Tokina atx-m 33mm 1.4 E für Sony E

The Tokina atx-m 33mm f/1.4 E is a good performer but it shares some weaknesses with the other Tokina prime lenses we recently reviewed. The broader center resolution is already very good at f/1.4 whereas the outer image field is soft. Stopping down to f/2.8 fixes most of the border/corner softness and the results are very sharp indeed from f/4. Lateral CAs are quite low and usually nothing to worry about. You may spot a tad of pincushion distortion e.g., if you are into architecture photography. There is also some obvious vignetting when shooting at f/1.4 but it's not out of the ordinary for such a fast lens. The Tokina lens doesn't feature a built-in correction profile so you have to deal with it manually if needed. Eventually, there should be correction profiles available in most RAW converters though. A positive aspect is the quality of the bokeh. It deteriorates somewhat in the far corners but is generally very pleasing. This is especially true for the out-of-focus highlights. Bokeh fringing (Axial CAs) is on the high side, though. The build quality of the Tokina lens is pretty high. Like its in-house cousins, the Tokina atx-m 33mm f/1.4 E is tightly assembled and most of the lens is made of metal including the lens hood. An unusual feature for such an affordable lens is the dedicated aperture ring. It is step-less and more aligned to video use, but we had no issues using it for photos. The AF is only moderately fast but noiseless. Firmware upgrades are possible via a USB port so let's hope that the lens will receive an image correction profile at some stage at least. Overall, Tokina atx-m 33mm f/1.4 E is a very good value package with a few hiccups.