Would you rather: Rokinon wide angle primes or canon 16-35L?

R

randomname

Well-known member
I'm in the process of putting together a set of Rokinon cine lenses, and while I'm really excited about them, I've heard less than stellar things about the 14mm and 24mm which got me thinking: would it be a better to just skip those two and buy the canon 16-35L lens? The advantages on the rokinon side would be much better ergonomics (gear built in, smoother focus pulls and hard stops) and more light at 24mm, but Canon offers better image quality, build quality and range. The price would be about the same. Are there any good comparisons between the two or has anyone tried all three?
 
The Samyang 85mm, 35mm and 8mm are top class, but the 14mm is not stellar, and the 24mm is kind of a lottery...
On the other hand the Canon is more expensive, and the focus ring may be an issue (I haven't used this lens in particular, so I'm not sure)

Will you be shooting full frame or APS-C?
 
If you are doing photography too, this is a reason to opt for the Canon because of Autofocus. Also, a zoom lens saves you the hassle of swapping lenses.
Apart from that, my personal experience with the Samyang 14mm f2.8 is very good. An excellent lens, almost a no brainer for the money.
 
The 24mm is very sharp once you hit F2.8. That said, having F2 and F1.4 is pretty nifty. :)
 
I am happy with the 14mm and 24mm, but maybe I got lucky. I had read there was a lot of distortion on the 24mm, but I have not been able to see it (even when shooting a grid like structure it seems fairly even). I wish the 14mm was a bit faster to match the rest of the set, and I wish they would hurry up and finish the 50mm to complete the set.
Cant beat the price.
 
14mm on a 5d is Extremely wide... Personally if shooting FF I would opt for the best Glass as you are basically using the whole lens as opposed to crop cameras where they are seeing mostly only through the center.
Honest opinion is get the new Sigma 35mm lens
http://www.amazon.com/Sigma-340101-...TF8&qid=1360288634&sr=8-1&keywords=sigma+35mm

If you need zooms I would stick to Canon L series lenses or Zeiss. I use Rokinon on My GH3 and Love them, but on a FF camera you will more than likely have soft corners..... Just one of the advantages of shooting crop cameras which I personally like better than FF.
 
The Rokinons were designed as FF lenses; not sure why they would be preferable on a cropped camera? The 14mm certainly is very wide on a FF camera (but then again thats the whole reason you buy a 14mm)! I really like that lens for photography too.

Edge softness when wide open is negligible; certainly as useable as other more expensive brands.
 
Roger Cicala from LensRentals is buying a DSLR for stills, and is bloggin extensively about his thought process. He puts forward the completely opposite argument: a better camera, with bigger sensor and more pixels, allows you to get better results with a lesser lens. He'd use average glass on a D800E, but he can only be pleased by the very best on his OM-D, and would have to go high-end on an APS-C body.
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/01/a-24-70mm-system-comparison
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/02/roger-buys-a-camera-system-screening
http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/02/roger-buys-a-camera-system-so-whats-this-going-to-cost
 
On a similar note, what do people with the rokinon set do for a 50mm. Is there anything that's fast, w/ hard stops and under $500 that matches the rokinons fairly well?
 
I've been shooting narrative with the 5D for 4 years and never felt the need for a 14mm lens. I have a 16mm fisheye I use to simulate a security camera, the widest regular lens I have is a 17mm Tokina AT-X pro which I use for POV shots. Unless you have a specific purpose you could probably skip the 14mm and spend the money on a 135 or 180mm. The Sigma 20mm f/1.8 is very good from f/2.8.
 
The 14mm is a speciality lens on the 5D as it is ultra wide, though there is a bit of distortion its a handy lens to have at that price. It looks great on a steadicam though (like running down a corridor for a horror POV). It must be quite good for car interior shots too, or mounted outside a car looking through the window.

I also find its pretty handy for photography work (especially interior shots for hotel rooms and that sort of thing, so long as there are not too many straight parallel lines).
 
Here's the Sigma 20mm f/1.8 on a 5D mounted to the side window.
20mm.jpg

Shane Hurlbut used an 18mm Zeiss for POV on Act of Valor, I use a 17mm Tokina.
 
randomname said:
On a similar note, what do people with the rokinon set do for a 50mm. Is there anything that's fast, w/ hard stops and under $500 that matches the rokinons fairly well?
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Come on man, there are plenty of options. First one that comes to mind are Nikkors. I guess you can just match them with color grading. I never really have problems with matching.
 
If this doesn't answer the original question, I don't know what will (edit: at least for the 14mm):
The Sony 16-35 f/2.8 lens was much like the Canon 16-35 f/2.8. OK, but clearly not competitive with the Nikon system. If I were to go with the Sony system, I’d really consider a RokiBowYang 14mm f/2.8 lens. It’s sharper and wider than the zoom, way less expensive, and at 14mm manual focusing wouldn’t really be an issue, especially with Sony’s peaking filters. For that matter, I might well consider it an option with the other systems, too.
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from here: http://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/02/roger-buys-a-camera-system-refining-my-choices
 
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