Review: Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8

Canon Rumors

Who Dey
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Jul 20, 2010
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Keith over at <a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/index.html" target="_blank">Northlight Images</a> has completed his review of the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens. This <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769532-REG/Rokinon_FE14M_C_14mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_f_2_8.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">lens retails for $329 USD</a>, compared to <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/519474-USA/Canon_2045B002_Super_Wide_Angle_EF.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Canon’s $2395 EF 14mm f/2.8L II</a>. If you’re in the market for an ultrawide angle lens for your full frame camera, and don’t mind doing a bit of work yourself, this may be the lens for you.</p>
<p><strong>Says Keith

</strong><em>“If you’re interested in the Samyang 14mm (or whatever it’s called where you are) then consider what it is you want to use it for?</em></p>
<p><em>For some people the lack of AF and having to manually stop down the lens to the working aperture will be a show stopper.</em></p>
<p><em>However I found it perfectly easy to use out and about, by making use of good depth of field at f/8 and an ability to roughly estimate distances.</em></p>
<p><em>Exposure was set manually, and relies on the fact that if the light changes enough to need to alter the shutter speed or aperture, then you should easily be able to notice it. It’s hardly difficult with a bit of practice, and you’ll develop a much better intuitive feel for scene lighting, which is no bad thing.”</em></p>
<p>Manually focusing  a 14mm lens on a full frame camera is pretty easy if you stop down to f/5.6 or f/8. Depth of field is quite forgiving.</p>
<p>Is it worth a little extra work to save $2000? to a lot of people it probably is. This is not a focal length most people would use a lot. It’s true that up close, you have to take a bit of care, but with a little practice, it shouldn’t be too difficult to figure out.</p>
<p>In the end, you’re going to get great looking images for a fraction of what Canon is asking you for. If you buy the Rokinon and find that 14mm is something you end up using a lot, go on and upgrade to the Canon, it’s a pretty great lens too.</p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/reviews/lenses/samyang14.html" target="_blank">Read the full review</a> | <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/769532-REG/Rokinon_FE14M_C_14mm_Ultra_Wide_Angle_f_2_8.html/bi/2466/kbid/3296" target="_blank">Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 $329 at B&H Photo</a></strong></p>
<p><strong><span style="color: #ff0000;">c</span>r</strong></p>
 
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Fantastic lens. As others said, great for milky way. Mustache distortion makes architectural a little tough sometimes, though.

Still, it's the best bang-for-the-buck lens on the market, IMO.

(And anyone complaining about AF hasn't actually tried to use a 14mm in manual mode. It's practically always focused, as the author points out.)
 
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TWI by Dustin Abbott said:
iowapipe said:
LOALTD said:
Best star-lens for Canon IMHO, I LOVE mine.

I was a skeptic until I tried one for myself, now I'm a believer.

Do you have an idea of the amount of coma for the lens?

About like this:
(image removed for reply)

It is exceptionally low, and many people who do a lot of nightscapes choose this lens over any other.

Excellent - Thank You! (and it turns out I recently started following Dustin on Flickr)
 
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hammar said:
When you guys talk about lens profiles, is that for the in-camera correction or some kind of preset for Photoshop?

Is there any available from 5D Mark III. This lens is definitely interesting, but the distortion is a tad bit off-putting.

This is referring to a Lightroom/Photoshop profile to correct distortion. The 5DII profile will work fine for your 5DIII.
 
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hammar said:
When you guys talk about lens profiles, is that for the in-camera correction or some kind of preset for Photoshop?

Is there any available from 5D Mark III. This lens is definitely interesting, but the distortion is a tad bit off-putting.
Yes - the one mentioned in the review...

See the example shots before/after
 
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hammar said:
Ohh, ok!

So then it is just the focusing issues that I need to overcome before ordering one :)

Issues that for many (but not all) applications just need some practice and or forethought about lens settings ;-)
You could also consider some of the alternative focus screens available?

If you are used to AF 'just working' then it does require a different approach (or a lot more cash for the EF14 ;-)
 
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