Tuesday, 12 August 2008


Overall rating (weighted)		3.8
Sharpness		4.0
Build Quality		3.0
AF Speed		4.0
Value for Money		4.0

This is another great lens in the Tokina pro line, and a great match to their 50-135 zoom. Fine image quality for sure; I only wish it were a purely Internal Focusing and zooming lens like the longer one. Good glass is always worth the $; in Tokina's case, it's also reasonably priced for its intended purpose.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

great lens, Friday, 14 September 2007


Overall rating (weighted)		4.3
Sharpness		3.0
Build Quality		4.0
AF Speed		5.0
Value for Money		5.0

This is a great lens. Build is like a tank. Auto focus is fast and a little noisy, but it's focused from the camera so it's always a little noisy. No big deal for me. Has some CA and color fringing sometimes, but you really won't see it unless you blow the picture to 100%. Only con I see is the high price, but it was worth it for me.