I have the Manual version of the Tokina 20mm f/2, the build quality is incredible and quite different from the auto version. Always surprises me how little it gets talked about. I bought it specifically for astrophotography and it does quite well. Even still I ordered the Sony 20mm f/1.8 as it will be more useful with the autofocus. Looking forward to comparing the Astro results from them both. Likely going to keep the Tokina to set up for time-lapses while I shoot my other camera. Thanks for all the videos you do.
Other "reviewers" didn't even mention this lens. I own the Firin and love the build quality and optical performance and if you don't need it to be dead silent AF is also very good. It's the most underrated lens for e-mount. Good on you for making this video.
I remember when Tokina first came to prominence back in the 80's. Build quality was excellent and optically they were on a par with Tamron and Vivitar. However in those days ALL third party lenses were regarded as optically inferior to OEM lenses. How times have changed, especially regarding Sigma as their lenses were pretty dire!
Tokina lenses in general are vastly under rated . I have a couple of their fast Ultra wide zooms in full frame and apsc . They are among my all time favourite lenses .
I've been using the Tokina 11-16 f2.8 for the last 5 years and for the price it's spectacular! Image quality, sharpness, colors - everything. The only thing that sets it a bit back is that it's very prone to flaring, even from indirect sunlight.
This is a great little lens from what i have seen from the very few videos on it out here on YT. I did look at getting this lens some time ago as i was after a good fast prime for my automotive photography hobby. The lens is also available fully manual for around £100 less than the AF version. It comes with a rectangle lens hood. The lens would have been a good choice as i have a selection of 62mm filters i use on my Tamron 18-200 on my Sony a6000. But then the wife and i were expecting so i changed focus (ISO what i did there) Sorry had to get that in lol, So i bought the other lens i had been after the 85mm as i want to have a good portrait lens to capture images of my son growing up. I would still consider the lens but i am now drawn to the 18mm by Samyang as it slightly wider and a bit smaller and roughly a little more than half the price of the Tonkina Firin. I do have a vintage Tokina 70-200 MF lens that performs great on my A7iii for its small cost of £20.
Thanks for the great review! I'd been interested in this lens for some time and a mint used one appeared at a price I couldn't resist. Definitely no regrets! Tokina does make nice lenses. I even sold my Canon 100mm macro and kept an old Tokina "Bokina" 90mm macro and never looked back.
I got the MF version 2nd hand for 370 euro on an german online store selling 2nd hand. I just looked there again and it does not have any more but i really like it for as you said astro, landscape and architecture photography! 900 is a little out of my range for a prime I probably won't use every day.
Interesting lens , but at this price is probably better the Sony 1.8, but what about the cheaper alternatives , like samyang 18mm 2.8, tamron 20mm 2.8 or samyang 14mm 2.8 ? Besides being 1 stop slower, do you know if optically the are any good? For example in terms of distortion ....
Can't speak for the Tamron, however with regards to the Samyang's, from the reviews I've seen the 18mm is a nifty little lens but does suffer with distortion and the 14mm is derived from a DSLR lens so can't take front filters
I'd love one of these... but it's more likely to be the Sony as this is more obscure and less likely to come up often on the second-hand market. Even being so much newer and slightly pricier, the Sony will sell enough copies more that I expect to see it before I do one of these! But at least now after watching this video, I actually know about this one so would consider it... Thanks Dave!
Yes Tokina 20mm f2 sounds OK but appears bettered by 'house brand' Sony G f1.8. Leaving aside optical quality of Sony (unknown, untested, but from feedback and brand reputation, probably superior) if it's smaller, lighter with programmable button capability (not to mention a useful aperture ring on barrel) it ought to be worth rather more than the Tokina - all things considered. Personally I hate fact that USA $ price seems to equate to the UK £ retail 'asking' price. Seems like Sony, importers, dealers etc are taking us Brits for 'mugs'. It's all too common an occurrence across multiple brands. It's one reason why I would consider 'gray (grey?) imports' (UK tax paid) as being fair game - even if UK warranty isn't quite as solid as a higher price lens sourced new through official dealer channels. Seems USA always gets pandered too (probably on account of US market size).
Awesome! Yeah, I made a video about the Tokina 85mm 1.8 (pretty stellar for $500, mind you) and wow what a reaction. I love Sony, but...this is an excellent deal too! Thanks for the review! ✌🏻👊🏻
I love Tokina’s image quality... hate the focus motors’ noise... I mainly take pictures but... for the rare times I shoot video... I want quieter lenses
Oh now you're asking, that was over 2 years ago 🤣 From memory I believe the first video clip was the Sony 35mm f1.8 and the 2nd clip overlooking the river was the Tamron 28-75 (although don't quote me on those)
The Tamron is a decent lens with good close focus and at a much cheaper price as well, the drawbacks however are the image quality doesn't stack up to this, especially in the corners. And it's a stop slower which could be a deal breaker for some people
@@DaveMcKeegan ok, very much clear. Being the 20 one of my favorite focal length and the most used wide after the fisheye, seems like the Path is the Sony. It mantains weigh and size under control too. I can give away one stop for money, quality, and for compactness, but I don't want to give up in terms of quality.
Depends what mounts the manufacturer is able to get a lens to communicate with, a lot of third party manufacturers haven't got Canon RF or Nikon Z mount compatibility yet But also this lens was launched over 2 years ago when those mounts were in their infancy / non existent
@@DaveMcKeegan I sold my Firin 20mm for the 24mm GM as the Tom's autofocus was to noisy for many situations that I work in. But I miss the Firin's sharpness. That says a lot!
