Tokina RMC-2 80-200mm f/4 (One-Touch Telephoto Zoom)

Tokina RMC 80-200mm f/4 (One-Touch Telephoto Zoom)

Tokina RMC 880-200mm f/4
Here are three copies in different mounts.
Two were fixed mount; one is Tokina TX interchangeable mount.

2016.10.20 - Published

2021.08.12 - Re-written, new video upload

There were three copies of the Tokina RMC-2 80-200mm f/4 with me -- two were RMC-2 versions in fixed K/AR and P/K mounts; the third was RMC-1 with Tokina TX interchangeable mount (it came in Minolta SR mount). It is a one-touch zoom design and it is meant to be handheld.

They have a bigger sibling, the Tokina RMC-2 70-210mm f/3.5 (also known as 'Vivitar Series 1'). The Tokina RMC 80-200mm f/4 is a bit smaller and lighter, but it has a longer minimum focusing of 1.9 meters. This smaller lens is also more common and much easier to find than the 70-210/3.5.

The Tokina RMC 80-200mm f/4 had similar image quality but I noticed better resolution at the long 200mm end than its bigger sibling. It may be due to copy variations and age that shooting outdoor with this lens gives soft contrast, but the sharpness is still there and I like the pleasing vintage glow and character.

I'm more inclined toward the equivalent lenses in Tamron's Adaptall 2 lineup. For example, Tamron Adaptall 80-210mm f/3.8-4 Macro (Model 03A) was their most popular and most sold tele-zoom because of its cheapness and quality. The closeup range of 0.9 meters trumps all competitors.

The video was originally shot in 2016 with a Nikon D5200, I did not carry tripod at the time and did not intend to shoot video when they were filmed. The footage are shaky and degraded because of re-editing; the video clips are NOT representative of the output quality of the lens, look at the photos instead.