Specifications

Lens Construction (elements/groups)

11/9

No. of Diaphragm Blades

7

Minimum Aperture

22

Closest Focusing Distance (m)

0.25

AF Actuator

Micro Motor

Filter Diameter (mm)

72

Length x Max. Diameter (mm)

80.5 x 80

Weight (g)

400

Special Features

internal focus
floating elements
SD coating

H I S t o r y . . .

After acquiring my Fuji S2 Pro, I have been since then got my Tokina ATX (non-pro) 17mm f/3.5 lens. Overall I am quite happy with the performance of that lens. Shooting directly into the sun create very little to nearly no flare or ghost! Yes, that lens is that good...

In the net, most reviews are on the ATX Pro version of the 17mm. Looking at the pictures of it, it sure looks more impressive and tempting than the ATX version. The Pro version has a crinkle finishing body, retractable hood and also a MF/AF switch built onto the sliding focusing ring. Yeah...this is sure tempting...but still I will definitely not spending $$$ (more than RM1k) for a 17mm lens that I already own and happy with.

One day saw a seller selling 2nd hand ATX Pro 17mm version in the net. Quite high price the seller wants at Singapore dollar S$500. That's more than RM1100 with the current poor exchange rate. So...I just ignore the deal but keep that in mind... :p

After few days...still saw the seller trying to offload the lens. Seems that nobody or not many is interested in buying. So, I decided to offer him a price that will keep me smiling. By the way, the seller was selling Nikon SB28 flash too, which I thought of getting replacing my SB26 for my Fuji S2 Pro. So I made him an offer together with the SB28. How much? Haaahhaaa...not so good to disclose here. Within a day, the seller replied and counter offer me another price. After several rounds of negotiation, we came to agree at S$450 for both the lens and SB28. Not sure about you but definitely good enough for me...if of course the lens and flash are as mint as described.

i n t e r n e t . . .

To cut the story short...I met with the seller...didn't check the lens and flash in detail, kind of trust the seller (as he sold many things online), paid the money and got my stuff. Kind of happy that I bought the lens and the flash (with extra Omni bouce, SC18+AS10 too).

Arriving home, inspect the lens through torch light...clean and clear. Almost no sign of use on the body at all. Lens comes with Tokina nylon case, hood, Hoya 77mm skylight filter as well as the original front and rear lens caps. So, at say S$250 for the lens (S$200 for the flash)), I am quite happy with the purchase.

Then when I check the SB28...SHOCK! Overall the condition is 80% new but there is one screw missing! Meaning that the flash has been opened or serviced before! This has not been mentioned by the seller, which I felt being cheated. Not so happy with the dishonesty of the seller... :-(

actual lens, look at the beautiful red colour coating of the elements!

o p e r a t i o n

A F / M F

Talking about operation of the lens...it really doesn't live upto what I am expecting. The AF/MF switch is close to useless. You can change AF to MF or vice-versa at any point, but only when focus ring at infinity or minimum closing distance. Ok, this is fine...but another big flaw is that you have to switch the AF/MF on the CAMERA itself if you want AF/MF! What's the point of having the switch on the lens then if you have to change the switch on the body?! This is like double job and wasting time.

the  h o o d

One of the major improvement (or minor?) of the ATX Pro version over the previous ATX version is the removable hood. You can now remove the hood and and store reverse store it onto the lens for space saving travel. Filter can now be screwed onto the lens with ease, with the hood off of course.

r e a r

Though newer than the ATX version, this ATX-Pro version 17mm is still an old design. Tokina has not come out with any internal motor lens yet, and this lens is still using screw driver type driving the lens. There are 5 contact points at the rear element (the latest AFS VR Nikkor has 10 contact points), and like any other AF lenses, this is an AIS Nikkor compatible.

The rear element is quite protruded, so handling the lens should be with care, especially mounting and unmounting from the camera and when capping the rear and front lens cover. You definitely not wanting to touch or scratch the front or rear element.

built Quality?

optical Q?

I didn't compare the ATX and ATX Pro versions side by side, as I sold off the ATX version a few days before I got the Pro version, but here's some sample of images I took with the lens mounted on my Fuji S2 Pro (effective focal length = 25mm, with 1.5X crop factor). All handheld, thus not really a proper test of the lens. I set Jpeg fine on my S2 Pro. Overall, I am satisfied.

1/125s @ f5.6

I must say that the ATX-Pro 17mm lens is very very flare and ghost resistant. Shooting directly into the sun is not a problem. Only at certain angle will you notice slight ghost or flare in the photo, but that's also very minimum.

All the photos at the bottom and on the right are having the sun in the middle of the photos.

1/1000s @ f16

1/1000s @ f3.5

1/350s @ f3.5

(note the little flare in front near the gate)

Original

1/125s @ f5.6

100% left crop

100% center crop

100% right crop