Friday, October 30, 2009

Tokina AT-X 828 AF Pro 80-200mm f/2.8

My new lens, actually I was saving to buy its Nikon counterpart but my patience ran out and the 'Sonu Nigam' concert came up. This lens seemed like a good compromise and the internet was full of good reviews of it.
Before I narrate my experience with it, let me say this, it’s not magic and its very heavy.
I have a Nikon 50mm f/1.8F lens so I know what a f/1.8 and f/2.8 aperture feels like in terms of lights but some how after reading on the internet over and over again that it works very well in low light, I lost my own perception of low light. So here it is, it works great in low light but you’ll still have to open the window curtains when chasing a toddler with this lens and wait for harsh stage lighting to capture a very energetic performer.
The lens is very heavy and you’ll need a tripod/monopod for best results and you might want to skip your upper body strength training routine as you’ll plenty of exercise carrying this lens around…
That said, it still is a very good lens, without it I couldn’t have imagined taking pictures in a concert without flash. Not all the pictures turned out great, cause well, at maximum zoom, the lens was very sensitive to movement and at times there was two year old sitting in my lap when I tried to take the shots and of course the fact that my subject kept jumping up and down didn’t help either. We were in the 8th row from the stage which was excellent for watching concert but a little tough for taking pictures.

Anyways, here are some captures and now I have my eyes set for AF 18-70 f/2.8F, cause with this lens I have to stand very far from the subject, and my little subjects have a tendency to start running towards me as soon as they see me with the camera, with the words… ‘Let me see…’ trying to peek into the LCD of the camera.

Here's a picture before I removed the curtain from the window


And this is after the curtain was removed... I think my lens did a mighty job considering its weight and the fact that I was crawling on the ground behind a two year old.


Notice the very unforgiving shallow depth of field... In the first picture the focus is on my neck and the face seems so blurry and then notice the second picture.


This is a picture taken from the 8th row from the stage which was quite far for no flash and no tripod photography but I think I got some good shots...


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