Canon L Series vs. Rokinon DS Series

[Jeff Klevins]

Hey Guys, I am still researching on making an entry level lens kit purchase and obviously looking into the Rokinon DS lenses. I have also been thinking about buying the equivalent Canon L Series Primes instead because of the auto focus features. I do a lot of automotive / action sports and will be using Ronion Gymbal so the ability to auto focus on the fly using the REDMOTE or LCD TOUCH is huge for me but not sure about the reliability as of now. If anybody cares to weigh in on this I would appreciate it! Thanks!

I am looking mostly at the 24mm or 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm.

Does it even make sense to get a 24mm and a 35mm since they are pretty close?

 

[Maik Müller]

Autofocus on RED is nothing you want to rely on for moving subjects. It's nice to have, a helper here and there, but it will not work like the AF on a Canon 70D or 7D Mark 2. It's more or less comparable to the Liveview-AF of a 5D. You'll have to manually focus, no way around it. Keep that in mind.

Depending on what you shoot and how you shoot(!), it makes sense, a lot, to have a 24mm and a 35mm. They're not that close as numbers make you think right now.

A AF-motor is a lot more interesting these days. With an iphone app like foolcontrol or a controller like RED's upcoming mini-THC you'll be able to precisely pull focus like on manual lenses and on top of that do it wirelessly without the need for additional motors and boxes. Great option that makes it harder to go for full manual lenses. Thats something to keep in mind too.

About Rokinon vs Canon, that has discussed quite a few times. You'll find tons of comparisons everywhere. Out of those two options i would go for Canon anyday, but you should look closely at every single lens. The 35mm Canon is pretty old, the 85 1.2 II has a "different" focus-ring and extending tubus.

Those lenses aren't the only options, you should look at SIGMA's ART lenses too, the 18-35/1.8 zoom and the 35 and 50mm primes are simply great lenses. But there are a lot more options, especially if you decide to go for full manual.

 

[Matt W.]

Field of view scales are logarithmic (or exponential? I don't know) not linear, so the difference between 24mm and 35mm "feels" the same as the difference between 35mm and 50mm (or 50mm and 70mm or 17mm and 24mm). It's a big difference.

For car shooters I'd anticipate you'd want really long lenses, but for gimbals wider lenses is good. Unless you're shooting at night you don't need all that speed.

Optically the 35mm is excellent, 85mm is very very good, 24mm is relatively poor, haven't used the 50mm but I assume quite good. At normal stops (f4-f5.6) they are all excellent but a bit boring.

 

[Terry VerHaar]

I have a full set of Rokinons and, for the most part, I like them a lot. I also have a couple of Canon L zooms.

Canon Ls are probably consistently better but quite a bit more expensive. Also, as things move forward and improve with internal focus capabilities - e.g., Foolcontrol iOS app coming soon - AF lenses may get more attractive for film work.

OTOH, the quality / price equation of the Rokinons is hard to beat.

 

[Matt W.]

Fwiw, the 24mm f1.4 II L destroys the Rokinon wide open. But otherwise I agree, they are solid lenses for the money.

 

[Jeff Klevins]

All good points, thank you. I did forget to mention the foolcontroller and new technology that will take advantage of internal motor lenses. When these are released it will be great to have the lenses that are useable! I currently have the 24mm-105mm and the 17mm-40mm but they are f/4. I want something faster for sure.

I must say that I am impressed with the control I have currently with a REDMOTE - I have it setup so even if the subjects moving I can hold the gymbal and have an assistant adjust the focus distance or aperture wireless using any button on the REDMOTE. Its not the smoothest pull by any means but I'm sure things will get better as technology and apps progress.

As far as image quality, I have seen great images from Canon and Rokinon but I know Canon bulld quality is better and Rokinons do not perform wide open. At this point I am leaning toward Canon for sure, although more expensive - they are readily available to pickup used.

Autofocus on RED is nothing you want to rely on for moving subjects. It's nice to have, a helper here and there, but it will not work like the AF on a Canon 70D or 7D Mark 2. It's more or less comparable to the Liveview-AF of a 5D. You'll have to manually focus, no way around it. Keep that in mind.

Depending on what you shoot and how you shoot(!), it makes sense, a lot, to have a 24mm and a 35mm. They're not that close as numbers make you think right now.

A AF-motor is a lot more interesting these days. With an iphone app like foolcontrol or a controller like RED's upcoming mini-THC you'll be able to precisely pull focus like on manual lenses and on top of that do it wirelessly without the need for additional motors and boxes. Great option that makes it harder to go for full manual lenses. Thats something to keep in mind too.

About Rokinon vs Canon, that has discussed quite a few times. You'll find tons of comparisons everywhere. Out of those two options i would go for Canon anyday, but you should look closely at every single lens. The 35mm Canon is pretty old, the 85 1.2 II has a "different" focus-ring and extending tubus.

Those lenses aren't the only options, you should look at SIGMA's ART lenses too, the 18-35/1.8 zoom and the 35 and 50mm primes are simply great lenses. But there are a lot more options, especially if you decide to go for full manual.

 

[Dave Osbun]

If you plan on keeping these lenses for a very long term, I don't think you can even consider the Rokinon since its build quality is not in the same league as the Canon L lenses. Might coat much more up front but will basically last forever if cared for.