Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 Wide Angle Review

[deleteme]

Just ordered one this morning. I notice the price walks around a bit but I was happy to get it for $339.
I had thought about the Canon 14 but the performance is underwhelming for the money.
I am planning on using for architecture. (Yeah, I head all the criticism about the distortion). I am not too worried about that and if it happens o fall short on that it should sit be great for landscape.

 

[Zv]

I got mine a few weeks ago, and am playing with it, as it requires a new skill set. I shoot mainly in manual, so not too hard. It will require a few test shots to nail exposure, or perhaps a light meter. For me, focus is a bit tricky. I use a loupe to help. Also, I "discoverdd" yesterday that the dof button works with the lens, so this helps.

sek

I ordered this lens today, can't wait to get out and try it!

I would say that developing a new skill set is probably an accurate assessment. It is certainly unlike any other manual focus only lens that I have used because of the extreme nature. The viewfinder will be mostly for composition, not focus. I either prefocus using the distance markers (and knowing where my lens hits focus) along with live view in other situations. I don't get out of focus shots with the lens at all, so my technique works fine for me.

Thanks Dustin. I'm prob gonna be using Live view to focus and viewfinder to find that comp that is all but elusive with UWA lenses! I find myself looking through the VF and waving the camera about in all kinds of angles, looking like a bit of an idiot in the process, to find the angle that employs the distortion to good use! It usually ends in me saying "I need a wider lens!" At which point I get the : from the girlfriend!

I got mine for ¥28,000 which is a steal! Still waiting on delivery!

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

I got mine a few weeks ago, and am playing with it, as it requires a new skill set. I shoot mainly in manual, so not too hard. It will require a few test shots to nail exposure, or perhaps a light meter. For me, focus is a bit tricky. I use a loupe to help. Also, I "discoverdd" yesterday that the dof button works with the lens, so this helps.

sek

I ordered this lens today, can't wait to get out and try it!

I would say that developing a new skill set is probably an accurate assessment. It is certainly unlike any other manual focus only lens that I have used because of the extreme nature. The viewfinder will be mostly for composition, not focus. I either prefocus using the distance markers (and knowing where my lens hits focus) along with live view in other situations. I don't get out of focus shots with the lens at all, so my technique works fine for me.

Thanks Dustin. I'm prob gonna be using Live view to focus and viewfinder to find that comp that is all but elusive with UWA lenses! I find myself looking through the VF and waving the camera about in all kinds of angles, looking like a bit of an idiot in the process, to find the angle that employs the distortion to good use! It usually ends in me saying "I need a wider lens!" At which point I get the : from the girlfriend!

I got mine for ¥28,000 which is a steal! Still waiting on delivery!

I think you will really enjoy it.

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Yep, still enjoying this lens!


Barren Beauty by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

 

[Krob78]

Yep, still enjoying this lens!


Barren Beauty by Thousand Word Images by Dustin Abbott, on Flickr

Very powerful image Dustin!

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Yep, still enjoying this lens!

Very powerful image Dustin!

Thanks, Ken. I really liked it, too.

 

[Krob78]

Yep, still enjoying this lens!

Very powerful image Dustin!

Thanks, Ken. I really liked it, too.

You're welcome! Dustin, is this someplace local to you? The rocks leading into the image are very rough and almost unnatural looking, not unnatural in a bad way, just large and jagged... I'm not expressing it very well but it's giving it quite a different feel than your typical lake image...

 

[extremeinstability]

I have a few things on this page like vignetting and corner sharpness and a coma and corner sharpness comparison to the 14L II. I need to rent the 14L II again so I have them at the same time and do some proper comparisons. http://www.extremeinstability.com/lens14mm.html

 

[Krob78]

I have a few things on this page like vignetting and corner sharpness and a coma and corner sharpness comparison to the 14L II. I need to rent the 14L II again so I have them at the same time and do some proper comparisons. http://www.extremeinstability.com/lens14mm.html

That's a wise choice!

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Yep, still enjoying this lens!

Very powerful image Dustin!

Thanks, Ken. I really liked it, too.

You're welcome! Dustin, is this someplace local to you? The rocks leading into the image are very rough and almost unnatural looking, not unnatural in a bad way, just large and jagged... I'm not expressing it very well but it's giving it quite a different feel than your typical lake image...

This is a local location (on a very large river). It is really all about what you choose to emphasize. Here I chose a more rugged, desolate foreground to emphasize the mood that I was shooting for.

 

[Krob78]

Yep, still enjoying this lens!

Very powerful image Dustin!

Thanks, Ken. I really liked it, too.

You're welcome! Dustin, is this someplace local to you? The rocks leading into the image are very rough and almost unnatural looking, not unnatural in a bad way, just large and jagged... I'm not expressing it very well but it's giving it quite a different feel than your typical lake image...

This is a local location (on a very large river). It is really all about what you choose to emphasize. Here I chose a more rugged, desolate foreground to emphasize the mood that I was shooting for.

In my opinion, you succeeded! Very nice!

 

[deleteme]

Got it today.
A few quick tests in the studio reveal that my copy is plenty sharp but the real challenge is accurate focus.
Ironically using Live View on a camera stand was not a sharp as guessing at the focus while hand held.

Also, I noticed that the exposure through LV is not at all accurate even though the camera is set to exposure simulation.

Small bother as I plan on being on the tripod anyway.

 

[Zv]

The online store I ordered mine from said they're out of stock. Amazon.jp also out of stock. What the fricks going on with this lens, why can't I get one!!

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Got it today.
A few quick tests in the studio reveal that my copy is plenty sharp but the real challenge is accurate focus.
Ironically using Live View on a camera stand was not a sharp as guessing at the focus while hand held.

Also, I noticed that the exposure through LV is not at all accurate even though the camera is set to exposure simulation.

Small bother as I plan on being on the tripod anyway.

I felt that way for the first several days with the lens (other than the exposure issue you are describing), but found after a few days that the massive depth of field made focus much easier than what I anticipated.

 

[cayenne]

Is there a way to get lens correction for the Rokinon 14mm within Adobe LR5 on a mac?

cayenne

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Is there a way to get lens correction for the Rokinon 14mm within Adobe LR5 on a mac?

cayenne

Cayenne,

Do a Google search for Adobe Lens' Profiler. You can download a profile that does quite a good job there.

 

[cayenne]

Is there a way to get lens correction for the Rokinon 14mm within Adobe LR5 on a mac?

cayenne

Cayenne,

Do a Google search for Adobe Lens' Profiler. You can download a profile that does quite a good job there.

Actually, I did find that...but it appears to be a windows only application....

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5492

I'm not finding any analogous for the mac....

Goodness, I'd think LR would have this for both mac and windows...?

C

 

[TWI by Dustin Abbott]

Is there a way to get lens correction for the Rokinon 14mm within Adobe LR5 on a mac?

cayenne

Cayenne,

Do a Google search for Adobe Lens' Profiler. You can download a profile that does quite a good job there.

Actually, I did find that...but it appears to be a windows only application....

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5492

I'm not finding any analogous for the mac....

Goodness, I'd think LR would have this for both mac and windows...?

C

Wow, that is a bit stupid. The other option is PTLens. It isn't free, but is more fully featured. It is available for Mac.

 

[stephan00]

You don't need the lens profiler to obtain a profile for lightroom. I got mine from somewhere on the internet (for 5D Mark II, that is), can't find the exact place, but it was created by Thomas Berndt. I think the file is basically a .xmp-format, so maybe readable also on a mac?

 

[msm]

Using Adobe Lens Profile Downloader, I found a profile made for D700 Nikon (labelled Samyang 14mm f11) which seems to work just as good on Canon. I can then select this profile manually in Camera Raw, don't know Lightroom but should be possible to do the same there.