Is Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro lens worth it? TEARDOWN & Review
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- Is Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro lens worth it?
www.fixyourcame...
This Tokina 100mm f2.8 macro lens, while optically excellent, costs about 50% less compared to similar Nikon and Canon lenses...
Question is: Is it worth the money?
I kept figuring out some things here and also thinking about which camera lens I should start with for the 1st teardown and review. Meanwhile, I bought this macro lens and after just a couple days of use, it started making some weird noises. So instead of shipping it out I decided to fix it myself and make a teardown and review at the same time. So Tokina m100 is the first one, problem solved. Of course this will void my warranty, but I personally don't care about it that much. If your lens is still under the warranty - don't disassemble it. Ok, so a very quick overview of this thing. There is a manual aperture ring, there is also focus limiting switch and this is a very useful feature. Macro lenses are usually slow as a turtle when it comes to focusing speed and this one makes no exception.
This switch is mechanically dividing the full range of focusing mechanism into 2 parts, so you can use this lens either as a regular prime lens or as a typical close up macro lens. And in both cases it can make it focusing about 50% faster which is not bad. 9 blades diaphragm which is very nice, almost perfectly round and it's mechanically controlled by this lever since it's and Nikon mount. Optics are super clean which is usually, but not always the case with brand-new lenses. Also this is an externally focusing lens which means, that the front part moves in and out while focusing. It's not great but as long as it doesn't rotate while doing this, it's good enough. And of course there are also MTF charts to compare and some other things, specifications and stuff like that, but since I don't care about this - I'm not going to talk about it here. Let's get to the problem. If I remember correctly there is a nice, thin ball bearing that goes all the way around the clutch mechanism. But probably that's not where the problem is. It's most likely somewhere here. My guess is that there is some grease missing inside this lens. Someone at the factory either got lazy or made a mistake. And even if they do have a great quality control at the factory, this type of problem is very hard to detect. That's because most of those parts inside have some kind of paint on them or there is some residual grease that will make this lens work perfectly fine for some - usually short - period of time. Or maybe something else - let's see. Now, as with most Tokina lenses I've seen so far. This is a very simple and solid construction. That's why it's so heavy. It's a very simple construction when it comes to electronics also. Just a handful of SMD parts, an oscillator and an 8-bit microcontroller. There is also a manual focus switch and position encoder which I’ll show you later. This gear is getting engaged or disengaged, depending on the position of the focusing clutch mechanism. Let's remove it now. Just a thin plastic shelll covering some solid metal alloy parts. Even though this clutch mechanism doesn't feel right while I am rotating it, it's most likely not directly related to my squeaky problem. So I’ll take care of it in a couple of minutes. Let's see what we got so far. One of the nicest looking lens mounts ever. Is is very important? No! But still it looks so good that I just couldn't resist mentioning it. It's solid and quite heavy too. Plastic manual aperture ring - not much to it. Another plastic ring that goes under the lens mount. A thin plastic shell that goes over the clutch mechanism and the clutch mechanism itself. This is how it looks like when removed from the lens. And here's the rest of this lens.
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![Is the Tokina 100mm 2.8 Macro for Nikon worth it? [Tokina 100mm 2.8 Review]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/oLDmFG4c6VY/mqdefault.jpg)
You're a very talented technician and your narration in the video was excellent.
+richdt Thanks a lot:)
Im sending my subscribers to your great channel to see your videos.
***** winks* I must have "sold" 5,000+ Tokina 100mm macro lenses on recommendation over the past year
👍
+Theoria Apophasis THANKS KEN! Number of subscribers on my channel just quadrupled overnight. That's power! More teardowns and reviews comming soon. Just finished watching several of your videos.
And while I disagree with you on some minor things, you are making some very valid points, very uncommon among "regular youtube reviewers", with their camera specs, MTF charts and buttons location craziness. I'll explain more in a couple of days, in the next vid.
P.S. Will you get offended if I call you "weird... in a positive way..."?:)))) heh hopefully not, because I already recorder this part:)
yeaaahhh boiiiii !!!!!!
Hey.....my PEEPS wanna see the D7100 TEARDOWN FIRST!!!!!!!!
i call myself weird, so thats FINE
call me UNCLE FESTER of Photography
+Theoria Apophasis I am considering purchasing one based on your recommendation.
+Michael Sullivan You won't regret it - I did and love it. Worth every penny and then some. Save $ great results.
There are many youtube photography channels I visit on a regular basis, but you are the first I've decided to subscribe to, after watching just this one video. I've been taking things apart since childhood (toys, mechanical banks, etc.), pissing off my dad since about age 5. Eventually I learned how to put them back together and even fix things in the process, moving into deeper waters (cars, home appliances, musical keyboards, computers...), but hadn't ventured into DSLRs or lenses. Because of you that will change. Mad props.
Haha:) you are exactly like me, I did all those things, including pissing off my parents/destroying and disassembling everything as a kid:) Welcome aboard!
Very good! Being an engineer of large machines, this was fascinating to watch!
I use to fix cameras and lenses, back in the mid 90's when film was still a thing, and honestly sometimes I miss those days, working on cameras that sometimes had 20-30 year life spans, like the Nikon F2, and the Leica M4. But once digital cameras became a thing, I abandoned it entirely, but I do miss it sometimes. So stumbling across this, was totally fun. I haven't seen a completely broken down lense in decades, and most certainly never seen a digital one fully torn down, so this was really interesting to see.
Fantastic video, great narration and I'm a tad envy of your skills, it seems to be a very rewarding vocation. Keep up the great work, it's fascinating to see the working internals of camera equipment.
I bought this lens based on the Angry Photographer recommendation.
And by the way, I don't agree with all his reviews but I will say he was spot on with this lens.
It is TACK sharp and for your ££ it's money well spent. Used it on my D90 and was excellent but it came to life on my D750, the results I get with Portrait and Macro are really outstanding.
Solid and heavy , not the fastest at focus but worth the extra wait ! :)
Me too, Bro.
Spectacular video, narration, image quality, and explanation, you are a master of reviewing and analyzing lenses, you got my like, subscription and admiration. Go on uploading videos. You are the best.
This video is a real gem! I really hope you keep doing this kind of thing. I'd be really interested to see what's inside the main manufacturer kit lenses
Great videos. Sorry to see you're not creating them anymore. Really makes me appreciate the high prices on DSLR"s. I just bought this lens. Fantastically sharp.
I was looking for a review on this lens and found your channel. WOW! You are awesome. You have one new subscriber, just because I love unassembling things, I just don't have the skills to put them back together hehe. With that being said, know I won't be doing this to any of my lenses anytime soon. I will be checking out your other videos later.
I'm impressed with your mechanical skills and knowledge of said parts. Thank you for sharing.
+Stephen Terrones Thank You!
Fantastic video, thanks for posting this. I own this lens, it's not the highest build quality but it's optically better than my Nikon 105 micro. I look forward to more videos, keep up the great work.
+Bryson Martin Thank you!
Your channel is indeed unique. I would very much like to see it back in action.
I started with your website,and thoroughly enjoyed your impressive articles! and now I'm enjoying your video.Thank You for this very informative channel! I even enjoy articles not related to my brand (Canon & Tokina).A Big thanks again!
+Putrifying Eagor Thanks a lot!
Great detailed teardown of the Tokina 100mm - most impressive channel.
+Nicholas Fox Thanks!
Impressive presentation !! got hooked from the first second !! Great audio , video , technique and information !!! Please keep this going !!!!
+Charis Charalambous Thank you! Working on next ones currently!:)
I love this lens. It is sharp and easy to work with, in manual mode.
Great video. Detailed, technical, flowing. Thank you very much. Subscribed.
I just found your channel and oh god how come you dont have a million subscribers? Great quality of videos, very helpful.
Exceptional video, 10/10. Several of us have this lens, so this video was truly interesting. Thank you and yes, I have subscribed.
+D800Lover Thank you!
Everthing is nice and tidy on the table, absolutely a perfessional !!!
+Steve Steve Thanks!
What an excellent video. Interesting, informative and extremely well filmed. Thanks. I look forward to watching more of your stuff.
Thanks!
This is amazing!!! Technical, detailed and well put together. Keep up!
+Georg Arju. Thank you!
Great video, your explanations are easy to understand and the quality of your presentation is excellent. Subscribed!
That was great! I had never seen a lens torn down like that. Very interesting and informative! Looking forward to seeing more!!! Thank you for the insight! 8)
Excellent. Truly professional illustration. Please do come out with more videos
I came here because of Ken... .As Crazzzzy as he is... I totally enjoyed your Vid on this Tokina... I am looking forward to watching a lot more of your work and knowledge :)
+jace keeton Thank You!
I don't have any lenses that need fixing, but I love what you're doing.
You get a sub!
Would be very nice if you'd do a detailed video on how to clean a camera sensor. thanks. And, thank you for this video Mike.
A beautifully filmed and narrated video - top notch! Thank you.
Thanks!
Excellent video! I'm looking forward to your future videos.
+Michael Sullivan Thank you:)
Great video, really clear and everything was meaningful and considered, it's going to be really handy to know potential weak points on my new lens so thankyou!
+Jono Baker Thanks! I hope yours will work just fine from the very beginning:)
Fantastic video. Very informative and superbly presented. I have just ordered this lens so to see exactly how it is constructed with your expert and considered opinions of the construction was great. Thanks a lot and keep up the great work. I have subscribed and I shall definitely be watching more of your videos.
+Paul Collins Thanks a lot, I really appreciate your comment and other great comments here. Very motivating to create next videos. How is your lens working? Do you like it?
+FixYourCameraORG So far I have mainly used it for water collisions and I am very impressed. The manual focusing is very nice to use and the quality of the images is excellent. For the price it is a surprisingly good lens.
Yea, please tear down a D7100. I'd love to see that. I dropped my one and the exp-comp button no longer works, so it would be awesome to get an idea of what it would take to fix it if I ever muster the courage to try and do that.
+nemac23 Coming, be careful about the flash capacitor!
Amazing video and I would never dream of attempting this but so informative many thanks
I really wish that you kept your channel going :(
thanks for the video, I am encouraged to disassemble mine and I am repairing it, I still see that many intermediate steps are missing, for example the limit and full button, it has a small spring and a ball, it is very complicated to place, I see that those steps are not put in the video, the same when you remove the tube after desoldering, several pieces have been removed before.
Very high professional level you have in this video, im a owner of this lens, and this lens are made like the old school, in design and material, less plastic more metal, very good optics, thanks for sharing you knowledge
+Raúl Palma Thanks, that's motivating! Yes, this lens is primitive... and good!
thanks for the teardown - mine with canon-mount shows "Err 1" in some situations. I think, its the positionencoder, because it happens only in a small focus-range. I hope, i can fix it myself. If not, i will buy a new one. Its now ~9 years old and served me well.
I just ordered one yesterday. From what I have been hearing it's quite a value compared to other Macro lenses. People are very impressed with image quality. Great video thanks.
Not just macro, good for portrait.
Great review, came here from angry. Cemented what I found, buying this Monday. Was going to get the 105 VR, but only need it for small details, what bothered me was construction but you explained workings, now I understand what I got off angrys page, then Darren mills, then yours. You saved me money subbed. Checked amazon reviews, then off to eBay ;-) cheers.
Decided to subscribe to your channel within the first minute of the video. Keep the good working!
AMAZING TEARDOWN. best I have seen in a while. Great Tips
Someone who knows his craft which will make manufactures pay more attention to quality.
This video makes me want to buy the lens and send it to you for a proper adjust, awesome video and talent!
Enjoyed the video and I have that lens - bought it after watching TAP. Great lens.
+Hub Towner Thanks! Yes for the price -> excellent value. Mine is also working great, all pictures on fixyourcamera.org were taken with this Tokina:)
Fantastic !!! i really like this video, and its nice to hear what he say's (opinion) as he's taking it to bits.. at last
someone knows what there talking about when it comes to lenes...
Thanks a lot buddy, great filming you did too..
+kingdom777866 Thanks!!
Excellent posting..........I hope to see more soon!!!
+planthi80 Thanks! More is coming!:)
i just received my brand new tokina 100mm f2.8 macro.
it had 3 issues
1. oil mark on one of the aperture blades
2. big dust particle inside the lens very visable
3.glue residue on the rear of the lenshood
could demand for this lens make them rush in the factory and make
mistakes? i have now been advised i can return the lens for another new
one hopefully no more issues like this
Hi Jeff, not a good experience overall:) It's not high demand, it's just Tokina's quality control unfortunately. The lens construction is simple/primitive and quite good. The manufacturing process leaves quite a bit to be desired. Mine also had some problems, that's why I recorded this video. Hopefully the replacement will work great!
Very Nicely described. I appreciate your technical knowledge about this lens. Very very informative video. I am using this lens so this information is very important for me.Thank you for this video.
wow, great job and great video. thank you
Wow ! Just wow ! So organized 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
Really appreciate this wonderful video/demo . Thank you very much .
Awesome video! So informative!
Can you please make a teardown for the Canon 100mm Macro USM? That would be so great. No information available on this lens of mine so far.
Great channel. Great to see a pro' at work.
+Timothy Dillnutt Thanks a lot!
About the microscope i use a webcam removed from old laptop. It is not quite light sensitive, but works ok and give me good DOF. Nice video! :)
thanx so much for making this channel :) its helps me to know every weaknes of the lens, so i can use it properly and its also helping me to decide to buy these lenses or not (and for this case, yes i will take this 100mm tokina lenses :)
Thanks!
Thanks for the detailed video..
Can you tell me what type of grease you used and if possible guide me where to buy it. I have Nikon 55mm f3.5 AIS with very stiff focusing ring and I want to clean the old one and then apply a new one, hopefully this will loosen the ring again...
Thanks in advance.
Nice video! Keep up the good work.
Outstanding video, man!
nice channel! just subscribed!
Lately my Tokina lens missed focus a lots, in camera focus adjustment are not possible.
Probably the best lens I have ever owned. Built to last a lifetime - awesome build and optics...! Just buy one...!!!
Fantastic video work and detailed discussions regarding all your "Fixyourcamera" videos Mike. I have just purchased a Tokina AT-X AF 80-200mm lens and it has fungus and dust down deep in the lens elements. I would like to know how I could remove the parts, to get down to clean these components. Cheers Wally.
Yes I agree, Exceptional video, 10/10. I will have this lens, soon so the video was very interesting, I hope mine is ok when it arrives. Thank you and subscribed also.
+David Valleri Thanks !!!:)
Unfortunately for me, they do not make this lens in Pentax mount. Having seen you excellent video only now, and one were available, I would spring for this lens. Thanks for the great video. Just saw two more. Excellent videos!
JMR
Great video Mike ,thanks !!
+Adrian Thank You!
Abso amazing video! Thank you very much for the info. Wonderful....
VERY nice! Keep up the good work!
Thanks!:)
Use macro extension tube on prime lens , it's better than microscope on dslr
I just found this channel (for no purpose, really), and thought "Cool! This guy can definitely help me fix my future broken stuff!" And then you used a soldering gun and removed some component...and I laughed and laughed and laughed.
Subscribed nonetheless (-:
hey ... how to open tokina front lens, can you make some tutorial for it .. thanks
Thank you so much for your video, your efforts! But really! This is PRICELESS that you cannot get from anywhere else!
I was decided to buy this Tokina 100m f2.8 after days of searching for a macro for my new dslr, but after watching your video and reading one of the below comment I am definitely not going to buy this lens. Such QC issues are like in low end China factories.
Fantastic Video!You got recommended btw.
that was so interesting to watch great video!
+KElson992 Thank you!
Perhaps the Pentax Q with its tiny sensor could be a good fit for the microscope.
My friend i have a tamron sp 90mm 2.8 Di macro lens can you pleace tell me how to disassemble front element there is some wird spots i do have part of it disassemble but i still do not know how to take the front elemento off Thankyou for your help.
do you have to disassemble it all the way to get to the rear element to clear some fungus
Dear Sir hello, I am using a Tokina 100 for the first time. Put it on my new D500, both lens and camera on autamic and button on limit. ISO on automatic and P program. It is low light but in the view finder the F EE is flashing? Can you please advise me. Thank you very much.
I was looking at the flickr pages for this and the 105 2.8 AF micro (D or non D - pre-G model anyway) and I'm not seeing the hype. Looks like the old nikkor produces better photos to me. You can get them cheaper too.
It's been a while since this video came out so you probably found it, but the cheap video microscope that would work for you is dinolite.
I owned the Nikon 105mm f2.8 G VR macro and still own the Nikon the 105mm AF-D. Both lenses focus hunt in low light and I didn't see much improvement from the $900 VR lens. So I sold the VR version. Have you examined the Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG OS HSM Macro which sells for $619 in the US? I'm wondering what your thoughts are.
+Ike Cantle no, I don't work on Sigma...
Mike, I have a Nikon 55-300mm G and the lever on the rear mount doesn't open the aperture blades. It must have became detached from them somehow. Nikon wants $161.00 to fix it. Any suggestions on how to fix it or another trusted repair shop?
This was great. Thank you!
Great vid! just awesome Sr.
Ty.
can I open it from the front side and lubricate? thanks in advance
I go some problem with the af swicth, i open the lens and fix it, but now i dont get near a infinity posicion, i dont understand why..
because of your microscope: i dont know if it particulary well with a microscope, and of course you have to keep the cropfactor in mind, but how about a pentax q or q7 with 5.6 or 4.5 cropfactor and full hd video? which you could use with any adapted lens, full hd video and it has focus peaking i think.
+Joshua Mack thanks for suggestion, tomorrow i'll be doing some "heavy dremeling" to fit a camcorder on this microscope. Bought 5 cheap/different mounts, hopefully I can put something together...that actually works...Never expected it to be such a problem, nothing I bought works right out of the box.
sounds complicated. as complicated as disasembling a tiny teeny Q-mount af lens :b If i had or just thought i had the skills in tearing down stuff i could maybe solve stupid little problems like my camera not allowing me to fire my internal flash for slave triggering together with an external flash. why not? because you shall buy that dedicated master flash. give us money. hmpf. id probably die by electric shock.
What are those white gel and the blue gel that you use to lubricate the barrel and the screw? Thank you very much in advance.
Fascinating! Many thanks!😊
Excellent, many thanks!
If I decide to buy this lens, I hope I don't have that squeaking problem. It's either this, or the non-L Canon.
Mike, you said you were an independent camera and lens repair technician. How to contact you regarding a servicing of a lens?
is there any issues with dust collection with this lens? considering the focusing mechanism
your video is just as attractive as a detective novel
Im just about to get this lens, and your video made me question the purchase. I was wondering if you have encountered another tokina 100mm lens that seemed to have the same problem? Or was this a rare case? Thanks for sharing! I really enjoyed how technical it was.
Nope, it's not a rare case. I still think it's a great lens, but Tokina's manufacturing is mediocre at best. Buy it, test thoroughly and if not working correctly - return it and try another one. Warranty repairs take time...
Thanks for getting back to me! I got the lens the other day, and i was wondering what sort of things i should pay attention to that would indicate that the lens is not of a good quality.
Excelente video! Hace pocos dias compre uno usado en Ebay pase Nikon y aparentemente en muy buen estado. Cuando lo recibí, lo probé y lamentablemente el autofoco funciona a veces y a veces no. También la lectura de el diafragma no queda fijo en 2.8, a medida que enfoco mas lejos varia el numero f. Usted podría ser tan amable de decirme que puede estar pasando? Le agradezco desde ya, le escribo desde Uruguay y si necesito repuestos de este lente voy a tener que averiguar donde lo puedo conseguir, una web para recomendar? Muchas gracias desde ya!
Wow! Well Done!
very very good job