{"id":5598,"date":"2016-11-03T20:36:39","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T19:36:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/?p=5598"},"modified":"2026-03-24T13:38:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T12:38:45","slug":"quick-review-tokina-35mm-2-8-macro-at-x-pro-dx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phillipreeve.net\/blog\/quick-review-tokina-35mm-2-8-macro-at-x-pro-dx\/","title":{"rendered":"Quick Review: Tokina 35mm 2.8 Macro AT-X Pro DX"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/h1>\n
\"Sony
Sony A7rII + Tokina 35mm 2.8 DX macro AT-X Pro<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Tokina 35mm 2.8 Macro is an APS-C (DX) lens and actually quite old already (introduced around 2008). As I am using two cameras from the A7 series I am rarely interested in APS-C lenses, but this one caught my attention for several reasons:  I was looking for a moderate wide angle macro lens, it features 9 rounded aperture blades, it is quite small and cheap and I got word that it covers the whole full frame sensor at larger magnifications. Read on to find out whether my expectations were met!<\/p>\n

Sample Images<\/h1>\n
\"tokina
Sony A7rII | Tokina 35mm 2.8 | f\/2.8 | full resolution<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"tokina
Sony A7rII | Tokina 35mm 2.8 | f\/2.8 | full resolution<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"tokina
Sony A7rII | Tokina 35mm 2.8 | f\/2.8 | full resolution<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/p>\n

Quick Review?<\/h2>\n

I did intend to write an in depth review and to keep this as a special purpose lens for wide angle macro photography. Unfortunately there is one negative aspect that bothers me so much I won’t bother taking more time with this lens and instead send it back to the dealer.  I will nevertheless summarize my findings, so in case you are interested in this lens take this as a word of caution…<\/p>\n

APS-C lenses on fullframe cameras<\/h1>\n

The Tokina 35mm 2.8 macro DX is an APS-C lens and designed with a smaller sensor in mind. When attaching and APS-C lens to a fullframe sensor this will usually lead to bad performance towards the border regions and\/or even completely black corners.
\nStill: there are a few APS-C lenses that can be used with almost no limitations on a fullframe camera. This is often especially true for macro lenses near the minimum focus distance. So because of this – and also due to the lack of alternatives when it comes to wide angle macro lenses – I gave this one a try.<\/p>\n

Specifications \/ Version History<\/h1>\n

Tokina and Pentax have a long history of working together and optically this lens is the same as the Pentax HD DA Limited  35mm 2.8 Macro. I didn’t get my hands on the Pentax incarnation so I can’t tell you if it is better made in any way. The Tokina version comes in Nikon-F and Canon EF-S mount but both seem to be discontinued.<\/p>\n

I am reviewing the Nikon-F version here which has the following specifications:<\/p>\n