are rokinon cine lenses good
Samyang/Rokinon apart, do you think it can help to achieve the movie look or is it better to remain with more narrow lenses such as 27, 40/50, 70 in Super 35? Not the Cine DS ones? My two cents. a feature film! I dont own any of these Rokinon lenses. But the fact that they are able to come so close is pretty amazing. 50mm T/1.2 50mm $549.00 They certainly help (as does a speedbooster), but in my opinion there is no substitute for great lighting. Heres a shot from one of my films, taken with the 35mm T1.5 lens at maximum aperture in a very low light situation: There is a lot of misconception about just how sharp these lenses are, especially when shooting wide open. 11-16mm + normal adapter + ETC = 53-77mm These are obviously not scientific tests and Im not using a focus chart, but I am certain that the same results would be found even in a more controlled environment. You had the A7sII, but that isnt shooting 60fps at 4K, and its still a 3000 body, but it does shoot LOG, but Ive heard the pictures look average as well. Is the difference between my sigma and 16mm really going to give me that much wider of a shot? Great points here. I plan to get two Rokinon Cine DS lenses at T1.5; is it in general a bad practice to combine T stops when shooting the same scene? I shoot mainly with Super 35/APS-C sensors, which is maybe why this didnt come up, but thanks for the note. Sigma (17-70mm = 25.5-105mm FF) f/2.8-4 = 32.6-134.5 f/1.8-2.5 $499.00 By reviewing each piece of gear honestly and in-depth, we aim to make buying your next Rokinon/Samyang lens easier. To answer some of your questions . Hi Noam, As far as I know the lenses are virtually identical other than the branding. Popular Brands. Both options have almost the same price! I used the same combo for a while and it worked beautifully. I want a classic cinema look and when I mean classic, I mean 1940s 1980s preferably the 1950s. Is that ok? (56) 56 product ratings - Rokinon 14mm F2.8 Wide Angle Lens for Canon EOS Digital SLR - FE14M-C. 234.01. For example, I was shooting with the Schneider Xenar PL Mount Cinema Lenses last week on an Arri Amira and was blown away by the image quality, even though those lenses are known to be very soft. OR for $70 less, you can only take the Rokinon 35mm and the Tokina AT-X 116 PRO DX-II 11-16mm f/2.8 ($479.00)!!! I love the lenses, but the 24mm being very soft (blooming might be a better word) I dont really like using this lens. Hey David If you are using the Speed Booster you might want to shoot in Super 35mm as I believe in full frame mode the image will vignette. Any lens you can recommend for aps-c around 16/18mm? Hey Morgon! On the Pocket it should be 28.8 mm, so a normal wide, on the GH4 (the other camera I own) it become 20 mm in 1080, 23 mm in 4K, so a very wide one. Here is the same lens stopped down to F5.6: Naturallyeach lens with yield slightly different results at differentapertures, but generally I find that once youre stopped down to T3.5 or below youll start to see this octagon shape on all of the lenses. Once youre at about 2.8 it seems to be much sharper, but it can be problematic when you are at T1.5. Rokinon 12mm T/ 3.1 ED AS IF NCS UMC Cine DS Fisheye MF PRIME. (so 40 for wide, 60-75 for all, 105 for close up in full frame mm). I wonder if its necessary to buy a Samyang 24mm T1.5 for Nikon. Im wondering whether its worth buying the 16mm instead of the 24mm? I actually just used them all yesterday on my full frame Canon 6D and they worked like a charm. So if the lens does not perform well for still-photo work, it won't be any better when housed in a geared cine mount. The Rokinon 16mm f/2, which I personally reviewed, was another lens that came out in 2013 and in my opinion it was built decently well. Have you looked any EF lenses from Canon? For Super 35mm a 16mm or 18mm is a great option. Hi Jan! This short film was shot on the Rokinons https://vimeo.com/88851627, You said at the end of the article that, unless you are using a camera with an extremely small sensor (like the Blackmagic Pocket Camera), these 4 will make for an excellent cinema kit.. Anytime, Simone! But for now, I just keep a 72mm 77mm step up ring on the 85mm lens at all times which more or less solves that problem. Because if you put (for instance) a Samyang 24mm (photo lens) over the Amira, it would be like a 36mm (more or less) due to the crop factor, but if these Rokinon cinema lenses are just for the Super 35mm format, that 24mm would be just that a 24mm and you couldnt use it on a A7s because it wouldnt cover all the sensor. At $550, its not a bad price, and the fact that its de-clicked and includes built-in gears for both focus and aperture is huge. 2. Ive been wanting to do a review on these lenses for a while, but held back becauseI was missing a key lens in the kit the 50mm, which I just recently picked up. a) 35mm + speedbooster = 25mm + ETC = 60mm 2. Rokinon AF 35mm f/1.8 Lens Review (for Sony FE), Rokinon/Samyang AF 35mm f/2.8 Review (For Sony FE), Rokinon/Samyang 35mm f/1.4 Review (For Sony & Canon). I would suggest looking into a small 3 point lighting kit and sticking with the 12 35 as an option. Only the cine lenses are geared for focus and aperture and also have the declicked aperture, all of which is very nice for video using follow focus and, say, a dZoom for aperture changes. So without further ado, lets jump into the review. Cine Lens Teardown Comparison: Zeiss 85mm CP.2 T2.1 and Rokinon Xeen 85mm T1.5 I did have now researched better and here are the facts I have gatered, with two main lenses plus the new Metabones Speedbooster XL 0.64x, 1.3x crop (SB XL) and Metabones Normal adapter 2.0x (MNA): 1. using a T2.2 one with other T1.5 ones wont produce optimal/consistent results? Hi, One thing to keep in mind is that almost all Rokinon lenses, whether made for still-photo work or housed in a geared cine mount, are optically the SAME. The one I am interested in 16mm T2.2. Rokinon Cine lenses vs. The 35mm comes in second place and the 24mm and 85mm are tied for the least contrasty. I would happily shoot an entire feature film using those 4 focal lengths, and unless you are using a camera with an extremely small sensor (like the Blackmagic Pocket Camera), these 4 willmake for an excellent cinema kit. 1.To have only two of these lenses (Nikon mount): 35mm and 50mm Total cost of the last combo: 799+549+429+99 = $1876, way cheaper than the Rokinon Bundle and with 13-240mm much extended focal lenghts! I just used them on the Micro Cinema Camera with great results. Mine has lon, THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007). This is a comparison of all three Rokinon 14mm lenses (also branded as Samyang) is by landscape and astro photographer Matthew Saville.. Also, I see the lenses are being sold as CS and CS II. Do you know this? Why exactly? Always great to have alternate options when it comes to lenses and Im sure this will help some readers. Im looking to get something wide but without the problems I previously mentioned. I think the film look can be achieved with any of the focal lengths you mentioned, it really just comes down to the aesthetic that youre after If you dont already have a speedbooster for the pocket camera, I would recommend one as it will open up your lens choices and get you much closer to the Super 35mm no matter what focal length youre using. (however, the ZF.2 50mm f/1.4 is their cheapest and weakest lens in their set. (Would be nice if they'd start chipping the cine lenses, also.) 28mm T/2.2 TOTAL = $1,976.00, B) I own Gh4 and want to get Rokinon 12mm lens and Rokinon 35mm lens. So with only 2 lenses you get more color consistency and sharpness across the focal lengts and the T1.5 becomes with SB a T1.1!!! Seeing as everything on these lenses is manual, I know I wont be getting control via the GH4 bodybut Id squeeze a bit more range out of the lenses and open them up even more (although not sure how much Id want to) if I could mount them to the Speedbooster. So you can definitely use them on your cam! Thank you. Feel free to post your results/feedback on it here if you do end up picking up the lens. I may have missed it and maybe Im totally overlooking something, but has anyone commented on the fact that the 16mm Rokinon isnt a full-frame lens like the other three lenses in the kit, and therefor the crop factor turns it into a 24mm on a full-frame sensor? If you do want to go with primes though, I would consisted the Rokinon/Samyang lenses as well as the Veydra mini primes. Samyang XP lenses: Samyang also offers a range of Premium Manual Focus optics for DSLRs, all of which are full-frame compatible and available in Canon EF-mount. I personally like the 16mm more than the 24mm as the 24 is pretty soft wide open, but at the same time the 16mm is quite a bit wider, so it will really come down to the aesthetic you are looking for. It boosts the Canon 50mm 1.8 to F1.3. Otherwise the 24mm is a great option (even the cheaper, non-DS version), and will look great once youre at 2.8 or below. Metabones Normal adapter $99.00 Free shipping. Ironically, I think the 50mm is the best of all of the Rokinon cine-lenses and the 24mm is the weakest (at least out of these 4), however both look great together and can easily be matched to each other. Sure, I would have preferred that Rokinon used metal instead of plastic (an SLR Magic style build would have been fantastic), but then again I doubt they could have kept the same price point if they went down that path. A) The lenses can be a touch soft, so if you are using them with a BMPCC I would recommend pairing them with a speed booster so you can utilize more of the image circle. AF/MF Type. I dont own any of these Rokinon lenses. I was looking at selling the 12-35 to purchase a speedbooster but now I am hesitant! just wondering whether id really need both a 24 & 35 mm lens in my kit. The reality is that each lens is different. The 2mm difference in focal length is negligible, so I definitely recommend the 16mm over the 14mm based on speed and overall quality. No problem at all! Rokinon is now significantly more for the latest Rokinon Cine DS range than when they first launched their lenses. Nikon to mft Speedbooster $429.00 These weretaken on my Blackmagic URSA (click to enlarge): Its worth noting that I had to move the camera back for the 50mm and 85mm shots to focus on the headphones properly. Compare at $299, thats a 23% discount. The bokeh that youll get with the Rokinons is more or less what you might expect from lenses at this price point. Hope this makes sense! However, you mention you wouldnt use these lenses with a small sensor like the exact camera Im getting soon. So with only 2 lenses you get more color consistency and sharpness across the focal lengts and the T1.5 becomes with SB a T1.1!!! I found the Rokinon XEEN Cine Lenses to be well made, easy to work with and, overall, I enjoyed the image quality. The Rokinon Cine DS 50mm T/1.5 is only a hundred bucks cheaper than the Zeiss ZF.2 50mm f/1.4! But if you need a manual iris ring and slightly faster aperture, the Rokinon is a great choice too. Remember these are average MTFs of multiple copies done in multiple rotations. I think both Cine and DS are capable of great images under the right conditions. Nikon to mft Speedbooster $429.00 Yes they will work natively on Canon cameras if you get the EF Mount version. Hi Wing! We got our first look at the Xeen cine lenses from Samyang/Rokinon last week, and now we've got the full scoop.. Its hard to say exactly which lens would best serve that time period, but if I had to pick I would say 35mm. Hope this helps! Considering the Rokinon lens are primes and I'm on a budget, I think I would prefer to have a more all in one lens. The 150 degree throw (more or less) on the Rokinons seem to be a sweet spot for the type of shooter that these lenses are designed for. 11-16mm + normal adapter = 19-27mm Just wondering about how they would work. The good news is that I found the Rokinons to be very strong in this area. What other brand would fit this kit? It features an internal focus design so that the lens does not change size while focusing, this minimizes the appearance of breathing when changing focus. These post is intended for the GH4 or similar Lumix or the newest Blackmagic cameras (sorry Olympus). Filmmaker Noam Kroll has an excellent overview on these 4 lenses, along with thoughts on some others as well. Good I would like to make one Cinema in Rokinon lenses it can in comparison with cp2? From the de-clicked iris to the geared focus/iris rings, these lenses feel like they were designed with professional shooters in mind. Follow Noam on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more content like this! Thank you for this great post! The CP2 will give you a slightly higher quality look, but the Rokinons can look great too in the right hands! Rokinon Cine CV35-C 35mm T1.5 Aspherical Wide Angle Cine Lens with De-Clicked Aperture for Canon EOS DSLR 35-35mm, Fixed-Non-Zoom Lens,Black 4.8 out of 5 stars 255 $649.00 $ 649 . Close. 21mm T/2.2 /Jan. But later this year Ill upgrade my camera to the GH4. Thanks a lot Simone I havent used the 10mm yet myself, but I have heard from a few different people that its a great option for the pocket cam. Hey Noam! To my eye, the most contrasty lens in the 50mm. Adding a touch of sharpening in post will help to match the 24mm to the other lenses, and a simple color balance can help to offset any minor differences in color temperate. They will never perform as well in a test situation as a $25,000 cinema lens package, and thats to be expected. It seems to be almost half the price, so I figured Id get that with the 35mm and the 85mm. I just want to be able to make things as easy as possible but have already become frustrated with the 12-35. Sigma (24-35mm FF) f/2.8 = 31-45mm f/1.8 $NA. I have a BMPCC coming (mft mount) and was planning on purchasing the mft rokinon lens kit to go with the camera. Show: All Lenses; Only MF; Only AF; ZOOM; PRIME; Photo. 2. Im sure others would be interested to hear as well. Do you think that would be a good kit? Hi Jascha I agree that the 24mm is very soft. Its extremely sharp and looks great. The actual lenses are the same as the non-cine version, but just housed differently. Total $1526.00. In terms of filmmaking you have written about 28mm too. As with any camera brand, those from Rokinon/Samyang usually have to compromise on something, be it weight, build quality, or price point. As far as the Rokinon vs. Sigma they are very different lenses. Are they good quality? Depending on your budget and camera system, there are some great options from Zeiss, Sony, and Canon that you could look at. Thank you very much! Thank you for such a detailed review on these lenses. I have a Panasonic af100 with a Sigma 24-70 for Nikon. I would start by deciding on primes vs. zooms. It sounds like a full frame camera with great low light capabilities is what you need, so perhaps something like the 5D MK IV might be a good option for you I love the URSA Mini, but its not a low light camera and wouldnt suggest it for your needs. Cine lenses to be fairly low contrast which can be a good thing depending on how you look at it. This is slightly annoying as I would love to be able to use all of my 77mm filters on all lenses without having to use an adapter. Im sure with a speedbooster it would be that much better! Congrats on the GH5. Hi Noam, Please am new in filmmaking and want to no more about camera lens. Both choices are great and you really cant go wrong I think it just comes down to the way you like to work best. So how reliable are Rokinon/Samyang lenses? What are you thoughts on buying the MFT Rokinon? Sorry Noam, the info is not accurate, please delete these here and the above post and I wll be resposting it.. Since Rokinon and Samyang are the same, these Cinema lenses with T numbers cover the full frame circle or are really designed to cover the tipical Super 35mm sensor of the cinema cameras? 86-170mm (Normal + ETC) f1.8 One of the main reasons I opted to buy into the Rokinon Cinema linewas the speed of their lenses. I use the lenses in combination with my Sony FS700, which produces a 1,6 crop. Its hard to say which would be more difficult to match without doing a side by side comparison, however I would say that both options you presented will require a fair amount of matching in post Mainly because the GH4/5 and Canon color science is so different. New Rokinon Lenses For more than 40 years, Rokinon camera lenses and optics have been revered as one of the most innovative product lines on the market. For instance, you might want to walk in your key light a bit closer to your subject when shooting at T2.2 to compensate for the difference in exposure. (If youve tried them) Would love to see a comparison between these two lines. To illustrate the sharpness of these lenses, I took 4 test shots in my office with all four lenses set to T1.5. The reality is that each lens is different. That said, the GH4 isnt particularly great in low light situations even with very fast lenses. Photography lenses. In the past, Ive made the mistake of buying a lot of different lenses all with different mounts, and that ultimately limited which cameras I could use them with. At the same time, if you are comfortable with the GH4 and getting good results, perhaps you should hold off until the GH5 which may have even better low light performance. I love the GH4 LOG, it gives me a good color, but its not full frame, its picture abilities are sub par, and the depth of field isnt as good as a full frame.