TOKINA FiRIN AF 20mm F/2.0 FX Lens for Sony-FE Full-Frame Mirrorless Cameras

This arrived from Amazon shipping in a plastic shipping bag over the manufacturer's box. Really Amazon? I know that's not the fault of the manufacturer but I'm not sure where else to warn photographers (who know how to properly ship expensive lenses) that you may find your expensive and fragile lens packaged in plastic if you buy from Amazon.The lens itself is built well, smooth, sturdy. Focus has been relatively fast on a Sony A7C. However, I find my Canon system focuses faster with an older Tokina ATX and I'm not sure if that's the fault of the camera, lens, or a combination. It will require more testing.My wishlist for this lens:smaller/lightercloser minimum focus distanceaperture ringdepth of field and distance indication markingsI will update this review as I have more time to test this lens.

The Tokina Firin is more a four and half star product than a four but Amazon only allows full stars. It does not earn five because the lens flares a bit too much in backlit conditions.Vignetting at f2 is noticeable but not objectionable and can be mostly corrected in post.All phots are straight from the camera with only a conversion from RAW to JPEG affecting the image.The colors are well saturated and clean straight from the camera. Colors can be easily tuned to taste in post.The build quality of the lens is very good, the lens feels substantial yet well balanced. Ther is plenty of room to manually focus the lens and the ribbed design of the focus area provides a good grip. The only down side is that it’s a bit plasticky. It does not feel like a lens costing almost $1,000.Focusing gets a bit finicky close in. And the lens also has issues in low light The lens hunts a little before locking in. The hunting disappeared once the subject was a little further away. Close focus is good enough for shooting large flowers but nothing like the Batis 40mm never mind a a true 1:1 macro. It would not perform well if the flower is strongly backlit.Before the price rise the Tokina was a good value. But now with the cost approaching Sigma territory, the main benefit seems to be the ability to use filters without an adapter. If you can live without autofocus, the manual version seems to be a good buy.

I was baffled by the lack of review on this Tokina lens made for Sony Alpha series. Anyway, let me tell you that this lens is one of the sharpest wide angle primes I have even owned. Its build quality is great. Only downside is its lack of weather sealing. Otherwise, this lens almost perfect for its compact size. I am glad that I didn't spend more money on the Zeiss Batis 18mm F2.8 which is one stop slower. I subtract one star because like other Tokina lenses, this one tends to ghost or flare badly when shooting in front of the sun (My golden reference is the Canon EF 24mm F1.4L II). The shallow lens hood doesn't really help. Otherwise, this Tokina has superb optics.