Astrophotography wide open at f2.0 with the Tokina Firin 20mm by Stan Moniz

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Hi gang! I've had the privilege with shooting with the new Tokina Fírin 20mm f2.0 over the last four months now. The Fírin is Tokina's very first lens made specifically for the Sony e-mount cameras.

On top of the Fírin being an excellent wide-angle lens to capture the beauty of the night sky, which this blog is focused on. It's an outstanding lens for both surf and landscape photography Being a fan of the wide-angle world of photography and these two other disciplines of photography this lens is a one-stop shop for me.

Since I've had the Fírin, its been attached to the hip of my Sony e-mount camera. I can simply count on one hand just a the few times that I switched out the lens for a specific job or shoot.

Diving straight into the art form of astrophotography can get pretty tricky at times in terms of the techniques used to capture a night photograph to the and the gear one owns to obtain such an image. Click here to learn more about shooting the heavens above. One thing that an advanced photographer knows is that you need to own a lens that is fast and sharp in the corners.

Below you will see reasons why I believe for the price, the craftsmanship and quality you can't beat the Fírin if you’re looking for a good wide-angle lens for your Sony e-mount camera. In my opinion, the Fírin is first to the finish line when it comes to a wide-angle lens for your Sony e-mount camera. I also have provided a must watch video going into great detail about opening raw untouched images in Adobe Light Room. This video shows you first hand what the Fírin is capable of accomplishing at f2.0.

Trust me the proof is in the pudding and I for one have been shooting wide open ever since that night I gave the Fírin the benefit of the doubt. It truly is one epic piece of engineering!

For as long as I could can remember I would always stop down a lens a few stops to help sharpen up the stars in the corners of you’re my images. It also helps ing also to eliminate that comet / blooming effect you would get on the stars in these regions of the photograph. As an example, If my lens was an f2.8 I would stop it down to an f3.2 or even f4 if need be. Stopping down a lens also can help to eliminate that purple fringing you get around some of the brightest stars. In my opinion, with the Tokina Fírin that’s no problem wide-open at f2.0.

Here below is a video to watch and also some screen grabs of images coming straight from the camera opened in Adobe Light Room with no edits and completely unaltered for you to check out. I hope this write up can help you in making that the right decision to pick up the Fírin today! Trust me you won't regret it. To order the Fírin click here. If you have any further questions or concerns please do feel free to contact me or leave a comment below.

‘Till next time, happy shooting!

Above is the four vertical image panoramic stitched in Adobe LightRoom with no edits applied. I did remove passing air craft as I found it a little distracting. This is a 4000 pixels wide image.