When the Sony full frame mirrorless system was made available a few years ago, the consensus was that there were not enough lenses in the ecosystem to attract photographers to switch over. Today, there is a whole range of native lenses from Sony and Zeiss is manufacturing two range of lenses dedicated to the E mount, the Batis and Loxia lenses. However, some lens choices remained elusive from both companies..... a relatively inexpensive, compact, fast wide angle prime lens.
Then came the Tokina Firin 20mm f/2 FE MF. The first of four lenses from the Firin family(according to their roadmap), dedicated to the Sony E mount. I got one yesterday. Out of the box, initial impression of the lens was good. Weighing 490g, the lens felt a little hefty in the hands but is well balanced with the A7RII. It will take 62mm screw-in filters so landscapers rejoice! The lens has metal construction and felt well-built. Focus and aperture rings are well dampened, having the right amount of resistance. Aperture ring can be de-clicked with a switch so Tokina had videographers in mind. A "cinematic style" rectangular lens hood is included but that appears to be only achilles heel in the build quality. It's made of lightweight plastic and although it clicked onto the lens with no issues, it rattles a little.
This is a manual focus lens so if you are only into auto focus, you can stop reading. It's not really a big deal to me since wide angle lenses are easier to focus and I am used to focus peaking. An easy-to-read distance scale is printed on the barrel so there wouldn't be any issues with zone or hyper-distance focussing too. The focus throw is very long, which is useful for precise focussing. Again, Tokina has got videographers in mind with this lens.
SONY A7RII + TOKINA FIRIN 20mm f/2 FE MF by arkitectural photography, on Flickr
SONY A7RII + TOKINA FIRIN 20mm f/2 FE MF by arkitectural photography, on Flickr
Then came the Tokina Firin 20mm f/2 FE MF. The first of four lenses from the Firin family(according to their roadmap), dedicated to the Sony E mount. I got one yesterday. Out of the box, initial impression of the lens was good. Weighing 490g, the lens felt a little hefty in the hands but is well balanced with the A7RII. It will take 62mm screw-in filters so landscapers rejoice! The lens has metal construction and felt well-built. Focus and aperture rings are well dampened, having the right amount of resistance. Aperture ring can be de-clicked with a switch so Tokina had videographers in mind. A "cinematic style" rectangular lens hood is included but that appears to be only achilles heel in the build quality. It's made of lightweight plastic and although it clicked onto the lens with no issues, it rattles a little.
This is a manual focus lens so if you are only into auto focus, you can stop reading. It's not really a big deal to me since wide angle lenses are easier to focus and I am used to focus peaking. An easy-to-read distance scale is printed on the barrel so there wouldn't be any issues with zone or hyper-distance focussing too. The focus throw is very long, which is useful for precise focussing. Again, Tokina has got videographers in mind with this lens.
SONY A7RII + TOKINA FIRIN 20mm f/2 FE MF by arkitectural photography, on Flickr
SONY A7RII + TOKINA FIRIN 20mm f/2 FE MF by arkitectural photography, on Flickr
