Tokina SZ 300mmPRO Reflex F7.1 MF CF review

The Tokina SZ 300mmPRO Reflex is smaller and lighter than a can of drink. Surely something’s gotta give…

Tokina SZ 300mmPRO Reflex F7.1 MF CF
(Image: © Matthew Richards)

Digital Camera World Verdict

When compactness is key and you want to travel light, telephoto lenses are normally off the menu. This tiny Tokina lens redresses the balance, so to speak. Designed for APS-C format Canon M, Fujifilm X and Sony E mirrorless cameras, it gives powerful telephoto reach in a tiny package that weighs in at just 235g. That’s thanks to its reflex/mirror design. However, it’s a fully manual lens with no electronics, no autofocus, no optical image stabilization and a fixed aperture. Manual focusing is fiddly and image quality is disappointingly dull.

Pros

  • +

    Small ultra-lightweight build

  • +

    0.4x maximum magnification

  • +

    Good build quality

Cons

  • -

    No autofocus

  • -

    No image stabilization

  • -

    Dull image quality

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As its name suggests, the Tokina SZ 300mmPRO Reflex F7.1 MF CF is a reflex lens, aka mirror lens, although we’re not convinced about the ‘PRO’ monicker. Unlike regular camera lenses, reflex lenses adopt a catadioptric optical design, which basically means it does tricks with mirrors. Light enters the lens through a circular band at the front, is reflected back from a mirror at the rear to a second mirror positioned front center, which reflects it rearwards again to the image sensor. The light path is therefore effectively bounced back and forth twice as it passes through the lens, enabling a much shorter physical construction. Indeed, despite having an ‘effective’ focal length of 450mm on Fujifilm X and Sony E APS-C  format cameras (480mm for Canon M), the lens is smaller than a regular can of drink and only about two thirds of the weight.

(Image credit: Matthew Richards)

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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.