Jim Bianco

I was thinking of purchasing a used rokinon 14 mm wide angle lens. Does any body have one and can you give me your thoughts on this lens, buying what I could afford. Thanks Jim Bianco

mflowe Loc: Port Deposit, MD

At it's price point, you can't get a better ultra wide lens. Notice I said at it's price point. Make sure you get one with the AE chip for your specific camera.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

It has been sold with many Brand Names. It is made by Samyang in S. Korea.

I have one I got years ago in Dec 2013 with the "Bower" brand on it. It is sharp but not a heavy build so won't take abuse. Almost all of them are also manual. I don't do much wide angle so I got it because of the price. It does take very good images. I have used it out at the Railway museum, including inside the car barns and inside cars and other structures.

Here is a shot taken inside a car barn, the only light was the open access doors at the end of barn and I am less than the length of this 3' narrow gauge locomotive from it.

6D, Bower 14mm f/2.8, 1/100 @ f/2.8, ISO-1600 hand held, light is from open access doors on the right at the north end of the car barn at about 2:30 PM on a mid Jan afternoon.

(Download)

Jim Bianco

Thanks for the info.

Jim Bianco

Thanks, nice pic.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

You are welcome

amfoto1 Loc: San Jose, Calif. USA

I don't have the Rokinon 14mm, but have used several Rokinon lenses and been impressed by them. All have seemed well built and very nice optics. I've still got a 21mm f/1.4 Rokinon for use on an APS-C mirrorless camera. It has a somewhat "old school, good solid metal & glass" feel, along with smooth focus and solid aperture clicks (half and full stops). The only glitch with it has been that the plastic hood no longer "clicks" to keep it securely in place, but I have a metal screw-in hood that works fine on it (no concerns with the 14mm lenses, as they all appear to have permanent, built-in hoods).

You didn't mention what camera you want to use it on, but I believe you shoot with Nikon...

They've sold under at least four different brand name. As Jerry said, they besides Rokinon and Samyang (same company), there were early versions selling under the Bower brand. Also there were ProOptic, which was (still is?) Adorama's house brand. I think the Bower and ProOptic were only the first version. Most versions have a large diameter, convex front element and a built-in lens hood. As a result, most versions cannot be fitted with screw-in filters and require a special lens cap (might not be able to replace the cap if wasn't included with a used lens or is later lost). Most versions (unless noted otherwise below) are manual focus and manual aperture.

There have been several versions of the 14mm, although not in all mounts.

- First version (sold both as Samyang and Rokinon, but also sold as Bower and ProOptic).
- "Chipped" first version, which allows partial EXIF data recording and allows the camera focus assist, auto exposure, auto WB to work.
- "SP" version seems to be similar to first optically, but with a redesigned barrel. It looks a lot like the IRIX 15mm, in fact. It has a faster f/2.4 aperture that apparently can be controlled by the camera (not manual).
- "Series II" version appears to be more compact and have some other functions I am unfamiliar with.
- "AF" version is now being offered under Rokinon and Samyang brand names. As far as I know, these are the only ones with autofocus.

I seem to recall there were some issues with decentered elements in the very earliest version. Images made with those lenses would be "soft" on one side or the other.... wouldn't focus evenly across the whole image. It probably was due to poor quality control during assembly. Some people were very happy with the lens they got, while others would have to buy, test and exchange one or more times until they got a "good copy". It's something to watch out for, if buying a used copy of that first lens. The problem may have been fixed in the later versions... at least I don't recall hearing anything about it since when the lens was first introduced

I did a 14mm lens for Nikon F-mount search at B&H and was surprised to see pretty much all versions of the lenses still being offered (as well as some brands)!

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?q=14mm%20%20&filters=fct_lens-mount_3442%3Anikon-f

My favorite reviewer at The-Digital-Picture website apparently hasn't reviewed any of the Rokinon/Samyang 14mm lenses.

Ken Rockwell has done a review of the first version (refers to it as the Samyang, even though he got the ProOptic branded lens).

https://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/samyang/14mm-f28.htm

I recommend you search further online for written or video reviews of the specific version of the lens you're considering.

Jim Bianco

Alot to take in, thanks for all that info. I shoot with a nikon D610.

VTMatwood Loc: Displaced Vermonta in Central New Hampsha

I have that lens and use it for night sky photography with my Nikon DSLR's. I really like it (as far as manual lenses go). Below is an example of what it can do paired with a Nikon D610. This was taken in Arches National Park a few years ago.

(Download)

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Here are some actual user reviews on that lens, not the best that I have seen.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1475984-REG/rokinon_z14_n_14mm_f_2_8_lens_for.html/reviews?sts=pi&pim=Y

IzzyKap Loc: Rockville, MD

About a year ago I bought the Rokinon 14mm lens for my Sony A7R3. Unfortunately, I found it to be very soft on the edges and throughout. So I've returned it.

Jim Bianco

Thanks, pic is great!!!!

Jim Bianco

Thanks for your thoughts.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

I purchased one a couple of years ago to use on my FF camera for indoor real estate photos in tight spots. Turns out the distortion in tight spots was too much to correct. I had to purchase a more expensive Canon 16-35 f/4 for this use. I did a couple of scenic type shots with it and it seemed to be OK for that.

Ednsb Loc: Santa Barbara

You didn’t say what body you use or whether you want a manual focus or autofocus lens? I have Canon R* lens and have the Rokinon 14mm EF manual focus AE lens. If you are a R* user the Canon 16mm autofocus lens at $300 is about the same price point as the manual focus EF lens. I like the Rokinon but it is only workable for me because my cameras have both magnifying screens and focus peaking. Probably the biggest issue for me with most of these super wide angle lens is you can’t use filters on the front because of the big bulge of the front element. Fortunately, with my EF lens I can use the EF to RF lens adapter from Canon with slide in filters in the adapter.

As Jack said it has distortion but with the lens profiles in Camera Raw that isnt an issue for me using it for a landscape lens. I don’t show architecture or real estate and I could see it might take a lot of work for cleaning up perspective.