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No longer a newbie, moving up!
ROK stands for Republic of Korea. So it isn't hard to figure out where the Rokinon lenses got their name since, after all, they are made in South Korea. I have tested two of them. I had a 14mm f2.8 that proved to be too large and heavy for my tastes since it was designed for a full frame DSLR. It was finally replaced with the lovely Fujifilm 14mm f2.8 which is designed for APS-C format.
I recently received the 85 f1.4 to see if it might assuage my desire for a fast telephoto. Here are some comments and images:
This is a manual focus lens with no electronic connection to the camera. That means manual focus only and either manual or aperture priority metering. Rokinon does provide some "chipped" models for some camera bodies but I am not aware of any for the Fuji X system. Unlike the sturdy 7 artisans fisheye lens I tested earlier, this lens is made of plastic. The finish looks exactly like that on the plastic Nikkor lenses. It has a large rubberized focus ring and an aperture ring that runs from f1.4 wide open to the minimum aperture of f22. It includes a bayonet style plastic lens hood.
The Rokinon 85 is available for most popular camera brands and has a full frame image circle. It becomes the equivalent of a medium telephoto APS-C and MFT formats. It is not a small lens and looks almost out of place when attached to my X-E2 camera body but it isn't terribly heavy and one must pay a price for having a fast telephoto.
Rokinon and similar lenses under other OEM brands have a reputation for good optics if not the best build quality. The 85 f1.4 is no exception. I found it to be acceptable at f1.4, quite good at f2 and sharp as new razor blade by f2.8 in the corners. I didn't encounter any meaningful issues completely stopped down. If you want shallow or deep depth of field, the lens will handle it competently. Focusing is smooth.
Here is a shot of some late blooming flowers followed by a 100% crop of the lower left corner of the frame. This shot was hand held at f8. As you can see, the corners are quite sharp.
The lens sells new for around $270. I don't need to tell you that a camera brand 85 f1.4 will cost around 4 times that much. So if you can work without autofocus and all the metering modes, this lens will make great images without draining your bank account. I may very keep this one. Happy shooting.
I recently received the 85 f1.4 to see if it might assuage my desire for a fast telephoto. Here are some comments and images:
This is a manual focus lens with no electronic connection to the camera. That means manual focus only and either manual or aperture priority metering. Rokinon does provide some "chipped" models for some camera bodies but I am not aware of any for the Fuji X system. Unlike the sturdy 7 artisans fisheye lens I tested earlier, this lens is made of plastic. The finish looks exactly like that on the plastic Nikkor lenses. It has a large rubberized focus ring and an aperture ring that runs from f1.4 wide open to the minimum aperture of f22. It includes a bayonet style plastic lens hood.
The Rokinon 85 is available for most popular camera brands and has a full frame image circle. It becomes the equivalent of a medium telephoto APS-C and MFT formats. It is not a small lens and looks almost out of place when attached to my X-E2 camera body but it isn't terribly heavy and one must pay a price for having a fast telephoto.
Rokinon and similar lenses under other OEM brands have a reputation for good optics if not the best build quality. The 85 f1.4 is no exception. I found it to be acceptable at f1.4, quite good at f2 and sharp as new razor blade by f2.8 in the corners. I didn't encounter any meaningful issues completely stopped down. If you want shallow or deep depth of field, the lens will handle it competently. Focusing is smooth.
Here is a shot of some late blooming flowers followed by a 100% crop of the lower left corner of the frame. This shot was hand held at f8. As you can see, the corners are quite sharp.
The lens sells new for around $270. I don't need to tell you that a camera brand 85 f1.4 will cost around 4 times that much. So if you can work without autofocus and all the metering modes, this lens will make great images without draining your bank account. I may very keep this one. Happy shooting.