Tokina normal telephoto lens?

[clams]

Any of you guys hear anything about the Tokina 50-135mm f/2.8? I'm thinking of getting a normal telephoto and this one seems to be decent on price ($530), size, and speed. I haven't heard much about it other than the smattering of reviews though. Oh and I'm looking at the one for the EF-S mount.

[toxic]

I haven't heard much, either, but all of it has been positive...

grab one from somewhere without a restocking fee. then make your own review for posterity :rolleyes:

[OreoCookie]

Tokina lenses are beautifully crafted, I own the 12-24 mm lens. They're a joy to use, the built quality is way above that of Sigma and Tamron. Since you have set your mind on a (very reasonable) zoom range, the only competitor is Sigma's 50-150 mm zoom -- which isn't supposed to be better at least.*

I would simply get one and see if you like it.

* The Tokina is sharper, but suffers from chromatic abberations -- which are easy to correct if you shoot RAW.

[luminosity]

The Tokina 50-135mm is an outstanding lens by most accounts. There are a few reviews of it online if you look around. Tokina's build quality is more like Nikon and Canon's premium lenses than most of Sigma's. Tokina doesn't make a wide range of lenses, but the ones they do make are generally very good (the 11-16 is one of the best wide angles out there).