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Rokinon/Samyang 24mm T1.5 worth it's price?

Christoffer Glans

Christoffer Glans

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I'm looking for a very fast wide lens that isn't too expensive. I've come across this lens, but I have also read much negativity about it's sharpness wide open.
Somparing to other lenses is it still giving good images? Is it worth it or are there better 20-24mm lenses at around T1,5 or F1,4 to go with?
 
There are known reports on this lens as being buggy.

I really want to pull the trigger, has anyone purchased it recently and not found any issues?
 
Well, it's OK for the price, but WO the corners are really soft and the center just so-so.

A Zeiss Contax 25 2.8 would leave it in the dust at 2.8 and can be found for a similar price with some patience.

Your take…
 
Uli Plank said:
Well, it's OK for the price, but WO the corners are really soft and the center just so-so.

A Zeiss Contax 25 2.8 would leave it in the dust at 2.8 and can be found for a similar price with some patience.

Your take…
Click to expand...

Thing is that the Samyang/Rokinon is a cine-lens, the Zeiss is not.
 
Well, the Samyang/Rokinon lens isn't really a cine lens, they've just added gears and declicked the aperture, something you can do with the Zeiss lens as well, and end up with a much better "cine" lens.
 
Last edited:
Robert Rif said:
Well, the Samyang/Rokinon lens isn't really a cine lens, they've just added gears and declicked the aperture, something you can do with the Zeiss lenas as well, and end up with a much better "cine" lens.
Click to expand...

The built quality if I do it myself won't be any good compared to the built quality of the Samyang-lens. And if I pay for changing the Zeiss into a cine-lens it will increase in price even more.
If that is the case, then it's better to go with a still lens like the Canon 24mm 1,4L because it's a much better lens then both of them.
 
I have it and focusing is critical. You can get it crisp if not wide open (best at 4 - 5.6) nor closed down (16-22 unusuable) in 5k.

The focusing scale is really small between 1m and inf. (1,1 cm)



Pat
 
I find that the 35mm and 85mm Rokinons/samyangs to be extremely sharp, rivaling the L series lens and maybe better. The 24mm is the worst of the three, just too soft until F4 and up. Tough, cause I really like wider lenses.
 
Jett He said:
I find that the 35mm and 85mm Rokinons/samyangs to be extremely sharp, rivaling the L series lens and maybe better. The 24mm is the worst of the three, just too soft until F4 and up. Tough, cause I really like wider lenses.
Click to expand...

Is the 24mm problematic due to the Scarlet/EPIC?

Does this problem show up on a DSLR?

I was about to pull the trigger on the Cine 24mm but reading all this soft probs keeps me on the fence :P
 
Eric Santiago said:
There are known reports on this lens as being buggy.

I really want to pull the trigger, has anyone purchased it recently and not found any issues?
Click to expand...

I am curious what you mean by "buggy." I have the lens (cine version) and, while I can't argue with others assessment of sharpness and overall quality, I don't see anything that could be considered buggy.
 
Eric Santiago said:
Is the 24mm problematic due to the Scarlet/EPIC?

Does this problem show up on a DSLR?

I was about to pull the trigger on the Cine 24mm but reading all this soft probs keeps me on the fence :P
Click to expand...


The lens in general is just not very sharp at lower fstops, has nothing to do with the camera.
 
Sorry to be negative.

Buggy = softness as well as having it above T4.0 to get a sharp image.

That too me is a problem.

The lens is 750 USD and thats great but still costly if you cant get it to work under T4 in the best condition.

Thanks for making that clear as far as last two posts go.

Im still on the fence but willing to take a chance :)
 
So is there any cine-lens that's around 17mm to 25mm that doesn't cost a fortune and that is quality?
Above 30mm I'm covered, but finding a 24mm or less lens that is fast and sharp even wide open seems nowhere to be found.
 
Well, I'm not a lens expert by any means, but I have the Rokinon 24mm T1.5 and I love it. Yeah, it gets a little soft when used at T1.5, but at this price I consider it a valid tradeoff for the speed boost. I'm using it with a RED ONE shooting 4.5K, and have very few complaints. Granted, there certainly are better lenses. But they're much more expensive.

If you look for it on eBay you can get it for even cheaper. Worth it, in my opinion.
 
Peep my youtube for there 8mm sample on Scarlet at 1kWS. Its fairly cheap and I like how wide it is for shooting cropped in on the Red MX
 
Just ordered it.

Thanks Jaime for the link.

Helped me make the decision :)
 
I have a Rokinon 24mm and the 85mm - good for the price. Def soft wide open, where it's acceptable depends on the subject and final output. I can think of many situations where I would use it WFO or at a T2 and some where I would not.

Matt Uhry
Dir/Cam/LA www.mattuhry.com
 
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