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TOKINA FÍRIN 20 F/2 FE AF £799/$949 tokinalens.co.uk
SPECIFICATIONS Mount: Sony E
Aperture range: f/2-22 Optical construction: 13 elements in 11 groups, 3 aspherical and 2 SLD elements Aperture blades: 9 Close focus: 28cm/ 11.02in Filter size: 62mm Dimension (LxD): 73.4x81.5mm/2.89x3.21in Weight: 464g/1.7lb
Tokina’s new 20mm Fírin f/2 lens is one of the few independent primes for Sony E-mount cameras. It’s very small and portable yet still has high-quality, modern optical design necessary for such high-resolving cameras. The lens uses the same glass as Tokina’s current 20mm f/2 manual focus lens, but the new version is autofocus using an ultrasonic motor. This makes it reasonably fast and quiet, although it did hunt a little at times when compared to native Sony G-Master glass in low-light conditions. It’s certainly not the lens to use for tracking fast-moving action, but that’s not really what a prime like this is for. In documentary-style use, it proved plenty quick enough for snapping into focus on people’s faces and staying locked on them, even tracking subjects as they moved across the frame. The lens works flawlessly with Sony’s advanced AF features, such as face detection. In very low light, however, it did struggle a little to lock on, despite its fast f/2 maximum aperture. Unfortunately, the lens doesn’t offer any focusing marks or depth- of-field scale, but does have a wide focusing ring and AF/ MF switch for quick manual tweaks if desired. Using it in manual focus is not as pleasing as the older, MF-only version with its manually-geared mechanics. If you love AF and face detection, the AF version is the one to go for. If you’re an MF fan, stick with the older lens. Where it does excel is optical quality, thanks to its use of two aspherical and three Super-Low Dispersion elements, which cut down all types of distortion alongside offering high-resolving power. The colours are very natural and the images show good contrast without being too extreme. The images are sharp and it’s worth mentioning the consistency of sharpness as you change apertures. At very narrow apertures and wide
open, the details are excellent. It’s a lens you can use at any aperture without worrying too much about image degradation, even at the edges of the frame. There is some obvious vignetting, but this can be removed in post. Bokeh is something usually more associated with longer lenses, but with the Fírin offering a fast f/2 aperture you can actually get some pleasing out-of-focus areas in the background of an image, especially if the subject is close to the lens. There are very few E-mount lenses that are so wide yet can offer a distinctive look when shot wide open, thanks to the fast maximum aperture. The Tokina comes with a lens hood, and the front element is not the huge
bulbous affair found on some wide glass. Effective multi-coating makes it good at controlling flare and although low winter sun shining right into the lens did show some ghosting, it’s actually a pleasing effect and contrast wasn’t hugely affected. The smaller front element allows a reasonably compact 62mm filter thread, so oversize filters aren’t needed. The biggest let-down with the lens is that there is no weather sealing. For a lens that could become a workhorse for a landscape photographer who wants to travel light without compromising on image quality, it’s a bit of an oversight that some shooters may find tough to ignore. AD PROMOVIEMAKERRATING: 8/10 One of the fewAFwide-angle primes for Sony E-mount that performs well for its price Pros: Nice bokeh, fast maximum aperture Cons: Noweather sealing, no focusing scale
ABOVE The Fírin f/2
provides crisp, natural results
in low and bright light
“The lens works flawlessly with Sony’s advanced AF features, such as face detection”
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SUMMER 2019 PRO MOVIEMAKER
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