Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens For Sony A

Depends...
I found this lens to be more sturdy than expected, with seemingly good workmanship both externally and moving parts. I have have never had an issue working fully manual on focus and aperture, however I found a great deal of difficulty in correctly focusing my subjects. Because of the large viewing angle it is very difficult to accurately discern if the focus is on target, forcing the use of larger apertures to insure sharpness. For landscapes it ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Good lens, sharp, nice colors, with some drawbacks .
Very sharp lens. The AE chip allows you to see your settings on the camera screen - an improvement well worth the extra cost. Cons: no auto focus. I mostly used this for milky way photos. At 15 seconds, ISO 3200 the stars look like pinpoint stars & the milky way looks great. Since I just set the focus to infinity & shoot there is no need for autofocus. You need to check the infinity setting to make sure exactly where that is on the lens scale - g... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Worth every penny!
I wanted an ultra wide lens to use with my D610 and didn't want to fork over three times the price for a similar Nikon model. I never purchased a non Nikon lens and I was a little concerned about the quality and performance. Having read the previous reviews and looking at images taken with the lens I decided to give it a try. This lens is awesome! I am very impressed with the build quality. It's solid and is well balanced on the D610 body. The wi... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great Optics
I initially hesitated to purchase this lens with my Canon 5D IV because of its modest price, but decided to give it a try because of the testimony of other photographers I trust. My friends were right--I am very happy with the performance. The AE chip helped confirm focus very accurately and reasonably fast, and the images I got were stunning. They were extremely sharp and clean with a reasonable amount of distortion easily corrected with Lightro... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Clear and easy to use
I love this lens! I am using it with an A99 and have captured some amazing landscapes, skies, wedding images and even some band shots at a live venue. There is definitely some distortion with the 14mm if your subject is not in the middle of the frame. I haven't noticed as much of an issue near the top and bottom of the image it has mostly been on the left and right. This is something you will run into with any wide angle lens. That said... Its no... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
If you want crisp - you got it!
I think that a lenses ability to auto focus and to link with the cameras metering system has become too important and, as a result, some photographers are overlooking some really great glass. A manual focus, manual f stop lens at first look might seem archaic, but give this one a chance. Rokinon has put the focus and money into the glass vs electronics. This keeps the cost of the lens reasonable while keeping the quality of glass high. I've found... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Works well with my new Canon EOS R
I'll admit, I'm just an enthusiast and student of photography, so the pros might have a different opinion on this lens. I've only used the lens a few times, but found this version with the auto focus chip works well for my needs. I took it out to Borrego Springs to make my first photos of the Milky Way and was amazed at my beginner results. (I need to go back and keep practicing!) I do have the Rokinon 24mm lens without the chip. Comparing the ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
My new favorite lens for night photography
I own and love a nice set of Canon L-series lenses and was somewhat reluctant to even try this lens after reading reviews about quality issues. Trying this lens changed my attitude instantly. This lens is compact and light (compared to L-series ones, so you may think different) and the optical quality is simply amazing. Mine is sharp from corner to corner even at f/2.8, shows practically no chromatic aberration nor noticeable coma. I also used it... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
I wanted to like this lens. . .
I really wanted to like this lens and ordered it based on the positive reviews. Sharpness in the middle of the image is okay, but it falls off drastically by the corners, along with considerable vignetting. The vignetting can easily be corrected in Camera Raw, but there isn't much that can be done about the loss of sharpness in the corners, so it really isn't usable wide open. Since I was planning on using this lens for astro-photography, it unfo... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Best money I've spent on my camera so far.
I bought the 14mm specifically because I've enjoyed taking photos of the stars with my 17-40 f4 and wanted to take it a bit further. I read a couple of reviews of the Rokinon 14mm and decided to give it a try. Very happy I did; the lens surpassed my expectations. Full manual is not as much of an issue as I thought it would be, for my uses at least, and the IQ is great. Genuinely very surprised that this economic solution is as good as it is. Buil... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Sharp, Good Build Quality
I currently, July 2015, use this lens with a Canon 6D. I use it to provide context for my other smaller field of view lenses and to provide stunning pictures of closer up images while still retaining the background context. Exceptional value lens (check out the non-chip confirm version for Canon quantitative resolution values of this lens. It is insanely good not even considering the low cost. I purchased the non-chip confirm model and I can atte... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Excellent Value
I use this lens mostly for nightscapes. Because I'm using it on a crop sensor camera (Canon T2i) I can't vouch for the extreme edge to edge quality. I plan to use it on a full frame when I get one. The images are sharp. A nice improvement over the kit lens. The price makes this very attractive. I used it on some general, daytime shots yesterday and the manual focus doesn't seem to be any issue. I especially like the hard infinity focus for night ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great lens for the price!
I was a bit worried when I read others' reviews here and elsewhere about receiving bad copies of this lens. Mine seems to be fine, although I haven't shot a test chart to truly see if there are any issues. The colors from this lens are gorgeous and the landscapes shots I've taking with it are breathtakingly dynamic. I bought this lens primarily for astrophotography, so full manual focus does not bother me. The lens performs to my expectations for... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
You don't have to spend a fortune to get a great product
I use this lens for landscape and night photography mostly. What I wanted was a fast lens, as little distortion as possible and of course, as sharp as possible. In this price range this lens excels in all respects. It is a manual lens (No auto focus, No stabilization) so it is a bit more work but I don't see this as a con as I don't use these features for night photography. For landscape it takes a little more work but after I used it for a while... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Rokinon Wide Angle Lens Delivers
After using the Rokinon 14mm Ultra Wide angle lens for a couple weeks now it has proven to be a nice little lens. The construction of the lens is amazing. It has a good weight to it and feels great on the camera. It has a long, very smooth focus ring on it that is a pleasure to use. Because the lens is a 14mm f2.8 it has a very, very shallow depth of field. I do not recommend using this as an everyday lens for multipurpose photography. This lens ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
terrific lens
This lens takes amazing photos. Build quality feels solid as a rock. Image sharpness is excellent @ f4.0 and above. Some mustache distortion, CA, and vignetting can be noticeable, but correctable in ACR. And flare will occur if the sun is in a corner. I use it mostly for low angle landscapes @ f16 or above, or for nighttime shots wide open. Manual focus should not be a problem if you google hyperfocus or simply learn to line up the infinity mark ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Excellent option for lightweight ulta-wide angle lens
Razor sharp lens between f/4 and f/13. Even at f/22 still highly acceptable results. (Measured center sharpness at f/2.8 is poor, worse than f/22). Pictures are color rich. Manual focus and no stabilization are not an issue for landscape work. Handholding during the day is fine, and at night you need a tripod with or without image stabilization. Very light weight. Get's a little more bulky with a CPL filter (3rd party, e.g. Wonderpana). However, ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Shoot Wide
I like to shoot mostly landscapes. Usually I shoot with my 24-70L but I just wanted to try something a little extra. This Rokinon lens was a great fit for my budget and I had read some good reviews on here. Have to and Happy to say I am not disappointed. I mostly shoot in AP and AF so this was a little different and honestly I think it has helped me focus more on making an image - be sure and understand that this is just a manual focus lens (as w... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Rokinon 14mm f2.8 UMC Canon Tests
The test setup was to shoot the fireplace 20' away and a field from a tripod on the kitchen floor with an cable release using both a 5D Mark I and 550D at f8 MF. My copy tested basicly ok . Sharpness was equal on the right and left side of pictures shot in raw. The distance setting that gave the sharpest raw images in ACR was exactly at infinity. Barrel distortion was correctable with a dl'd ACR lens profile. What surprised me was that (a) this l... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Best Value Lens on the Market
For the price, this lens is the widest and best value on the market. The biggest problem with this lens is the moustache distortion that exists quite heavily. This is corrected using a number of online Lightroom Lens corrections. It is also true about the manual focus being off but I can give two reasons why this is mainly a non-factor for me: 1) I use the 14mm mainly for cityscape shots at narrower apertures. Even if the focus is slightly off, e... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
O.K. Lens
O.K. lens. I say this comparing it to the Canon 8-15mm fisheye. I know the two are different lens types, fisheye as opposed to rectilinear, but I was unimpressed with the Canon's sharpness. The Rokinon copy I recieved was not great. It was O.K. It was a little soft, and had a very soft upper right corner. This would be a problem for landscape orientaion star trails. I make these comments comparing the image to the results of my Canon 17-40L, the ... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Great value and excellent image quality
For the money this lens can't be beat, it is very sharp and has excellent color contrast which is neutral. The only gripe is the mustache distortion but this is something that you have to deal with when using any ultra wide lens, there is a lightroom profile that you can download and install and it does a pretty good job of cleaning it up. It is also difficult to focus mainly because the subject appears so far away and it is hard to see in the vi... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Lovely lens for wide-field photography!
I will using this lens primarily for astrophotography / nightscapes; a true test of any camera lens. The lens has been used on both APS-C and full frame sensors with excellent success, i.e.: no star stretch or coma when used with an APS-C sensor and only minor star stretch in the corners when used on a Sony A7R full frame camera (mounted on the A7R using a Metabones adapter). A flat field is a huge benefit when shooting nightscapes!! It is a very... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video
Very sharp for the money but...
Canon's 14mm II L performs better but costs 6 times more. So, for full sensor coverage; sharp (except corners); minimal CA; good contrast and reasonable vignetting this lens is a keeper for me. Of course you have to be comfortable with fully manual, and the severe Moustache curvalinear distortion must be corrected to get the most use out of it. It is impossible to correct easily in photoshop RAW like you can with other lenses with normal curvalin... Show More
Reviewed on B&H Photo Video