I'm looking for a macro and its a tossup between the bokina II and the F/FA 100mm macro. Interested in what the differences in working distance @ 1:1 would be too....I can't wait to read your conclusions!
On Wed, Feb 27, 2013 at 8:50 PM, Darren Addy <[email protected]> wrote: > I guess this qualifies as a "gloat" although I gave a fair amount for > this lens. > > A couple of weeks ago a manual focus Tokina AT-X 90mm f2.5 Macro with > 1:1 Extender and original case showed up on an auction site. The > problem was, the silly seller did not specify what mount the lens was. > Now I'm not terribly familiar with the Tokina AT-X line, but this lens > appeared (even from the inadequate photos) to be in superb condition. > And I could make out a Green "A" at the end of the aperture ring. I > surmised correctly, as it turns out, that this was the rare Bokina II > in a PK/A mount. > > Having previously owned the Bokina I (the Tokina made Vivitar Series 1 > 90mm f2.5 with 1:1 extender in KM mount), which I sold solely to > partly finance my K-5, I was very interested to have the "improved" > official Tokina AT-X version. I was even determined to sell my > Pentax-F 100mm f2.8 Macro to pay for it. I took a chance and was the > high bidder, getting it for $370, shipped. Since I had sold the > original Bokina for over $500 and now had a PK/A in exchange, I felt > pretty good about that. Fortunately, I sold other items to pay for it > and did not have to part with my Pentax-F 100mm Macro. However, it > remained to be seen if the AT-X was indeed a PK/A and if it had any > problems. I'm happy to say that it arrived today and it is in > absolutely pristine condition. > > I will now be in a position to do a head-to-head comparison between > the two macro lenses and see if the AF of the Pentax is important to > me, and if the Bokina II lives up to it's optical reputation (which is > one of the nearest to Voigtlander Lanthar 125mm Macros that I have > seen, in online comparisons). The Pentax also has the advantage of > going to 1:1 without an extender. > > For starters, I am surprised at how light the Bokina II is, when > compared to the tank-like original Bokina. For those interested, the > definitive page on the Bokina II is here: > http://makingnottaking.blogspot.com/2010/05/tokina-90mm-f25-at-x-macro-bokina.html > > I'm now *especially* looking forward to Spring! > > -- > PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List > [email protected] > http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net > to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow > the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
