Still zooms that don't extend

Jon Furtado

Well-known member
Someone posted somewhere on here that there were some manual still zooms where the barrel didn't extend forward. I'm looking to buy a still zoom that's mattebox friendly. Anyone know any that are?

I'd rather not do automatic lenses like Canons.
 
All my Tokina zooms do not extend. Actually, the do move, but all is done inside te lensbarrel.
Works perfectly with a mattebox.

I have 11-16 f/2.8, 20-35 f/2.8, 28-70 f/2.6 and 50-135 f/2.8
 
yes but the 16-50 extend , so avoid it.
11-16 is a must have
20-35 is a bit short range and there is then a gap with the 11-16
there is a 28-80, so better than the 28-70
I was looking for the 50-135 that is very expensive , and i think for video
it is a bit to much on the tele side (50-135 translate to 80-216), so for the price
i am afraid it would stay too much in its case to justify the spending.

a good lens would be the canon L 17-40 that would fit the gap between the 11-16 and the 28-80
so you could skip the 20-35
 
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The 20-35 range is short indeed (translates to 40-70 so not too bad), and it is not very good at wider apertures. It becomes sharper at f/4.0 and at f/5.6 and highter it is sharp and contrasty. I like to stick with Nikon mount lenses because of the focus direction. Reversing my follow focus (everytime) when switching glass does slow down working speed on set/location.
I know that the Nikon 17-35 f/2.8 doesn't extend either and it is a very nice lens, but expensive...
 
Thanks for calling our attention to the Tokina lenses. Specifically, with the 11-16mm Tokina, what adapter is required in order to be used on the AF-100?
 
With the Novoflex MFT/NIK adapter you can control the aperture of the Tokina 11-16mm. In fact, you can control the aperture of all lenses, with or without aperture ring.
 
"Is there such a thing as a manual aperture still zoom that doesn't extend?"

the tokina have manual control on focus and zoom, but not on aperture like most digital lenses.
You should look on "old" lenses , like pentax and nikon , canon having removed manual aperture lens control since a long time.
on the other hand, it is not far from "manual" to press on the a button and roll the wheel to select the an aperture.
 
"Is there such a thing as a manual aperture still zoom that doesn't extend?"

the tokina have manual control on focus and zoom, but not on aperture like most digital lenses.
You should look on "old" lenses , like pentax and nikon , canon having removed manual aperture lens control since a long time.
on the other hand, it is not far from "manual" to press on the a button and roll the wheel to select the an aperture.

Is there a button on the lens you press to roll a wheel? I'm not familiar with a lot of these automatic lenses.
 
Is there such a thing as a manual aperture still zoom that doesn't extend?

Look into all Nikon lenses that ARE NOT designated with a "G" or "DX." (ai, ai-s, d, etc. -- all have manual aperture control) I just looked over the legendary f/3.5 75-150, and it doesn't extend with the zoom, but mildly so with the focus. I recommend calling KEH and the used department at B&H.

As an entirely irrelevant editorial note -- zooms suck -- always go with primes.
 
I actually have a Nikon 50-135mm ais push-pull zoom that does not change in length at all when zooming.

Works great on my af100 too.
 
The outer barrel of the Nikon-mount Tokina AF193 19-35mm f3.5-4.5 zoom neither extends nor rotates when either zooming or focusing. It has a traditional aperture ring as well. While it's an auto-focus lens on a Nikon, the focus ring works in a completely manual manner on a Micro 4/3 camera. It's made of plastic, though, so it doesn't feel as good as it really is.
 
"Is there such a thing as a manual aperture still zoom that doesn't extend?"

the tokina have manual control on focus and zoom, but not on aperture like most digital lenses.

NOT TRUE!

(relatively old and rare) Tokina ATX Series (28-70, 28-80, 20-35) all 2.8 fixed have:
manual focus
manual zoom
manual f-stop (just like old AI/AIS Nikon lenses)

and those can be "de-clicked" for smooth f-stop change for video application. Also they are all "MATTE BOX FRIENDLY" meaning there is no extending or rotating of the front end of the lens while zooming/focusing...

Tokina 11-16 2.8 is a newer APS-C lens with new "G mount" style Nikon "hook up" and this lens does not have F stop ring in any configuration, so appropriate adapter is necessary to control the iris (some are already available). This lens also does not rotate or extends while zooming/focusing and it's proven to be a great performer for video considering such a wide angle of view ( http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/2010...-getting-wide-and-fast-on-a-canon-eos-1dmkiv/ )
 
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Yeah, it looks like the Tokina 11-16 will need to be my "wide lens" It's hard enough to find primes that go that low. And on the AF100 it'll bee 22mm-32mm which should be pretty wide. If I need wider my last choice is the lumix zoom that gets it down the 14mm with the crop factor.

I just HATE not buying full frame 35mm lenses! I know know in a future camera, APS-C lenses will not work most likely. So I'm trying to "future-proof" myself the best I can on the glass front.
 
Yeah, it looks like the Tokina 11-16 will need to be my "wide lens" It's hard enough to find primes that go that low. And on the AF100 it'll bee 22mm-32mm which should be pretty wide. If I need wider my last choice is the lumix zoom that gets it down the 14mm with the crop factor.

I just HATE not buying full frame 35mm lenses! I know know in a future camera, APS-C lenses will not work most likely. So I'm trying to "future-proof" myself the best I can on the glass front.


Well, I am gearing up for Super35 format (who ever comes out the best by next summer) and Tokina 11-16 is a "keeper" for that sensor size...
 
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