Anyone here at TPF used/own the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4?

nerwin · Sep 11, 2016

I really want to step up my milky way and star trail shots, I live in Vermont so very little if any light pollution where I am so I have really good view of the milky way.

I've taken some decent shots with my 50 1.8 but its just too much tele and I really want something wider and fast..but that comes at a price.

I did some research and came across the Rokinon 24mm f/1.4 manual focus for Nikon and it can be had used for around $400 which seems like a decent price for a super fast wide angle lens.

I really value people's opinion on this forum so I wanted to see if anyone here at TPF actually has any experience with this particular lens and what their thoughts are or is there a better option?

kap55 · Sep 11, 2016

You just got a 16-35 f4 and I've had pretty good success with that lens for milky way shots - maybe it would be worth trying it for a few months before looking to switch to a Rokinon.

nerwin · Sep 11, 2016

kap55 said:
You just got a 16-35 f4 and I've had pretty good success with that lens for milky way shots - maybe it would be worth trying it for a few months before looking to switch to a Rokinon.

Well f/4 isn't that fast for milky way shots...faster the lens the better. I never intended to use my 16-35 f/4 for milky way shots, I already planned on picking up a super fast wide angle.

I kind of narrowed it down to the Rokinon 24 1.4 and the Nikon 28 1.8G.

astroNikon · Sep 11, 2016

Yes but you live in a dark clear area
Then you'll find that 16 is much wider than 24
Give your 16-35 a few months. The stars aren't going to disappear any time soon so you have time to experiment

nerwin · Sep 11, 2016

astroNikon said:
Yes but you live in a dark clear area
Then you'll find that 16 is much wider than 24
Give your 16-35 a few months. The stars aren't going to disappear any time soon so you have time to experiment

I've already tried doing these shots with my 24-120 f/4 and I was not happy. I popped my 50 1.8 on and boom..what a difference it made. Lots more details in the milkway and I was able to shoot at a lower ISO.

Isn't 1.4 three stops faster than f/4? I see a pretty dang big difference to me, especially on full frame.

tirediron · Sep 11, 2016

nerwin said:
Isn't 1.4 three stops faster than f/4? I see a pretty dang big difference to me, especially on full frame.

Yep.

Rick50 · Sep 11, 2016

Yes, the 1.4 makes all the difference. I use my 35mm 1.4 because of that. I still use 16-35 2.8 but prefer 1.4. I have read good reviews of the Rokinon but do not own it.

kalgra · Sep 11, 2016

I cant speak to the 24mm but I have the 14mm f/2.8 which is also highly recommended for star photography. I like it a lot and it seems like you get good bang for the buck with many of the Rokinon/Samyang lenses. I also have the Rokinon 8mm for my A6000. They do seem to have some quality control issues. I read mostly about decentering problems. I think I might have gotten a good copy on my 14mm but the 8mm infinity marker is way off. This is also a common problem with the 14mm and 24mm. My 14mm is spot on however.

I guess my point in all this is make sure you buy from some place like b&h that has a good return policy as many people have had to send the lens back a couple times before getting a good copy.

nerwin · Sep 11, 2016

I'm actually considering the 28 1.8g now, also the 24 1.8g is in the back of my mind as well, but it's quite expensive and hard to find used.

Solarflare · Sep 11, 2016

I tried photographing the Milky Way with my AF-S 28mm f1.8 and I have to say I wasnt too happy with the results; the Coma was quite strong at the border and edges of the picture.

nerwin · Sep 11, 2016

Solarflare said:
I tried photographing the Milky Way with my AF-S 28mm f1.8 and I have to say I wasnt too happy with the results; the Coma was quite strong at the border and edges of the picture.

What about the 24 1.8g?

Novelectro · Sep 13, 2016

I've owned 2 Rokinon prime lenses specifically for nightsky photography. When they work, they're really sharp with no coma or focusing issues.

Unfortunately it seems like more than half of them have some issue like that. I'm about to purchase my 3rd 14mm f2.8 after the first 2 had issues.

nerwin · Sep 14, 2016

Novelectro said:
I've owned 2 Rokinon prime lenses specifically for nightsky photography. When they work, they're really sharp with no coma or focusing issues.

Unfortunately it seems like more than half of them have some issue like that. I'm about to purchase my 3rd 14mm f2.8 after the first 2 had issues.

Wow I didn't know there was so many problems with the Rokinon lenses. What about Samyang lenses? I thought they were pretty much the same.

astroNikon · Sep 14, 2016

FYI, I'm actually thinking of this lens 14/2.4 but I'm not sure if it's an APS-C only lens or not
Samyang announces 14mm f/2.4 and Samyang 85mm f/1.2 “Premium” manual focus lenses | Photo Rumors

found it on B&H .. compatible with FF/APS-C for $329.00
Samyang 14mm Ultra Wide-Angle f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens SY14M-C B&H

fyi, it's apparently the same as the Rokinon 14/2.8.

nerwin · Sep 14, 2016

astroNikon said:
FYI, I'm actually thinking of this lens 14/2.4 but I'm not sure if it's an APS-C only lens or not
Samyang announces 14mm f/2.4 and Samyang 85mm f/1.2 “Premium” manual focus lenses | Photo Rumors

I really want to know why Samyang is only going to be making the 85 1.2 for Canon. Why not Nikon?

But yeah..14mm f/2.4 would probably be a pretty decent astrophotography lens.