GH3 Thinking about getting the Rokinon / Samyang primes...

S

Stab

Well-known member
At the moment I use the Panny 14mm 2.5 / 20mm 1.7 / Olympus 45mm 1.8. On the GH3 that is.

I'm thinking about switching to the Rokinon primes. I might get the Cine versions, but I'm not sure about that yet. I'm interested in the 24mm, the 35mm and the 85mm.

The question is, will they give me a (much) different 'look'? Will the 24mm for instance look different than what the 20mm gives me (not talking about the 4mm difference here).

What I do love about the Panny lenses is the fast autofocus. Especially on weddings, that is a lifesaver. So in order to give that up, I would like to know if it's an improvement in optical quality. Will it be sharper? Less digital looking? Better bokeh? Anything else?

Couldn't really find an comparison between those lenses. Any experiences or ideas?
 
What are you hoping to gain from the switch?

I wouldn't say there's an astounding optical improvement from the Rokinons vs. Lumix/Oly glass.
 
mcbob said:
What are you hoping to gain from the switch?

I wouldn't say there's an astounding optical improvement from the Rokinons vs. Lumix/Oly glass.
Click to expand...

First of all, I don't have a 35mm or something longer than 45mm. So getting the 35mm and 85mm would 'extend' my reach :)
Second, I hate the 'feel' of those fiddly mini lenses which look like a toy. Manual focus is a pain, they can hardly be mounted on a rig and they simply look 'unprofessional' to the unknown masses. Also, they can not be used on any other format (camera) so will be useless in the future.
I have the feeling they also give me a more 'digital' look, because of the software connection between the camera and the lens. Corrections, sharpness, etc. I'm not sure about this, but I have the idea this might be the reason for them looking a bit digital and 'clinical'.

Reasons enough, but is it worth it?
 
Depends on what you're looking for. I have the 3 lenses you list above and while I find them recording with more detail and "richer" tonal value, I don't consider that necessarily "clinical" or "digital" as such. It's easy enough for me to go a little bit soft to very soft with diffusion filtration at the lens when needed. So I'm not "locked into" a "clinical look.

I look at it this way, motion picture look has been evolving all throughout it's history moving towards sharper and more detailed. The larger motion picture film formats were attempts to get more detail.

Hollywood is rapidly moving towards digital "filming" despite the directors who say they'll never abandon film. It's gonna happen. What we have in the GH series with m4/3 lenses is a step in the direction of sharper more detailed images in consumer and prosumer applications.

The Rokinon/Samyang cine lenses are the same "glass" lens formulae as their regular line of lenses, just a few modifications like geared focus ring, geared and "declicked" aperture ring. I had the 85mm Rokinon Cine T1.5 for a short while trying to get around the high, high cost of the Olympus 75mm. I liked it well enough but in the end sold it and ordered the Oly.

In IQ...No real comparison, the Rokinon I had was surprisingly good in not having the high amount lens flare wide open I expected, but the Oly has next to none, and stopped down the Rokinon was good but the Oly is noticeably better. I'm a "sharpness nut", always have been and the m4/3 line delivers for me.

Focus by wire is a pain in the "back of the lap" to be sure. But I adapt to what I have to in order to get what I want. But that Olympus 75mm f1.8 delivers all one would expect when used to their 45mm f1.8.

However the Rokinons should be quite good for their price.
 
Last edited:
I just shot a feature using a mix of lenses- the 14mm Panasonic, the 20mm Panasonic, the 35mm Samyang, and the 85mm Samyang. I did some tests before hand with all my lenses (Panasonic 35-100, Nikon 35, 50, and 85, Sigma 35mm, and the Samyang 14mm) and these came out being the best choice.

As much as I love the Panasonic 20mm, I wish I'd had the Samyang 24mm. It was really just impossible to refocus anything during a shot with the 20mm. Pancakes and fly-by-wire focusing are good for photography, but they're really no help for trying to film something cinematic. If I was shooting run-and-gun documentary or events like a wedding, I'd stick with the Panasonic 35-100mm and the 20mm because I think they complement each other and have a similar look and the auto-focus is a great option in that kind of situation. For a more controlled project like a film, I'd go with the Samyangs.

I do get a lot of flaring out of my Samyang 85mm, but it's never ruined a shot. It's got a tremendous look when wide open that the Panasonic 35-100 just can't compare to. I really dislike the 14mm Samyang, it's just not very sharp and even at f2.8 everything is in focus. The 14mm Panasonic was my go-to lens for wides.
 
Stab said:
At the moment I use the Panny 14mm 2.5 / 20mm 1.7 / Olympus 45mm 1.8. On the GH3 that is.

I'm thinking about switching to the Rokinon primes. I might get the Cine versions, but I'm not sure about that yet. I'm interested in the 24mm, the 35mm and the 85mm.

The question is, will they give me a (much) different 'look'? Will the 24mm for instance look different than what the 20mm gives me (not talking about the 4mm difference here).

What I do love about the Panny lenses is the fast autofocus. Especially on weddings, that is a lifesaver. So in order to give that up, I would like to know if it's an improvement in optical quality. Will it be sharper? Less digital looking? Better bokeh? Anything else?

Couldn't really find an comparison between those lenses. Any experiences or ideas?
Click to expand...

I have just finished out my u4/3 native prime set (12mm f/2.0, 20mm f/1.7, 45mm f/1.8, 75mm f/1.8) for my GH3. I love the incredible compact size of this set. I can carry the GH3 and a small bag and have a full set of fast primes on me at all times. I love being able to go from AF stills to MF video with the flip of a switch (and a compact FF). For weddings I use this set plus the 14-140mm for outdoor work.

Now I am starting to assemble a set of the Rokinon CINE primes for narrative work. My plan is to get the 24mm and 85mm and then the 50mm when it comes out next year along with the metabones speed booster. This will give me 6 different focal lengths at fast apertures (17mm T1.2, 24mm T1.5, 35mm T0.9, 50mm T1.2, 60mm T1.0, 85mm T1.5) in 3 lenses and 2 adaptors. Setup with a proper rig with rails, FF and a mattebox this should be a nice addition to the more documentary style of shooting with the native primes.

The gain with the CINE over the native u4/3 for me will be the ability to boost them with the speedbooster and having a proper manual focus for pulling. From what I have seen online the Rokinon hold up pretty well IQ wise. The option to change camera bodies and keep the same set of CINE lenses is a huge plus too. I plan on keeping my u4/3 lenses too for stills and B cams.

I just bought a used Rokinon 85mm for $245 that should be here this week and I will be able to pit it against the 75mm from Olympus to get a feel for the different feel.
 
Elvis Deane said:
I just shot a feature using a mix of lenses- the 14mm Panasonic, the 20mm Panasonic, the 35mm Samyang, and the 85mm Samyang. I did some tests before hand with all my lenses (Panasonic 35-100, Nikon 35, 50, and 85, Sigma 35mm, and the Samyang 14mm) and these came out being the best choice.

As much as I love the Panasonic 20mm, I wish I'd had the Samyang 24mm. It was really just impossible to refocus anything during a shot with the 20mm. Pancakes and fly-by-wire focusing are good for photography, but they're really no help for trying to film something cinematic. If I was shooting run-and-gun documentary or events like a wedding, I'd stick with the Panasonic 35-100mm and the 20mm because I think they complement each other and have a similar look and the auto-focus is a great option in that kind of situation. For a more controlled project like a film, I'd go with the Samyangs.

I do get a lot of flaring out of my Samyang 85mm, but it's never ruined a shot. It's got a tremendous look when wide open that the Panasonic 35-100 just can't compare to. I really dislike the 14mm Samyang, it's just not very sharp and even at f2.8 everything is in focus. The 14mm Panasonic was my go-to lens for wides.
Click to expand...

What kind of flaring are we talking about? Is it like a lens flare that is in the image, but leaves the rest of the screen unaffected? Or is it the kind of flare which gives half of the image a colorless greyish cast which makes everything blurry and lifeless? Cause that is the case with my current vintage lens (Kiron Kino 28-85mm). Simply unusable outside with the sunshine even coming from the side.
 
Stab said:
What kind of flaring are we talking about? Is it like a lens flare that is in the image, but leaves the rest of the screen unaffected? Or is it the kind of flare which gives half of the image a colorless greyish cast which makes everything blurry and lifeless? Cause that is the case with my current vintage lens (Kiron Kino 28-85mm). Simply unusable outside with the sunshine even coming from the side.
Click to expand...

When it has appeared, it's been a spot in the center of the lens that just goes washed out and grey. I've never seen anything like it in any of my other lenses, but it happened twice in a week so I think it must be repeatable. Could just be my particular lens, and I certainly have gotten some amazing shots out of the 85. I love the Samyangs so much that I just got the 24mm this week so that I don't have to use the Panasonic 20mm on a film shoot again.
 
Cool. Sounds good.

In my country (Netherlands) they only sell the lens under the name Samyang. Also, in here the cine versions are much more expensive than the non cine versions and since the optics are the same I'm leaning towards the non cine version.

Anyway, there seem to be different versions going around. One with a 'golden' logo and markings, the other one is more yellowsh. Also, one has UMC and the other one doesn't but both the colors seem to be used for either of them.
Anyone knows what is the difference? And which one is the latest / newest version?

See the difference:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Samyang_85mm_2684.jpg

http://3686.ru/uploads/samyang_85mm_f_14.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top