Tokina atx-i 100mm F2.8 FF Macro review

At last, a new lens for Canon and Nikon DSLRs! However, the Tokina atx-i 100mm F2.8 FF Macro isn't entirely 'new'...

Tokina atx-i 100mm F2.8 FF Macro
(Image: © Future)

Digital Camera World Verdict

Launched in 2019, the atx-i edition of Tokina’s 100mm macro lens replaces the veteran AT-X PRO version from 2006. It has a more modern appearance but, underneath, it’s essentially the same lens that delivers very good image quality and full 1.0x macro magnification, but with a limited autofocus system in its Nikon F-mount edition, relying on the in-camera autofocus motors of up-market DSLRs. In some ways, it’s a very good lens. In others, it’s a missed opportunity.

Pros

  • +

    Impressive image quality

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    High-precision manual focusing for macro shooting

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    Tokina’s typical One-touch Clutch focus ring

Cons

  • -

    Inner barrel extends at shorter focus settings

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    Nikon version lacks an autofocus motor

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    No weather-seals

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Tokina’s ‘atx-i’ range majors on wide-angle lenses. There are 11-16mm and 11-20mm f/2.8 zooms for Canon and Nikon APS-C format DSLRs, and a 17-35mm f/4 lens for the same makes of full-frame cameras. Bucking the trend, the 100mm f/2.8 is a classic macro prime, delivering a full 1.0x or 1:1 magnification ratio at its shortest focus distance of 30cm. It’s a much favored focal length for macro photography, enabling you to shoot anything from tiny bugs to small objects of desire, from a comfortable and natural working distance.

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Matthew Richards

Matthew Richards is a photographer and journalist who has spent years using and reviewing all manner of photo gear. He is Digital Camera World's principal lens reviewer – and has tested more primes and zooms than most people have had hot dinners! 

His expertise with equipment doesn’t end there, though. He is also an encyclopedia  when it comes to all manner of cameras, camera holsters and bags, flashguns, tripods and heads, printers, papers and inks, and just about anything imaging-related. 

In an earlier life he was a broadcast engineer at the BBC, as well as a former editor of PC Guide.