Normally, you wouldn't think of macro when you think of a 35mm lens, but that's exactly what got delivered to my door today.

This is a Tokina AT-X M35 Pro DX AF 35mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1.

I have been debating what lens to buy next, and to be honest, this lens wasn't really on the list until recently. There are many other (read: more expensive) lenses on the list, and because the budget is still pretty tight (need to save up for our Indonesia trip) I had to go with a less expensive lens. As I said, you don't normally think of macro photography with 35mm lenses, and that was part of what drew me to this lens. I had been looking at 60mm, 90mm, and 100mm macros from both Canon and Tamron.

But the deciding draw to this Tokina was its minimum focusing distance - a mere 5.5 inches. In messing with the lens just tonight after unpacking it, that means basically right up to the front of the lens. In fact, if I leave the lens hood on (which I will discuss shortly) literally is shorter than the lens!

So let's get down to some details about the lens... some pros and cons and interesting facts.

Price: This is certainly a budget lens, so we'll have to keep that in mind that this is not a Canon L-series lens. But at $309 at Adorama for their lens kit (which includes the lens, a UV filter, a lens cap leash, and a lens care kit) it is certainly affordable.

Size: The lens is small, and thus very portable. It weighs only 340 grams (almost 12 ounces), and is 60.4mm (about 2.4 inches) long at its shortest length (focused to infinity). So it will be an easy addition to my camera bag - which means it increases its chances of being used and not just left at home.

Construction: So far, the construction seems very sturdy - except for the AF/MF "switch" which I'll get into below.

Aperture: The lens has aperture ranges from f/2.8 to f/22 and uses 9 blades, which I haven't had a chance to test, but supposedly produces some really nice bokeh. I have the feeling that this lens will end up being a very nice portrait lens with its equivalent 52mm focal distance on my camera's APS-C sensor and the nice blurred backgrounds with the f/2.8 maximum aperture.

Focusing: Remember - we're talking about a budget lens here, so there's no hypersonic motor here, so AF is a little slow and a bit noisy. However, the lens doesn't take too long to seek and finds focus pretty well. There is a nice large focus distance scale display window which even provides info regarding the macro magnification ration info.

Additionally, the lens has a focus distance limiter switch - something I've never seen before. Basically the switch lets you select from the whole range (infinity to 5.5 inches) or break it into two sections with a break at about 0.55 feet (so infinity to 0.55 feet or 0.55 feet to 5.5 inches) - this feature will help reduce any lengthy seeking when by eliminating half the range if you don't need it.

However, the focusing system is where I have my only complaints so far. First, the AF/MF "switch" is actually the focusing ring. My Tamron 180mm Macro lens uses a similar setup, but I think because of the size of this lens, it misses the mark. Basically, you slide the whole focusing ring forward to select AF and back towards the camera to select MF. Unfortunately, where this feature is smooth and simple on my Tamron lens, it feels clunky and uneven on this Tokina lens. It sometimes sticks, and you can't flip between modes with a thumb, but rather have to carefully make sure to slide the ring evenly at all points along the circumference.

Additionally, messing with the lens tonight, I've found that if I slide through the focus range with the lens pointed up, it seems to catch and get hung up from time to time. I don't know whether it would damage it trying to use auto focus while pointing the lens up, but I think I'll avoid trying it. If the lens is pointed horizontally or downward (which is obviously the more common orientation) it is smooth and I have not noticed it catch once.

Accessories: This lens comes with only one accessory standard (I'm not discussing the bonus stuff I got with Adorama's kit) which is a small metal lens hood (MH-522). It threads into the lens like a filter, and if you don't know to look for it, you'll likely miss it. I honestly am not sure if this lens hood is necessary as the front element of the lens is pretty deeply recessed in the lens to begin with.

Other: Lastly, I don't know exactly what to say about this, but if you use Canon SLRs, you know that they use a white square to indicate the mount point for EF-S lenses and a red dot for EF lenses. This lens has a white dot on the barrel and a red dot on the flat part that sits flush to the camera. I'd say this is very odd, but interestingly enough, my Sigma 150-500mm lens has a red dot on the barrel and a white dot on the lens end. Weird.

All in all, I'm fairly pleased with this lens so far. I wandered around the house trying to decide what to take photos of to test with, and hopefully those matchstick photos work. But the truth of the matter is that the proof will be in the pudding, and we'll see what kind of photos I can get with this lens out in the field, so stay tuned to see what I can come up with.

- Bill