Tokina Firin 20mm F2 FE MF Review | 54 Data compared

The Tokina Firin 20mm f/2.0 FE is a manual focus ultra-wide-angle lens for Sony mirrorless cameras that stands out for its high light-gathering capability and excellent price-to-performance ratio. Priced at €899, it provides a fast f/2.0 aperture that allows for beautiful background bokeh and makes it highly suitable for astrophotography. Key advantages include low distortion, clean contrast, good resolution, and a digital distance scale transmitted through its electronic connection to the camera viewfinder. However, the reviewer noted a few drawbacks: it is somewhat bulky—weighing 490g and measuring 81mm—features a slightly unusual forward-positioned aperture ring, lacks weather sealing, and comes with a bulky, rectangular lens hood. In comparison, the Zeiss Loxia 21mm f/2.8 FE offers ultimate build and image quality in a highly compact, weather-sealed metal body. At €1499, this lens is praised for its exceptional detail resolution, neutral rendering without visible aberrations, and the ability to produce beautiful sunstars even at moderate apertures. It is highly portable, weighing just 394g with a length of 72mm. On the downside, its f/2.8 aperture is noticeably slower than the Tokina, and it is...

The Tokina FíRIN 20mm f/2 is presented in the Systemkamera Forum as a competitively priced (€899) native Sony E-mount lens, offering high light-gathering speed and strong central sharpness at f/2. It features robust metal construction, a compact design, and a de-clickable aperture ring suitable for video, while fully supporting camera-side 5-axis image stabilization and metadata transmission. Notable drawbacks highlighted include high vignetting, complex "moustache-type" distortion, and a lack of thorough weather-sealing. Furthermore, users reported that the autofocus version suffers from a slow, loud motor prone to hunting, and the manual version has a sensitive focus magnification activation.

The DigitalPHOTO review awards the Tokina Firin 20mm F2 FE MF a "VERY GOOD" rating (90%), highlighting it as a strong wide-angle prime lens tailored for landscape, architecture, and night astrophotography, as well as videographers. Priced at €899, this manual-focus lens stands out for its impressive optical quality, featuring a fast f/2 maximum aperture that delivers low-noise images in low-light environments. It delivers zero optical distortion—a major asset for a 20mm focal length—and achieves its maximum sharpness and image resolution when stopped down to f/8. Additionally, it features excellent haptics, notably an aperture control ring that can be operated seamlessly or via detented third-stops, which is ideal for video use. On the downside, the review notes that the lens offers very basic features, lacking both an integrated image stabilizer and autofocus mechanisms. Optically, it suffers from noticeable vignetting and corner darkening when shooting wide open at f/2, though this edge shading decreases as the lens is stepped down. Finally, while the overall handling is decent, the reviewer points out that the physical build quality could have been more refined given...

The review examines the performance of the mirrorless Sony A7s camera paired with the Tokina Firin 20 mm f/2 E-mount lens for aurora and astrophotography in Iceland. A major benefit of this setup is the camera's exceptional high-ISO capabilities, which allow the use of fast shutter speeds (1 to 3 seconds) at ISO 6400 to 12800. This effectively prevents fast-moving northern lights from blurring into a solid green mass and makes it easier to stitch panoramas and create smooth time-lapse videos. Furthermore, the Tokina Firin 20 mm lens delivers impressive sharpness across the entire frame—even in the corners—right at its maximum f/2 aperture, while exhibiting minimal coma aberration. Its compact design and tactile manual focus ring also complement the smaller mirrorless body perfectly. On the downside, the reviewer notes that the small body of the Sony A7s results in poorer ergonomics and handling compared to traditional DSLRs. The camera also suffers from the known "Star Eater" firmware issue in bulb mode, which accidentally deletes stars from the image, and displays a purple amplifier glow on the edge of the frame...