Scored a 200-400mm Nikon AF zoom telephoto lens via KEH at a bargain price!

January 7, 2018

#220

Gentle reader,

I was about to say, that since I'm retired and on a fixed budget, I look for bargains, but I've always looked for them. Plus, I'm half Scottish so that means I'm tight with my purse.

I switched from Pentax AF cameras to Nikon when DSLR bodies became more prevalent and people were selling their used Nikon film bodies and lenses cheaply on eBay. I suspect many did not know that Nikon retained their lens mount and that film lenses work fine on their digital bodies. 

I bought this Tokina (also sold as Vivitar and other brand names) 100-400mm f4.5-6.7 lens new via eBay for less than $100 several years ago. I have made some nice photos with it, including some handheld at 400mm (600mm 35mm film-equivalent) with this lens. One of which, Acacia tree blossoms in our back yard can be found on my National Geographic web page:

Scott Robb Photographer Profile -- National Geographic Your Shot  

The things I don't like about this Tokina lens is the build quality. Obviously to sell them for a low price, they have to cut costs, but it is mostly plastic, thin plastic, in construction. It does not have a tripod collar which means your camera mount and tripod socket must bear the weight of the lens. Plus, I don't like the silver. They made all-black ones, but I do not see them often for sale.

I solved the collar problem by buying a separate collar which I adapted to the lens, but it was not a good fix since the thin plastic tube wasn't made for support.

In the olden days of film, one could buy 500mm lenses that are T-mount. Also 400mm and much shorter 400 and 500mm reflex (mirror) lenses also in T-mount. Now one can buy them even longer focal lengths of 800mm. 

Anyway, I was walking after dark up the hill by our house on one side of the street and two women were walking down the hill across the street. I had my camera with said 500mm lens on a tripod over my shoulder. Oh, I'm 6'3" tall. One woman remarked, "My, that is an impressive lens." The other said, "Yes, that is, a long one. Lens! Long lens!" I laughed.  The burden of being attractive is heavy, but I bear it as well as I can.

One thing, aside from this Tamron lens having a tripod mount is that it is a CONSTANT aperture. In other words, the amount of light the film or sensor sees with this lens remains the same regardless of how long it is zoomed. The Tokina is f4.5 at 100mm but is darker being only f6.7 at 400mm. F6.7 is the limit of autofocusing on many cameras. So, it needs a slower shutter speed, the further out one zooms.

Constant apertures were the norm for decades. Some lens designers finally figured out how to make lenses less expensive and lighter weight by eliminating the requirement for a constant aperture. But one pays a price as described above.

Below, on the left is a constant aperture manual focus lens made by Cosina: 55-300mm f4.5. It is huge, heavy and has a tripod mount built onto it. The Tokina, collapsed to 100mm length, is next to it. See what I mean about how BIG and HEAVY they are with a constant aperture?

Below is a side-by-side comparison of the two, both zoomed to 400mm. Is that the longest lens shade you've ever seen? It's the longest I've ever owned, and I've had a lot of them. 

Below is a nearly full sized image (at least as I look at it right now) of the two so you can see just how massive this black beauty is.

Below is the weight of the Tokina lens.

 Above is the weight of the Tamron lens.

I was concerned that the Tamron lens might not fit in my camera bag. The Tokina sat in the back-left where my 70-300mm Sigma lens now sits. The Tamron just fits in front of it. I also had to make changes in the bag to fit the much taller Nikon D200 in place of the D70S that stood upright there before. Crude, but it works.

I look forward to shooting with this lens. Remember DSLRs that have APS-C sized sensor "multiply" the lens' focal length by 50%. So on my DSLR it is 300-600mm equivalent. 

Best of all, the price at KEH.com for this lens was only $119! A price I could not pass up! So, it's best to look at other sites than eBay for your used camera gear needs. Another great site is B&H.com. 

Thanks for looking,

Scott   

January 7, 2017
#220