Tokina's blazing comeback continues as it sets out to make further inroads into the mirrorless lens market
(Image credit: Tokina)
Tokina has announced a raft of new lenses due this year for mirrorless APS-C Sony and Fujifilm cameras. This comes as welcome news, given the current relative lack of third-party lenses for APS-C Sony and Fujifilm systems. Come summer we can expect three new primes for Sony E-mount cameras: an atx-m 23mm f/1.4, atx-m 33mm f/1.4, and atx-m 56mm f/1.4. This same trio of primes are scheduled for release in Fujifilm X-mount-fit in the autumn.
The announcement follows a recent trend of third party lens manufacturers embracing previously under-supported systems with new prime optics, most notably Sigma's launch of its 16mm, 30mm and 56mm f/1.4 DC DN Contemporary lenses for Canon's M-mount cameras.
(Image credit: Tokina)
And it's not just APS-C Sony shooters who Tokina is out to impress this autumn. The company is also due to launch two new full-frame Sony FE-mount optics for A7 and A9 cameras. Expect to see atx-m 35mm f/1.8 and atx-m 50mm f/1.8 lenses joining the recently launched atx-m 85mm f/1.8 portrait lens - a lens we recently reviewed and came away very impressed by.
Finally, Tokina hasn't forgotten about DSLR shooters, as it's also releasing a new atx-i optic for APS-C Canon and Nikon DSLRs in the summer. The upcoming atx-i 11-20mm f/2.8 will join the recently released atx-i 11-16mm f/2.8 and atx-i 100mm f/2.8 macro optics. Although given atx-i lenses are essentially re-releases of existing AT-X Pro models but with restyled lens barrels, we'd expect the atx-i 11-20mm f/2.8 to share the same optical path as Tokina's existing AT-X 11-20 mm f/2.8 Pro.
No technical details have been revealed about these upcoming atx-m lenses, but if their performance is on par with Tokina's excellent Opera 50mm, we're in for a treat.
Ben is the Imaging Labs manager, responsible for all the testing on Digital Camera World and across the entire photography portfolio at Future. Whether he's in the lab testing the sharpness of new lenses, the resolution of the latest image sensors, the zoom range of monster bridge cameras or even the latest camera phones, Ben is our go-to guy for technical insight. He's also the team's man-at-arms when it comes to camera bags, filters, memory cards, and all manner of camera accessories – his lab is a bit like the Batcave of photography! With years of experience trialling and testing kit, he's a human encyclopedia of benchmarks when it comes to recommending the best buys.
