jerrypoller Loc: Huntington, NY

Since I started reading this forum about 6 months ago, I upgraded my kit to a refurbished Nikon D610 from Cameta, and found two used Nikon/Nikkor lenses on Ebay - a Nikkor 35-70 f/2.8, and a Nikkor 80-200 f/2.8. To complete my lens set, I just scored an Ebay lens that was listed as Nikon Zoom-Nikkor AF D 20-35 mm F/2.8 AF-D AF. All the markings on the lens confirm this - and it is marked Made in Japan. Yesterday I used it for the first time and when I opened the "info" window on my iMac, the lens comes up as a "Tokina AT-X 235 AF PRO (AF 20-35mm f/2.8)". What's the story here. The lens is clearly marked Nikon/ AF Nikkor. My other Nikkor lenses come up in the Apple Photos info window as Nikon manufactured lenses. Before I contact the seller, is there an explanation for the discrepancy? Thanks.

ssymeono Loc: St. Louis, Missouri

It would help to see an image or two of your lens.

jethro779 Loc: Tucson, AZ

I have seen non Nikkor/Nikon lenses show up as Nikon lenses of equivalent size, but not the reverse. It might be that photos is picking the wrong lens profile. Is the Nikon lens a discontinued model?

Kuzano

Lens branding has been common for years. Sigma, Tokina, and many others have built lenses to mfr specs, (nikon, Canon, Olympus and others)and branded them to the MFR name. Still being done today. Since the lenses are to MFR spec they should be as good as the MFR would build.

However, that's not always a guarantee of excellent IQ. Nikon and others have surely even made and sold some of their own POS lenses.

You may have a Tokina built Nikkor. Entirely possible.

The tell tale is usually the serial number. If checked against Nikon listings it may give you an answer.

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Kuzano, very interesting. :thumbup:

ssymeono Loc: St. Louis, Missouri

I have owned this lens for many years (picture attached). It was introduced in 1993 and was the predecessor of AF 17-35 and like it it maintains f/2.8 aperture throughout. It has a filter thread of 77mm, 14 elements in 11 groups. It was Nikon's first AF lens for extreme wide-angle range. The serial number of mine is 242267. There is no indication on it that it was made by Tokina or any other company.

Kuzano

First, I am not saying it is made by Tokina. I only posted information as to a practice in the camera body AND lens business.

Secondly, if it was a branded lens, branded for Nikon as a Nikkor, you, as the consumer would NEVER see any indication of the actual manufacturer, were it other than Nikon.

Early Olympus 4/3 70-300 Zuiko digital lenses were made by Sigma for Olympus. There is no way to find an indicator on that lens re: Sigma.

All I am saying is that manufacturers have been known to farm the specs out to third party lens manufacturers on contract, provided the product matched the specifications of the RFP (Request for Proposal).

I seriously doubt than many camera companies have made every product they have sold.

High stakes case in point. Leica has sold many Leica's made or designed by other companies. In fact, the Leica R SLR was designed by Minolta. The Leica CL was a Minolta product. Minolta made lenses for Leica using their Rokkor formulas.

Also, Leica does somewhat the same thing in their collaberation with the 4/3 consortium and their Panasonic lenses. Yes, a bit different in practice than branding, but all the camera companies play in the same pig pen on some products. No camera company in my estimation is 100% what they claim to be.

You can resist all you want on this issue, but it's a common industry practice.

In the case of Vivitar, vivitar makes NO lenses themselves. The Vivitar Series 1 70-21 was made at different times by up to eight different lens manufacturers and they all said Vivitar Series I. The only clue to actual mfr is two digits of the serial number.

I am a fan of one mfr of Vivitar lenses. All Vivitars that start with the number 22 on the front are made by Kiron, formerly KINO precision. One of the best glass mfrs in the 70's and later.

So as far as the OP's Nikon-Nikkor, I'm not saying it is a Tokina. I am inferring that because it reads out in EXIF as a
Tokina, perhaps it is a Tokina built for Nikon.

Probably makes no difference, because Tokina has mfrd some lenses equal to some from Nikon.

My opinion is that the problem with many third party lenses is not often Image Quality, as much as it is Quality Control and liability.

I've shot third party consumer grade lenses that delivered images as good as a manufacturers consumer grade counterpart.

For me, who built the lens is secondary to the results it produces.

Kuzano

I encourage the OP to find a picture of the lens in question that is branded Tokina (they made the same lens) and compare the image to his Nikon Nikkor. That will help sort this out a bit.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

What is more important to you - sharp, contrasty pictures, or the "info" data?

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

So, he's not allowed to be curious??? Lighten up.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

You're not trying to pretend that I am not allowed to be curious, are you :?: :?:

DaveO Loc: Northeast CT

Real snappy reply...

MT Shooter Loc: Montana

That should help, here is the Tokina, no similarities in appearance.

ssymeono Loc: St. Louis, Missouri

MT Shooter has posted an image of the Tokina lens. I appreciate your effort to write an essay on manufacturers making lenses for each other. I am well aware of this practice. I was only trying to express doubt that Nikon (one of the premier lens manufacturers) would release a prime, new lens made by someone else.

jerrypoller Loc: Huntington, NY

First, sorry to be so long in responding to all the comments. I posted originally just before leaving for church this morning and am now just back to acknowledge all the feedback. The Exif file date from the photo I took with my D610 reports the serial number as 3032576 and the lens ID as 2,1247,483,647. I looked up the Nikkor serial numbers for the Nikon 20-35 f/2.8 and saw a range of 200533-286258 produced between '93 and '01. Can anyone please confirm that my lens is NOT a Nikon built lens from these numbers?

I also got ahold of a Nikon D50 and the Exif data also show the lens to be the same Tokina model as my D610 reported. I wanted to assure myself that my D610 firmware wasn't giving a false read of the lens type.