A buying tip for anyone interested in the Samyang/Rokinon cine lenses

[Karim_Nassar]

Hello everyone if you have been looking into those cine lenses I stumbled onto a good tip online.

They come branded in 3 different brands: Saymang, Rokinon, Bower

You would expect the price to be the same but it is not:

As you can see you can pay 349usd or 279usd for the same lens.
Depending on the brand and website if you buy a set you can save quite some money.
(all of the examples above are from bandh)

I have not seen any build quality difference report from the different brands.
If you know of any difference please do share?

hope it helps

 

[Phil McCarty]

Hey Karim,

I've been eyeballing these lenses for the last month as well. Some research indicates that Samyang, Rokinon and Bower are all the exact same lens with the exact same quality. Careful though, it still appears to be cheaper to buy the complete bundle (85,35,24 for $1350) from B&H than it does to buy any of the others separately.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1016624&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Phil

 

[Joachim Hoge]

That's what I understood too. Depends on the erea they are sold in. I bought mine from BH and had them shipped to Norway. Hard to beat for the price. I've even shot a few TVCs on mine

 

[Matt Hall]

Thanks, Karim!
I bought the Rokinon 35mm T1.5 cine lens a while back, and it definitely exceeded my expectations. $329 for the 85mm is too tempting to pass up. Thanks!

 

[Karim_Nassar]

Hey Karim,

I've been eyeballing these lenses for the last month as well. Some research indicates that Samyang, Rokinon and Bower are all the exact same lens with the exact same quality. Careful though, it still appears to be cheaper to buy the complete bundle (85,35,24 for $1350) from B&H than it does to buy any of the others separately.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1016624&Q=&is=REG&A=details

Phil

thanks for the info.
This seems to be a set that bandh put together.

Remember the official announcement of samyang cine lenses kit with hard case?

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2013/11/01/samyang-offers-lens-kits-for-videographers

have not seen those kits sold since, someone seen them?

Thanks, Karim!
I bought the Rokinon 35mm T1.5 cine lens a while back, and it definitely exceeded my expectations. $329 for the 85mm is too tempting to pass up. Thanks!

you are welcome but watch out you can get the bower version for 279usd

 

[Phil McCarty]

Spoke too soon.

Using B&H Pricing it's cheaper to go Bower, in every instance.

If you're slow building (buying each lens individually) you'll save $305.

If you're considering the Rokinon set (24,35,85) it's still cheaper to buy the Bower, by $7.

It's never cheaper to buy the Rokinon unless you are buying the bundle. The Samyang is 2nd most affordable.

 

[Thor Wixom]

I absolutely love my Rokinon Cine lenses. I have shot several features with these as my primary lenses.

The one difference you will notice is that the "Cine" lenses have far less lash when changing directions when you focus. The housings are much better than the still versions.

-Thor

 

[Matt Hall]

Looking for good, affordable glass. The Rokinon and Bower lenses referenced above are, in my opinion, far too soft focus-wise. Also, the plastic housing feels flimsy. To their credit, they're lightweight and have a very smooth focus ring, but I'm looking for sharper glass that won't break the bank. Maybe something in the $1000-$2000 range. Cine only.

Any suggestions on a step up from these?