[Canon EF-M] 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.

[APS-C] 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.

[APS-C] 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.

[1.7°] 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.

[Manual Focus] The Tokina SZX 400 F8 Reflex MF Lens is a good addition to my gear. I've recently become interested in nature photography, but not interested in dragging heavy equipment.


The Tokina SZX is light and compact. Build quality is excellent. The focusing is smooth and clean. It comes with a good sunshade, threads on, fits over the lens when off, but doesn't stay put and would fall off. You'll need a lens bag to carry it.


The pictures are relatively sharp, far superior to other white label mirror lenses.


You have to watch two factors: camera shake and extremely shallow depth of field. I find myself up at 1/400 minimum shutter, and up at 1/1600th often enough.


As others have noted, this is a non-coupling lens. My D7000 thinks it's an F3 but it's not, it's F8.


It can resolve down to wisps of hair at a good distance.



The lens flares badly shooting into backlit subjects, more than most lenses.


I plan on buying another as a gift to a birdwatcher!

[f/11] Back in the 1970's me and my Nikon F2 had a Nikkor reflex. They were an odd duck to use but fun. With the new 400 and 500 f8 reflex lenses by Tokina, and my getting back into film, it made sense to grab one of these inexpensive telephoto's to hook up to my refurbished Nikon F2p. They are lightweight, with manual focus, and an f-stop that requires some fast film. With modern post processing, the loss of contrast is easily fixed. Unusual doughnut shaped Bokeh can be used to your advantage but some folks find the out of focus areas messy. It works very well for night time shots when mounted to an astronomical guided tripod.

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

[Canon EF-M] When your professional Baseball team's ballpark limits you to a less than 6 lens length and you want to check the brand of your players shoe laces, this lens is the solution. Easy to handhold when leaning on guard rail.

[f/11] This lens is simply amazing. I bought it almost last notice before the eclipse and used it on my Sony A7II camera for the eclipse.

Call it user error but if a lens can produce this type of shot from me not using a tripod and fumbling around with ISO and shutter speed settings, just imagine the pictures when you do incorporate those tools.

[Manual Focus] After using the SZX with a Nikon D850 here are some observations...
1. Subjects need to be well illuminated.
2. To take a sharper picture:
A. Use an exposure of 1/2000 sec.

B. Leave your hand on the focus ring until the shot is taken,
removing the hand pre-shot risks nudging the ring and
softening the image.
C. If time permits take two or three shots of a subject and
re-focus before each shot.

Photos *:
Goose: Exp 1/2000 sec., ISO-5000, Distance 25 feet.
Flowers: Exp 1/1000 sec., ISO-2000, Distance 8 feet.
Cactus Bugs: Exp 1/2000 sec., ISO-1000, Distance 60 feet,

Note: The bugs are slightly less than inch long.
* All photos are hand-held