Thank you all for your kind contributions and suggestions. :thumbsup:
fatlee: Yes I've read online that the Tamron's sharpness is someone to be wowed about. And the warmer reproduction is a point of consideration.
thomas: You are really doing a good job of a salesman eh?
nightwolf: Yea, thanks for pointing it out to me before I buy it. I have since read on nikonians.org and various other sites of this quality control problem with Tokina. Users have accounted experiences where they have had to return up to 3 sets of lenses before getting a spot on one. :think: But after that they were very happy with their purchase. I will definetly check out the focussing if I do decide to buy it.
I've done a little summary of my own regarding the Tokina, Tamron and the Nikon Kit Lens.
Sharpness wise the Nikon is not up to par with the Tokina and Tamron as seen on various user's opinions.
The Tokina has a constant zoom volume meaning it doesn't extend at the zoom end, but the Tamron and Nikon does. This means less dust inside your lens and better handling.
The Tokina is significantly heavier, coincidentally they have 2 different models the 28-70 and the 28-80. The Nikon being the lightest. And the Tamron boasting the title of the world's lightest mid zoom lens. Build wise, Tokina is heavier because of the metal components used in design, the old school would appeal to this but personally I would rather not carry a tank around. :sweat:
The minimum working distance is roughly 30cm for the Nikon and the Tamron but a longer 70cm for both the Tokina models. These are constant values throughout the zoom ranges. This would mean better macro capability for the Nikon and Tamron but I wouldn't think I would be using this for macro shots. I have a 105 micro Nikkor for that. But that is personal choice.
All lenses show significant softness when shot at 2.8 and the Tamron reproduces a reddish overcase/warmness in its photos especially at the 2.8 end. Other than that, sharpness I would say Tamron and Tokina are equally good.
I'm not sure why but Tokina has a smaller user base than Tamron. An interesting fact is that Tokina was started by a group of ex-Nikon engineers and the brother of the guy who owns Hoya.
Tokina features a fast manual-AF switch that allows users to push a lens ring to switch from MF to AF easily, no fiddling with buttons or knobs. This is in particular to Tokina only.
The handling for Tokina and Tamron are arguably the same, both praises and dislikes from both sides which balances out leaving it to user's own preference.
Price wise internationally they are in the same range. But in Singapore, CP is currently selling at $399 for the 28-70, and $600 for the Tamron, and about $400 for the Nikon.
My main deciding factor is currently the weight since the optics are not an issue. Except for the quality control problem Tokina has, buyer beware!
Hope this thread helps all potential buyers deciding between the Tokina 28-70 or 28-80 and the Tamron 28-70. The Nikon 18-70 was thrown in for comparison's sake.
