About Rokinon and Tokina

[itscd]

Hi guys, got a question about two brands.

I've been using SONY A100 for two years and now I'm thinking about upgrading my lenses. Since I'm only a graduate student and don't have much money, I prefer those cheaper ones. And then I noticed there are two brands that I've never heard of: Rokinon and Tokina. Although I may not buy them eventually because they are TOO cheap, I'm still curious about them. Any one who is familiar with these two can tell me something about them? How about the quality of these two and what are their major shortcoming? I know they are manual lenses.

Appreciate your help!

 

[Antithesis]

Tokina makes high quality lenses that are about 10 years behind the current trends, lol. They don't use sonic motors and don't have any form of vibration reduction, but they are built like absolute tanks and are often pretty sharp. I can vouch for the 12-24 F4 as a great lens, and I think the new 11-16 is both sharper and has an aperture of F2.8.

The only thing I know about rokinon is they make like cheap fish-eyes and stuff. They might have more but I've never heard anything.

 

[Dao]

If you find a particular lens that is within your budget, do try to search around the lens review sites and see if you can find the review of that lens.


These are the review sites I usually visits.

Digital Camera Reviews and News: Digital Photography Review: Forums, Glossary, FAQ
Welcome to Photozone!
www.slrgear.com

Of course, there are more.