| 80-400mm |
$649 average price |
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Canon EF - Black
(From Tokina lens literature) Tokina AT-X 840 AF D 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens for Digital and film SLR cameras.
In 1996 Tokina created a new class of telephoto lens when it introduced the original AT-X 840 AF. This was the smallest lens available that had a bright f/5.6 aperture at 400mm. Now Tokina is recreating the lens for the digital age.
Still the smallest SLR lens available that zooms to 400mm, the AT-X 840 AF D has a smooth and quick internal focusing system that means the all-metal inner barrel that houses the heaviest glass elements does not have to rotate when the lens focuses, making it much faster than the previous models.
Optically, the AT-X840 AF D has new multi-coatings applied to the elements that are formulated to compensate of the highly reflective CCD and CMOS sensors in today's Digital SLR cameras. The new multi-coating greatly reduces the chance of internal flare or ghost reflections.
A built-in tripod collar makes for a well-balanced camera/lens combination when using a tripod or monopod. For best results, Tokina always recommends using a tripod or monopod with telephoto lenses.
Tokina kept ease of use in mind with the new AT-X 840 AF D. A new lens hood with the a PL Assist spring loaded thumb wheel allows a circular polarizer or special effects filter to be rotated while the lens hood is in place. No more removing the hood to change the position of the filter.
Tokina 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AT-X 840 AF D
Your purchases support this site
Canon EF - Black
Tokina 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 AT-X 840 AF D User Reviews
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Built like a tank, full frameHeavy, not as sharp as other lenses, weird hood, screw drive autofocus on Nikon
This is not a bad lens but not stellar. It is an affordable lens for doing some wild life and travel. Team this up with the Tokina 300/4 and you have a great economical 2 lens wildlife setup. I replaced the weird lens hood with the Tokina BH-723 petal style bayonet hood (from Tokina 24-200)
reviewed March 23rd, 2023 (purchased for $125) -
Affordability & Versatility [wide range of focus length]No image stability
Difficult to focus in low light but if you can get a lock on your subject, it delivers pretty sharp images with the use of external flash. This lens work great outdoor on a sunny day. In door, you will need the use of external flash to capture sharp images. Helpful to use a monopod if you do not have a steady hand, otherwise you will end up tossing out over 50% of your shots. Delivers pretty sharp images shooting within 30 yards, beyond that, your images will begin to get softer and softer, not to mention harder to focus on your subjects. A good lens for non-professional photographers. Not an ideal lens for taking sport and action shots due to its slow AF. That said, if you own a decent SLR and know how to work the aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, you should still be able to get good quality photos with this lens even though it's not an 'L' signature lens manufactured by Canon. Most of us hold the notion that if the lens aren't considered 'high end' or 'prime' lens, then you will not get the sharpest of images. Not true. Taking sharp images also depend on the photographer's skill level . . . so don't be so quick to judge the quality of the lens if you are not a professional.
reviewed June 11th, 2010 (purchased for $500) -
very compact, good images, nice tripod collar...wish that I could remove it :) definitely misses VR
...there are two versions of this lens, the old AF lens and the new AF-D lens. The previous review is talking about the old lens. It keeps popping up on eBay. For what the guy wants for it, and the others like it, I just decided to go ahead and buy a new one.
reviewed February 29th, 2008 (purchased for $550)
I am pleased with it so far, it is a very powerful lens for its size, it is an inch longer and slightly heavier than my 70-300VRII, maybe 2 or 3 inches longer than the Nikon 18-200VR, but almost the same diameter as the other two, so they are quite interchangeable in my bag. Though of course the VR lenses can be shot handheld down to 1-8s at full zoom (though normally it would be at least 1/250). The Tokina needs at *least* 1/750s at 400mm, shooting handheld. Though that's easy to get even at ISO200 F8, during the day.
This lens is going to work well during the day but the sun won't have to go down far before either it will need a tripod or you'll have to shoot at such a high ISO as to defeat the purpose of using the lens. Which is why I kept the 70-300VRII anyway. I would prefer a 300mm shot at ISO400 to a 400mm shot at ISO1600. But 300mm is not really long enough for daylight outdoors shooting even on a subframe so between the two I have a good 24/7 combo to 300mm+ for about $1100.
One other thing, don't forget to send the f# ring all the way around to the green number, or the camera won't be able to adjust the F# internally (eg d300). -
Build qualitySlightly soft at 400
This is a good lens for what it is: a relatively compact super-telephoto. The image quality gets a little soft at 400 mm wide open, but does sharpen up at f/7.1. The build quality is typical Tokina excellent.
reviewed December 30th, 2006 (purchased for $650)
