Tokina atx-m 56mm 1.4

Following our review of the Fujifilm mount version, the performance of the Tokina atx-m 56mm f/1.4 E isn't all that surprising anymore. It has its merits with a couple of caveats. In terms of sharpness, it can deliver where it counts the most for such a lens - in the broader image center. The borders and corners are soft at f/1.4 and f/2. Beyond, they are pretty decent and really sharp at medium aperture settings. Lateral CAs and image distortions are on a moderate level, albeit you can spot them in critical scenes. Vignetting can be obvious at f/1.4. The lens has no correction profile, so it'll require manual efforts if you want to fix this. As far as the soft criteria are concerned, the bokeh quality is certainly a strength of this lens. Out-of-focus highlights are very clean at f/1.4 and remain circular except in the far corners. The general blur rendition is also smooth. On the downside, axial CAs (bokeh fringing) can be noticeable at large apertures. You may also stumble across purple fringing in difficult scenes with harsh contrast. Thanks to an all-metal body, a smooth control ring, and internal focusing, the mechanical quality is surprisingly high. Unlike most E-mount lenses, it features a step-less aperture ring which can come in handy for video work. It doesn't feature any weather sealing, though. The AF speed is moderate but noiseless. The most difficult aspect around the Tokina lens is not its performance but the sheer amount of competition that it faces in E-mount.

The Tokina atx-m 56mm f/1.4 X is a very capable lens in this lens class. It has a couple of caveats, of course, but that's true for all lenses. In terms of sharpness, it can deliver where it counts the most for such a lens - in the broader image center. The borders and corners are soft at f/1.4 and f/2 but beyond they are pretty decent and really sharp at medium aperture settings. Lateral CAs, as well as image distortions, are on a moderate level albeit you can spot them in critical scenes. Vignetting can be spotted at f/1.4 but it's not disturbing. Thus while the lens has no correction profile, it's not a showstopper. As far as the soft criteria are concerned - the quality of the bokeh is certainly a strength of this lens. Out-of-focus highlights are very clean at f/1.4 and remain circular except in the far corners. The general blur rendition is also smooth. On the downside, axial CAs (bokeh fringing) can be noticeable at large apertures. In difficult scenes with harsh contrast, you may also stumble across purple fringing. The mechanical quality is surprisingly high thanks to an all-metal body, a smooth control ring, and internal focusing. It doesn't feature any weather sealing though. The AF is both speedy and noiseless. Overall, Tokina did many things right - and that's for less than half the price of the Fujinon 56mm f/1.2 R - so if you are on a budget the lens can make a lot of sense. It's also a little more compact and lightweight. You may argue that it's possible to save a few bucks by going for the similar Viltrox 56mm f/1.4 but keep in mind that Tokina is a better-known brand with service centers available in major countries at least.