Generally, as you move into supertelephoto focal lengths, lens prices start to increase simply because of the sheer amount of glass it takes to produce such extreme images. That's why, at $699, the Tokina SZ 900mm f/11 Pro Reflex MF CF is an intriguing option. Can it offer good performance and image quality despite that modest price? This excellent video review takes a look.
Coming to you from Christopher Frost, this great video review takes a look at the Tokina SZ 900mm f/11 Pro Reflex MF CF lens for Sony E, Canon EF-M, and Fujifilm X mounts. The two important things to note are that this lens lacks autofocus (so don't expect to use it for fast action) and it is a mirror lens. Mirror lenses increase focal length by putting a mirror at the front end of the lens, allowing the light to take a longer path in a shorter physical footprint by bending the rays back on themselves. The downside of this is that the mirror creates donut-shaped bokeh that can be rather distracting in some situations.
Admittedly, the price of the lens is a bit curious, especially when you consider that the Canon RF 800mm f/11 IS STM is $300 more and offers autofocus, image stabilization, and none of that unique bokeh. Nonetheless, if you would like to try out ultra-long focal lengths and do not shoot with a Canon mirrorless camera, the Tokina is worth a look.
Check out the video above for the full rundown from Frost.
At 2:56 into the video he says,
"So, overall it is a soft lens, but not the worst I have ever seen."
Kinda tells me all I need to know about whether this lens is useful or not.
Instead of making a super cheap 900mm f11 mirror lens that is not useful for anything, why not make a semi-inexpensive 800mm f9 traditional lens with autofocus that people could actually use to create quality images? It would be far more useful than the fixed aperture f11 telephotos that Canon came out with a few years ago. And I bet they could do it for around $1600 retail.
So for 600-700 dollars less you can get the canon lens that is sharp, fast focus and is actually compatible with Canon's present camera system.
Yes we all know about the 800 and 600 f11 options from Canon. But I was talking about something different - making a similar lens but at f9, which would fill a niche that Canon has left empty. And yes the difference between f9 and f11 is substantial ..... I know from lots of experience because I shoot thousands of images at f9 and f11 every single year. F9 gives a very different character rendering to the out of focus background objects than f11 does in many real-world shooting situations.
900mm MIRROR lens??? Not a chance in Hades.
I will stick with the far superior RF 800mm f11 that has AF and IS.
800 to 900 is not a great deal different. Especially when mostly 3rd party lenses come up far shot of the listed length.
So for a few hundred bucks more you get a superior lens that doesn't have donuts for the blurred background.