The type of photography that you are planning to use is an important decision factor. Here we have evaluated the Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX and the Nikon 28mm f2.8D for their suitability to various photography scenarios:
Size and Weight Comparison
Size of a lens is an important deciding factor when comparing two lenses.Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX is the longer of the two lenses at 60mm. The Nikon 28mm f2.8D with a length of 45mm is 15mm shorter. Besides being longer, the Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX also has a larger diameter of 73mm compared to Nikon 28mm f2.8D's 65mm diameter.
Weight of a lens is as important as its external dimensions, especially if you are planning to hand hold your camera and lens combination for longer periods. Nikon 28mm f2.8D weighs 205g, 39% (135g) lighter than the Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX's weight of 340g.
Lens Mounts
Both Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX has the Nikon F (DX) lens mount whereas the Nikon 28mm f2.8D has the Nikon F (FX) lens mount. Some of the latest released cameras that are compatible with these mounts are Nikon D3500, Nikon D7500 and Nikon D5600 for the Nikon F (DX) Mount and Nikon D6, Nikon D780 and Nikon D3500 for the Nikon F (FX) Mount.
Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX is also available in Canon EF mount.
Focal Range
Tokina 35mm f2.8 Macro DX is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 35mm which has an effective (full-frame 35mm equivalent) focal range of 52.5mm when used on a APS-C / DX format camera. Nikon 28mm f2.8D is a prime lens with fixed focal lenght of 28mm. When it is mounted on an APS-C sensor camera with 1.5x crop, it provides an 35mm (FF) equivalent of 42mm.