D7000 + Rokinon/Samyang Cine lenses

T

therussian

Well-known member
I hope I get some anwers here...

Today I found the Rokinon/Samyang Cine lens line and I can't believe their price. For my no-budget feature I thought I could get the 35mm and maybe a 85mm from their line. What do you think?

Currently I have only Nikon lenses:
35mm 1.8G
50mm 1.8D
85mm 1.8D
24-85mm 3.5-4.5D

I was considering to get a Zeiss 35mm F2, but that almost 3x the price of Rokinon. How these two compare? Is the 3x price is justified? I read at many places that for video the lens resolution or quality is not that important as for photo because the overall resolution for a video is only a small portion of the 16Megapixel photo image.

Please share your thoughts!
 
* sharpness is very important for video, it's just a different aspect of it that matters most: acutance, instead of resolution
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2009/06/have-you-seen-my-acutance

* the samyang 8mm f/3.5, 35mm f/1.4, and 85mm f/1.4, are absolutely awesome lenses; the 14mm and 24mm are nice too, but not awesome
http://www.similaar.com/foto/equipment/us_lensn.html#samyang
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...LensComp=749&CameraComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
http://www.the-digital-picture.com/...meraComp=453&SampleComp=0&FLIComp=0&APIComp=0
 
I got some Samyang Cine lenses a few months back - I mean look at the price. They have there own look thats for sure - could be good sometimes, maybe not other times. They are plenty sharp enough.

They punch well above their small price tag that's for sure.
 
I'm thinking about the 35mm T1.5 lens... How well does it compare to the Zeiss ZF 35mm f2? Reviews say that with the BMCC camera they work really well, but is the same true for the D7000 too?
 
Is the Video-type versions of these worth the extra buck in your opinion? The smooth aperture seems nice but not sure if its usable in many situation.
 
For me? Yes. Definetely. I have my Nikon glasses for photography and they are great lenses. For video I want something in the 35mm range and my Nikon 35mm 1.8G is not good for the purpose. So I can buy either a Zeiss or this Rokinon. I don't need the standard edition of Rokinons as I want to use them exclusively for video shooting, not stills. As of now I think I go with the Rokinon.
 
Hi again,

I'm considering to purchase the lens in the next week and I'm debating with myself....

I have the lenses as written in the first post of this topic.
35mm 1.8G
50mm 1.8D
85mm 1.8D
24-85mm 3.5-4.5D

I don't want to sell any of them, as for my photographic needs they are great. So I'd like to buy something, so I thought a Rokinon Cine lens 35mm T1.5 would be great.

However... On a D7000 it would give me around 50mm FOV. Probably I can only buy one lens this time, and I'd like to find the best one for my current needs.

DISCLAIMER: I know selecting the focal length is part of the artistry and pretty subjective art, but I'd like to hear your thoughts on this...

So should I buy the 35mm? Or go for a more expensive 24mm? Or a 14mm which costs the same as the 35mm?
Or should I go instead for a Tamron 17-50 or a kinda more expensive Tokina 11-16 (Which may be pretty wide as a single lens)?

How usable are these mentioned lenses without using a follow focus with them? Can focused be adjusted really smooth? Rokinon is a manual lens, but Tamron and Tokina are not as I know....

Thanks.
 
On an APS-C camera (D7000, Canon up to 7D) I like the 28 or 24mm glass as a "normal" lens. A 35-70 Nikkor 2.8 is on my DSLR 85% of the time. Really lovely lens.

I have a couple 1.8 lenses but have never, ever shot that open unless I'm specifically shooting for a focus effect - usually motion graphics backgrounds like rack focusing on a sheet of glitter while someone sweeps a light over it, headlights, etc. 2.8 - 5.6 seems to be a sweet spot for me.

With all the issues DSLRs give for video (aliasing, moire, etc), you can get an older AIS Nikkor 28mm 2.8 or 35-70 2.8 and shoot great video. I would avoid variable aperture zooms like the freaking plague - too slow and there go your crash-zooms if you need 'em.
 
Thanks Michael!

I'm still debating on what to get... I try to convince myself that I really can't go wrong with a 35mm T1.5 Rokinon cine lens. However the field of view is a question... Going wider like the 24mm or 14mm Rokinon seems great at first as I intend to shoot most of the film in a small apartment. However it's faster and easier to light for a narrower lens then for a wide which would show the whole apartment, right?

And also, as I try get a strong atmosphere, and some kind of claustrophobia, maybe a 35mm lens could be good for this purpose... (on a crop sensor). What you think?
 
for claustrophobia, I think you'd need an even longer lens (even on crop sensor), like the also-very-much-awesome 85mm
 
Samuel H said:
for claustrophobia, I think you'd need an even longer lens (even on crop sensor), like the also-very-much-awesome 85mm
Click to expand...

I have the Nikon 85mm 1.8D with aperture ring for that. I can invest in one lens for this movie.... As I have a 85mm I'd rather invest in a general lens... Unfortunately the Rokinon 24mm is really expensive (I don't know why, when all the other Rokinon cine lenses are cheaper...), and the 14mm is a kinda slow lens...

However I think going to an extreme wide angle could reinforce claustrophobia... just imagine it for close ups.... like the Rokinon 14mm or 8mm... (on a crop sensor..).
 
Maybe I stick to a 35mm T1.5 Rokinon cine lens, and for other stuff I could you my Nikon 1.8 primes (35mm G, 50mm D, 85mm D), or the Nikon 24-85mm 3.5-4.5 G zoom lens. (It doesn't have an aperture ring, but I will get a Heliopan ND Variable filter, so I can adjust exposure on the fly this way...). What you think about this solution?
 
I'm right before the lens purchase. But I found a new feasible option....

...the TAMRON 17-50 f2.8. So instead of buying a Rokinon 35mm lens, maybe I should buy this. What bothers me is that as I see the Rokinon cine lenses has a nice smooth quality, and a softness, which gives it a look I really like (from the videos I've seen on vimeo), it makes it really film like. How would this Tamron would compare to this lens on the Nikon D7000?

And how would the Rokinon 35mm T1.5 compare to the Nikon 35mm 1.8G DX lens?
 
Go to a store and try out the Tamron before you buy it. I had a Tamron zoom (not the one you mention) and it had such a short focus throw that it was very difficult to focus manually, especially without a follow focus gear. The Rokinon/Samyangs have a much longer focus throw as they don't need to accommodate Auto Focus. I would also consider the older Nikkor prime lenses without Auto Focus for the same reasons. They are cheap too.
 
I have found a website , and I could get the Samyang 24mm cine lens for the price of the 35mm cine lens... (anywhere else it's almost 200 USD more...).

So 24 vs 35mm on the D7000.... Which one should be the one lens which would stay mainly on the camera for the feature film.... tough question...
 
On the D7000, I think you'd be best served with the 35/1.4. I use one extensively on my AF100 and D7000 at work for interviews and B-roll.
 
Is your lens cinemod or just plain off the shelf still lens?

I really like to know how pain in the ass are standard lenses for filming....
 
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