[3' / 92 cm] I own a 200-500 Nikon but wanted to try something physically smaller. This lens is perfect to throw in my sling bag and go. A great match for my mirrorless cameras. Perfect when using my lighter tripod - I use a swinging gimbal type mount for larger lenses.

[f/7.1] Years ago I had a Sigma 600mm f8 in the camo green color with a canon T70 and found it a bit large and wieldy. This version is super light and about half the size if not smaller and takes a bit of practice to get the best out of it. Tripod important and I also use a minimum of a 2 second timer on the shutter to ensure no movement when pressing for the picture. Using a Canon EOS T6s APS-C so actually getting about 800mm in 35mm format conversion. Also found that the sharpness is better without a UV or similar filter on the front. Possibly a more expensive filter would not degrade the result however I keep the filter on for protection and take it off for shooting. It helps to have the back display screen used to help focus the image and when you enlarge the image you can much easier set the proper focus as the long telephoto is inherintly sensitive. It's taken a bit of time to get used to using a mirror lens again and I'm looking forward to many more good shots. Some recent outings catching the moon at near full have created some excellent results.
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Cheers all!!

[1:2.5] I waited for this lens for couple of month. But it was worth it. I am using my Tokina on Fujifilm X-T3. The lens is light and compact. Focus ring is smooth. But depth of field is quite shallow and you need to really feather it. Reflector design limits the sharpness, I guess, but I took test photos only without a tripod yet. Perhaps on with a tripod, good lighting and precise focusing, sharpness will be on par with the refractors.

[1:2.5] Because I never had the funds to get one of those high powered expensive lenses years ago I found a cheep 500mm reflex lens. With practice I was able to get good to great pictures with it so I decided to try the Tokina SZX, also far less expensive than those dream lenses. It is actually a bit easier to focus than the old reflex lens and does it ever capture great pictures! It also feels like a quality lens and isd so smooth. If you want more power and don't have a thousand bucks give this Tokina 400mm a try, you won't be disapointed.

[Canon EF-M] I’m impressed with the quality of the photos and the ability to take great photos of birds and other objects handholding this lens. I’ts not for the point and shoot crowd. You have to understand how to focus this lens and work with the narrow depth of field, and you have to know how to shoot manual mode. Once you are comfortable with those items the lens really delivers some incredible photos...

[f/7.1] For the price, the Tokina 400mm f/8 Reflex lens is a niche product for photographers who know what to expect from such a beast. The lens is, of course, manual focus, which is easily done on a mirrorless camera with viewfinder magnification. The lens delivers images that are a bit soft and low in contrast, exactly what I expected. But, the image does sharpen up a bit in post processing. The bokeh is unique to this sort of optical design, and can be surprising to those who do not expect it. The lens is quite compact for the 400mm focal length, and relatively light weight.
I am giving it 5 stars because it is exactly what I expected, not because it is some sort of cheap, screaming bargain. It will be a fun toy to use for long reach.

[1:2.5] The Tokina SZ 500mm f/8 is a reflex lens. Reflex lenses use mirrors to reflect light back and forth in the lens barrel rather than using multiple elements as traditional lenses do. This makes the lens much lighter and much shorter. This lens is a fixed aperture at f/8 and is a prime lens fixed at 500mm. The lens is a manual focus lens and needs lots of light to use handheld. The bokeh has circular patterns to it due to the nature of the reflex lens. The lens is sharp edge to edge with no degradation from center to edge. However, the sharpness is notably less than a traditional lens with multiple elements. The lens is well built and feels precise when focusing. It is solid and comes with a metal screw in lens hood instead of teh industry standard plastic hood. For the price, this is a great lens. It is not going to get your wildlife photo on the cover of National Geographic, but if you understand the limitations of the lens and work with its strong points, you will get great results.

[APS-C] only downside is getting used to manual focus. this lens is great for getting anything far off, and takes nice crisp photos.

[1.055 lb] My a7 iii kept up great with image stabilization for some handheld shots, and a lightroom preset can bring back some contrast and vignetting.

Manual focus takes some practice of course, but the size and weight proposition for hikes makes this an easy choice for me.


Perhaps slightly soft and dark compared to refractive options, but plenty for more casual nature spotting.

[5.1°] I'm an amateur photographer, growing into my Nikon Z5 and the mirrorless world. I wanted a telephoto with decent enough reach and performance for me to capture the birds and wildlife in my backyard and on nature hikes. This fits the bill! It doesn't weigh a lot as I walk in the field. The depth of field performance actually helps me focus on the wildlife with some nice bokeh. I don't need the highest-quality sharpness or for everything to be automatic at this stage of my hobby life, and my budget is limited. In short, I've taken some good photos with this lens for my birding record and artistic use with this affordable option. I'm extremely pleased.