tokina

Tamron, Kenko Tokina boost Micro Four Thirds lens alliance

Tamron and Kenko Tokina, two third-party lens manufacturers, have thrown their weight behind the Micro Four Thirds alliance, helping Olympus and Panasonic during a major shift in the camera industry.

Olympus and Panasonic were the early entrants to a new class of interchangeable-lens cameras much more compact than traditional SLRs. They're both members of the Micro Four Thirds partnership that governs image sensors and lenses, meaning that Micro Four Thirds lenses can be used on either company's camera bodies.

The new membership, like that of third-party lensmaker Sigma before, means photographers can expect more variety for Micro Four … Read more

Versatile new 8x zoom lens from Tokina

Tokina has announced a versatile new 8x zoom lens, the Tokina AT-X 16.5mm-135mm f3.5-5.6 DX lens. It's a digital-only lens, featuring a wide focal length range, and it will be available for Canon and Nikon lens mounts. It has a 35mm equivalent focal length of 26mm to 216mm on a Canon DSLR, and a 35mm equivalent focal length range of 25mm to 203mm on a Nikon DSLR. The lens has a close-focusing distance of about 18 inches. No pricing or availability information was available, but it is said to be shipping early in 2009.

Tokina touts macro, wide-angle zoom lenses

Japanese lensmaker Tokina announced two lenses Friday, an 11-16mm wide-angle zoom and a 35mm fixed-focal-length lens. (Update: Sorry for the extra word earlier--the second lens is indeed fixed at 35mm.)

Both models have relatively fast f/2.8 apertures useful for low-light conditions, and both are designed to mount on Canon and Nikon digital SLR cameras with smaller image sensors, according to announcements on Tokina's Japanese Web site.

The AT-X 116 PRO DX 11-16mm F2.8 is scheduled to be available in February 2008 at a cost of 90,000 yen, or about $810. It weighs 560 grams.

The … Read more