Tokina SZ 900mm f/11 PRO Reflex MF CF lens review

Yet another new mirror lens and this one with a pretty extreme reach!

Find it here (Amazon affiliate link - I earn a commission on purchases. Be sure to buy the right lens for your system):

All sample pictures taken by me on a Sony a7R III and a5100 camera.

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Music:
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License

[theowlfromduolingo]

Honestly, I expected that the image quality would be worse. But 700$ is quite a lot and you are right, great for a mirror lens but, as whole, the negative aspects definitely outweigh the positive ones for practical use

[daveinportland]

That's not a lens...it's a space station.

[legojackgaming]

That focus pull is a god damn acid trip

[TheWillRogers]

OK, the gulls becoming the circles is kind of a cool effect.

[mxwphoto]

Not sure where Tokina is trying to go with this lens, price seems excessive for what you are getting. The Canon 800mm f11 is similiarly priced, has AF and IS, much sharper, similiar size (when stowed), and serves up full frame. If the Tokina was maybe half the cost at $350 it may make more sense for a first timer who wants super long reach but not spend much money.

[geoffreygiebelhaus]

Wild to see mirror lenses being produced more and more. They are definitely fun, and have their usage. But the soft center image always ruins the experience for me

[dpfreedman]

In 1991 Minolta introduced the world's first and (still) only autofocus mirror lens. 500mm f/8.

[tielmaster]

That's legit the coolest looking lens I've ever seen.

[JacobdelaRosa]

I think mirror lenses are some of the most fun I've ever had with photography. Good stuff!

[pwolkowicki]

I have a reflex lens. There is one tric to change the aperture. I bought some spare lens caps for it and drilled large holes in them. Different number in each. It changes both aperture and bokeh, although I didn't notice any increase in resolution maybe due to high aperture numbers.

[drguffey]

The knocks, like contrast & sharpness, can be adjusted in editing. I have a Sigma 600 Cat & love it.

[magiccarpetrider]

Wow, haven’t seen a mirror reflex since I used to shoot PGA tour in the 80s. Had a Nikon 500mm f8 and 800mm (maybe f11).

[myself]

1:53 I like how th birds just turn into donuts

[frandecatta]

Cameras with this lens won't be a mirrorless anymore...

[dougsmit]

I do not have a You Tube channel on photography. If I did and were to review this lens, I would have mentioned that this lens is one of three from this manufacturer down to a 300mm f/7.1 which is a good deal less extreme but shares some of the 'faults' you mentioned. I also might have mentioned that it seems odd that it comes in Canon M but not in RF or RF-S which would make it useful for the current crop of Canon lenses. Canon is not locking out manual focus RF lenses. However Canon users have the option of the non-mirror 800 f/11 which is image stabilized, autofocus and sharp for a couple hundred more. What it lacks is compactness and close focus (unless you add a stack of extension tubes). I have an antique Sigma 600mm mirror which shares the ring bokeh and close focus not to mention difficulty in focusing but is not unsharp if and only if you get the focus spot on using a tripod and magnification with a current mirrorless. The question is just how badly you want to get a headshot of that woodpecker that lands ten feet from you and whether you are willing to use an AI sharpener like Topaz. I wish I could show you mine from 15 years ago and I regret I can not get that bird to do a repeat visit at that distance. I doubt many people who buy this lens will be happy simply because those with the experience to use it properly often comes after the desire for something cheap and extreme has passed.

[tridinh]

Since this is basically a mini reflector, i wonder if some collimation would improve the image quality

[samk]

One of the first videos I ever watched of your's was the Samyang mirror lens from back in the day. Banger vid. Id really love you to review the Tamron 500mm f8 tho. I have a copy of it and I think it's really quite good as mirror lenses go.

[DynamixWarePro]

Mirror lenses are definitely interesting with their long focal lengths, but as is the same for some other mirror lenses, the softer image quality and low quality lets this one down.

[sorek__]

I recently played with few mirror lenses on my A7R IV (61mpx).

Turns out my old Zeiss Jena 135mm f3.5 wide open when cropped offers better quality than all of them being at 500-1000mm.. Go figure!

[randomlyunknown]

Any plans to review the samyang 35-150 and compare to the Tamron? I'm wondering if you like it as much as the 135. Thanks again for all your great work!