kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

I have the Tokina 100 and use it on my D7200 and my D850. I really like it. My brother has the Tamron 90mm and I find his images to be just as sharp as mine. I think you'll be happy with either one.

Canisdirus

Tokina is the better lens.

tropics68 Loc: Georgia

I have used the Tokina on my Canons for years and it does a great job at a great price.

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

I have the Tokina 100, great Lense.

Curmudgeon Loc: SE Arizona

D7200 with the Tamron 90 is the best combination I've ever had.

Royce Moss Loc: Irvine, CA

Royce Moss Loc: Irvine, CA

Thanks for the info SSCNXY. Pretty sure I will go for the Tokina
Royce

chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

I love my Tamron 90 SP (F017 model), BUT I would strongly advise you to check out the Tokina 100mm - you will get equally impressive shots and almost half the cost (new). A used Tamron 90 F017 will cost about the same as a new Tokina, so that is an option too. They are both great lenses. Funny story after the Angry Photographer recommended the Tokina lens a few years back, Tokina had to back order the lens! There is also a newer version of the Tokina 100 but not sure how good it is.

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

Depending upon which Tamron (there have been many versions), it will probably be sharper than the Tokina.

The Nikon version of the Tokina is a motorless lens... it relies upon the focusing motor built into your camera. That's fine with a D7200, but if you ever go to sell the lens for some reason, it will be less desirable for anyone with a D3000 or D5000-series camera, since those don't have the in-camera focusing motor and the lens will be manual focus only. This may or may not be a factor for macro, since manual focus is often preferable anyway. But anyone wanting the lens to serve non-macro purposes might be put off by lack of AF.

Also the Tokina has that unique "focus clutch".... To shift it from AF to MF you slide the focusing ring forward or backward. This means when set to AF there is no manual override. The focus ring is disconnected and just spins without changing anything. You have to "shift" the lens into MF before you can do any manual focus tweaks. This might be the case with some of the older Tamron 90mm versions, too (I'm not sure), but it is NOT the case with the two latest versions of Tamron #F017 and #F004 that both have USD (ultrasonic) focusing motors.

The Tokina 100mm is NOT an internal focusing lens. This means it extends when focused closer and because it's a macro lens it extends A LOT. It nearly doubles in length. This can be a real consideration when shooting high magnification macro, since there is little room between the front of the lens and the subject. (Adding the nice, deep, included hood to this lens makes it even worse, further reducing working room... HOWEVER the front element of the Toki 100mm is quite nicely recessed on it's own, so the hood really doesn't always need to be used.)

The Tokina AT-X and latest ATX-i 100mm f/2.8 lenses' main claim to fame is that they're among the least expensive macro lenses anyone makes. The Tamrons and the Sigma 105mm tend to cost about 50% more than the Tokina. OEM lenses from Nikon, Sony and Canon tend to be as much as 100% more expensive.

The current Tamron 90mm #F017 is the best one they've ever made. And Tamron has made a bunch of versions of their 90mm over the years, beginning with a manual focus lens for film cameras in the 1980s. Since you mention VC (which is what Tamron calls optical images stabilization), I suspect the lens you're considering is either this latest #F017 version or the immediately prior model 90mm #F004. Those are the only two in Nikon mount that have had VC. Actually both are quite good lenses with very similar specs. Besides VC, both also use ultrasonic focus drive, which is fast and accurate, while allowing manual focus tweaks without need to first turn off the AF system.

Also Tamron 90mm #F017 and #F004 are both internal focusing (IF) lenses. These lenses DO NOT grow in length when focused closer. (Note: Many... maybe all?... earlier Tamron 90mm were not IF.) Comparing with the non-IF Tokina, at closest focus the Tamron ends up giving you about 1" more working room between the front of the lens and your subject. Both lenses minimum focusing distance (MFD) is about 12". But, MFD is measured from the image sensor plane inside the camera... so part of the camera and the lens itself occupy a lot of that space. With no lens hood mounted, at full 1:1 magnification the Tamron 90mm (both versions) ends up with about 5.25 inches of "working distance" between the front of the lens and the subject, while because the Tokina extends when focused to 1:1 it ends up with about 4.25 inches. The Tamron's lens hood is slightly deeper than the Tokina's. So when their respective hoods are installed there will be only about 2 inches of working space with the Tokina and slightly less than 2.75 inches with the Tamron. Note that when set to infinity, such as might be done for storage, the Tokina ends up about .75 inch smaller. This is fairly typical of IF versus non-IF lenses.... non-IF can be a bit smaller for storage, while the IF lenses don't grow in length when in use.

Because macro lenses tend to be slower focusing by design, with AF that emphasizes accuracy over speed, they often incorporate a focus limiter. The Tokina 100mm has a 2-position focus limiter... you can set it to full range from 1:1 to infinity or to a "non-macro" range that will speed up AF performance for non-macro shooting. Both versions of Tamron 90mm have a 3-position limiter: full range, non-macro only and macro only.

Image quality is the primary consideration and all these macro lenses are very good in this respect. However, the Tokina 100mm is definitely less capable than these two Tamron versions (as well as Sigma, Canon, Nikon and Sony in this focal length range). The Tokina is equally sharp in the center, but less so toward the edges and the corners. It does improve as it's stopped down (which is often the case with macro, looking to improve depth of field). The two Tamron are sharper edge to edge wide open, but more comparable when the Tokina improves by stopping down. Between the two Tamron, the latest #F017 is very, very slightly sharper than the older #F004... or it may just be a slight edge in contrast due to improved coatings. It's hard to say for sure.

The biggest differences between the current and earlier versions of both the Tamron and the Tokina are mostly cosmetic. The current Tokina ATX-i appears to use the exact same optics and everything else inside as the earlier AT-X version. I've not been able to find any difference. It's similar with the current Tamron #F017 versus their earlier #F004.... mostly just external cosmetics. I did notice the #F017 adopted curved aperture blades that might make for smoother out of focus background blur effects.

In the final analysis, besides price the two most recent versions of the Tamron 90mm are superior to the Tokina 100mm macro in most respects: sharper images, better AF system, image stabilized, IF design, better focus limiter, rounded aperture blades (#F017 only). But the Tokina 100mm was historically sold new for about 33% less (or the Tamron for 50% more)... and it's a good lens for the money. If you're buying used and have found Tamron 90mm #F017 or #F004 in good condition selling for about the same as a Tokina 100mm, I don't think it's a tough decision.... I'd buy the Tamron.

Finally... The Tamron 90mm in Nikon F-mount and Canon EF mount appears to have been discontinued! I was surprised to learn this recently. You can't find them selling new many places anymore. Tamron seems to only be offering their Sony e-mount version (which is a non-IF lens without VC, based upon a version that preceded the #F004). I know both Canon and Nikon have discontinued quite a few of their DSLR lenses, in favor of their new mirrorless system expansions. But I haven't seen many of the third party lens makers discontinuing lenses so far and really thought the Tamron 90mm would remain popular. Tokina with their 100mm and Sigma with their 105mm are both continuing to offer macro lenses to fit Canon and Nikon DSLRs.

Image quality test examples, Tokina AT-X 100mm versus Tamron 90mm #F017 (both on Canon full frame cameras): https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/ISO-12233-Sample-Crops.aspx?Lens=958&Camera=453&FLI=0&API=0&LensComp=1046&Sample=0&CameraComp=453&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0

Note that stopping the lenses down gradually improves the edge to edge sharpness of the Tokina until they pretty much match each other at f/11 (probably as small an aperture you'll ever want to use on a 24MP AP-C camera, due to diffraction at any smaller apertures).

Other comparisons show:

- Vignetting... neither is bad, but it's about 1/2 stop greater in corners of Tamron lens (lens profiles correct, if needed).
- Flare... the Tokina is more prone to ghost flares... while the Tamron sees some veiling flare.
- Distortion... neither lens shows any significant distortion.

A complete review of the Tamron #F017: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Tamron-90mm-f-2.8-Di-VC-USD-Macro-F017-Lens.aspx

Sorry, no similar review of the Tokina 100mm at the above site. There are plenty of reviews of it online elsewhere though.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I think we have been through this before ! The Tokina ATX IS IS internal focus - just like the Canon and Nikon versions. The front is not recessed - so you do need a hood for some things. It only goes to 1:2 - I HAVE one ......
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amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I don't know what you've got..

But, no, the Tokina AT-X is clearly NOT internal focusing (IF).







The newer ATX-i also is NOT internal focusing...



***********************************************************************************

And while they are not deeply recessed, the AT-X 100mm's...



...and the newer ATX-i 100mm's...



...front elements are more recessed, less exposed than many other macro lenses':

Such as the Sigma 105mm...



Or the Canon 100mm L...



Or the Micro-Nikkor 105mm...



Or the Tamron 90mm #F017...



Or the Tamron 90mm #F004...



************************************************************************************

Finally, both the Tokina AT-X Pro (2006-2019) and ATX-i Pro (2020-present) are capable of full 1:1 magnification.

Maybe there was another version, prior to 2006? I don't know.

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

https://www.ebay.com/itm/294900893914?hash=item44a97688da:g:A0AAAOSwfz5iMYyf !!!!
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chrisg-optical Loc: New York, NY

Depends on the model you are referring to - the one listed in the ebay ad seems to be an older version or one made for a limited market (Japan?).

The version reviewed by Ken Rockwell and recommended by the Angry Photographer is the ATX "PRO" version which does have an extending barrel.
https://www.kenrockwell.com/tokina/100mm-f28.htm
This is the previous model to the recently released newest version by Tokina. The ATX "Pro" version.
https://tokinalens.com/product/at_x_m100_pro_d/
The newest ATX-i version - https://tokinalens.com/product/atx_i_100mm_f2_8_ff_macro/
Both have extending barrels. You would think "i" means internal focus, but it means "interactive".

rwww80a Loc: Hampton, NH

Ditto!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

This one is IF and has IF in the name !! and yes, it is older and MUCH cheaper ....going to an extending barrel is going backwards IMO ! This is from a time when no one else had an IF ! And, yes there are very few - if any - reviews of this lens. 8-(
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