Rokinon 85M-C 85mm F1.4 Aspherical Fixed Lens for Canon (Black)

Purchased this lens a few weeks ago. Manual focus at f1.4 is difficult but the results are fantastic. At f4.0-f5.6 this lens gives a nice depth of field and much easier to get all in focus. I have this mounted on a Canon 40d and have compared photos from this and a friends Canon 85mm. The Rokinon is as sharp and I feel has a more pleasing bokeh. On a tripod with "live view" portrait shots are flawless, little to no post production. Great choice, great price. Ordering from Amazon easy as always. Update: Purchased and installed a focus confirm chip. Focusing hand held at f1.4 is now a breeze. This just became a favorite walk-around after installing the chip. The images at f1.4 are almost 3D like. Very happy with this lens. Update 2: Encountered no problems with the chip. Continued use has really made the manual focus more comfortable. Images taken at 1.4f have a totally different look to them. Very sharp with that creamy background. Even at 4.5f the images are sharp with a diffused background. Metering is off about 1/3 ev in bright sun, but correct when using external flash or pop up. Focus chip made the difference in acquiring focus in dim light.

The Rokinon 85mm f/1.4 lens is awesome. The quality of the lens is heavy duty. It feels good and solid. Apart from the lens, the cap really feels cheap, and replacing it is a must, I worried that the lens cap can wiggle itself loose and scratch the glass part of the lens. The hood is another thing that is crap, you can't put it on unless the cap is taken off, and it only goes in one way and it is not reversible. This lens is basically manual focus + aperture, there is no electrical contact with the camera. It does not know what aperture it is in, which makes it difficult for the camera's light metering. Somehow it falls between -2 stops or ev to -0EV. I usually start with -1EV. Its fun messing with the aperture, and watching the blades close and open up. A bad thing about using any manual focus, is that you have to manually focus yourself. Trying to focus with f/1.4 is a lot harder than I thought. I'm usually .25 to .5 of an inch off where I need to focus, and that enough to ruin the picture. I'm getting the focus screen ee-s hopefully it can help. I uploaded some pictures shot with canon 5d. enjoy! Update: 6/18/10 I got an Ee-S focus screen and highly recommend it. Focus ability has possible, it will take me 2-3 seconds to find a good focus on the subject. Even shooting at 1.4, focusing is no longer an issue. In fact, focusing becomes even easier than smaller aparture(a number higher than 2.8) because more light allow you to find a good focus and look at the details and sharp edges. Update: 7/26/10 I installed a AF-confirm chip and gotten results close to electronic focus. This thing now rocks. Good thing I didn't get the 1.8. Don't be afraid of Manual focus, in low light situation, you're gonna have to switch to manual focus anyway. Ee-s is a must with manual focus. Its $35 but you'll be glad that you have it. BTW with this lens, it encourage the photographer to shoot more in manual mode over AV mode, because with manual you can achieve more consistent results rather than relying on the meter to do the job for you. I'd say let the meter start you off, and then go from there. This lens also make walk-around a fun learning experience. Initially I thought about returning it for the canon 85mm 1.8 because without the Ee-S focus screen, this lens is close to impossible to work with. But after getting the Ee-S screen, I had so much fun with it that I decided to keep it instead. Definitely worth the money. The pictures are absolutely stunning.

The glass is not as good as Canon "L" lenses, but much better than the Canon "S" series. Focus is manual, but VERY smooth, and snug feeling, without the jerkiness in my canon lenses. Great for video work as a manual lens. Good enough for high quality portraits. A little bit of light shift in this lens left me slightly disappointed, but I still kept it! Noticed the red/blue shifts a little, noticeable where the sky meets a rooftop (see image) - but it is very minimal - cleaner image than my work Canon EF-85, 1.8, and for less money.

This is the best value portrait lens available today bar none. It is a fully manual lens. This is a lens for professionals and amateurs that have good focusing skills. If you have trouble focusing on a ,moving car, for example, do not buy this lens. This is made for full frame sensors. On a crop sensor this will be telephoto so be sure you have a lot of space. Pros: Great optics, lets in a lot of light, it is a true f1.4 (if not technically accurate it is closer than anything else in the price range). It has a real aperture ring that you can turn. Nice solid feel to the focus ring and large grip area. There is some wonderful intangible quality about the images from this lens. My best work is more often on this lens than any other. Cons: Chromatic aberration, e.g. purple fringing. Do not shoot at f1.4 unless you want an artsy look. At 1.6, 1.8, and f2.0 it gets more and more useable. It is a very heavy lens (as are most good lenses).

The quality of the optics on this lens is great for the price. It's very sharp in the center with minimal drop off towards the corners. As a portrait lens it is excellent. Take the time to learn to use this manual lens and you will be delighted with the results. The build quality is top notch and the focus ring (For me) has just the right amount of resistance and is very smooth. The all metal mount gives me an added sense of security and seems to be machined to fit my Canon 70D to perfection with no play at all when in place. Using live view may be advantageous to those new to a manual lens but over time you will get a feel for it and should be able to focus fairly quickly without LV. All in all a bargain at this price point and am very happy with it. If you are hesitant about using a manual lens this one is ideal and you will quickly become proficient with it.

It's not worth it. I have taken less than 25 shots with this lens. The problem it has is extremely common--the aperture sticks open after you take a shot. It might happen after one shot, or two, or seven. So suddenly you're shooting wide open instead of the aperture you manually selected. There are dozens and dozens of people with the same problem, some of them like me, are out of the range of warranty.

So. This review is going to be fairly similar to the other reviews, which should tell you how great this lens is! I'm a photographer (somewhere between amateur/hobbyist and professional), and I've had some experience with buying 'no-name' brand lenses instead of the Canon equivalent. This lens is amazing. If you're lazy and don't want to read all of this, here's the cliff notes version: If you're a portrait photographer who is used to or is willing to learn how to use manual lenses, buy this lens. If you're a casual photographer and can't live without autofocus, don't buy this lens. Or at least think about it before you do. That being said, here's the meat and potatoes. The Pros: - It's built like a tank. I wouldn't drop it or kick it around, but it feels very solid. Very little plastic involved in this lens. - The focus ring is very strudy. It is harder to turn than most other lens' focus rungs, but I prefer a stiffer one. This means it's easier to stay focused once you hit your critical focus. - 1.4 aperture. Need I say more? - The price. Sure, $300, isn't too cheap, but it sure beats the price of the Canon equivalent! The Con: - You get purple hues on harsh edges when you're shooting a bright image with lots of contrast. My advice? Shoot slightly underexposed. You can always correct that in post, and it's easier to brighten an image than to darken it. There are a lot of reviews on here saying that the lens hood and lens cap are complete rubbish. Those are somewhat true. The lens cap stayed on perfectly fine, and the lens hood did its job. I don't think you NEED to replace them, but if you're going to be using this lens a lot and swapping back and forth, it's probably worth the extra ten bucks to replace them. I bought the Zeikos ZE-UV72 72mm Multi-Coated UV Filter, and the Zeikos ZE-LC72 72mm Plastic Snap On Lens Cap (Black) off of Amazon, and they fit right on and do the trick! Together, they cost me about ten bucks. Worth it. Some people believe that since this lens is all manual (no electrical contact between the lens and camera), that this is a bad lens. They are wrong. You have to be willing to shoot in all manual mode, and you must learn how to use this lens before it will deliver great results for you. If you're a professional photographer, buy this lens. You won't regret it. If you're a casual shooter, you should probably think twice, as this lens will frustrate you without autofocus and no electrical contact. I used this lens primarily on one shoot, and things that I noticed that might help you make your decision on whether to buy it or not: The model I was with was somewhat impatient. With this lens, you have to take your time setting up. Use a tripod. Use live view to get your critical focus. Take a few shots. Take a few more. Change focus slightly and take a few more. Bring some sort of external monitor (laptop, iPad) to check your photos and make sure they're focused. Your model/subject will have to be patient if you're using this lens. So, for portrait photographers, this lens is amazing. For sports/action/casual photographers, this lens will frustrate you. So, in my opinion, you should buy this lens. Just make sure that it will work for your purposes. You can always try to rent this lens from somewhere (LensRentals.com is a great place for that). I hope this helps you guys out! Happy buying, and happy shooting! (pictures, that is).

I really can't recommend this lens to anyone unless you're shooting turtles in the daylight. The lens has a nice heft to it and it produces a nice bokeh when everything is going right. When using this lens you have to remember everything is manual. Manual focus, Manual speed, Manual aperture. On many occasions at a speed of 1/1000 and 1.4 my subject's eyes were not in focus even though its focused looking through my view finder. I had to shoot 3 extra shots just in case and by that time the moment is already gone. Also if you're shooting in a very dim environment you can forget about this lens, it will be too time consuming and the chances of focusing properly will be a problem. Bottom Line: If you're serious in your photos you'd want all the advantages working for you. However, If you want to practice manually focusing and having to control your shutter speed then this would be it. Heres my link to check out the quality on flickr: [...] Pros: Bokeh!!! Cons: Manual focus, Focus issue at 1.4,

Es un producto de muy buena calidad, el material es resistente, no se siente frágil, muy bueno en calidad/precio, da una calidad de imagen muy buena, su apertura de 1.4 es muy útil para tomas de noche y que sea manual es muy cómodo, el enfoque es muy suave. Lo recomiendo ampliamente.

So coming back to update my review. After putting probably 2k photos through this lens I am Inlove! Build quality is top notch. The aperture ring clicks into place smoothly with nice detents to lock it in place. The click feedback is nice. The focus ring is buttery smooth with imo the perfect resistance. Lens hood was very tight locking in position at first but it's worn in a bit and fits much better. The lens cap kind of drives me nuts in the sense the finger grips are angled in a way that when you pinch the locks to release the cap there is no grip on your fingers and it shoots off. Optics are insanely good! This is the best lens I've used in a long time. As long as you do your part focusing images come out tack sharp! The clarity, colors and exposure is amazing. Wide open the contrast is a bit weak and depending on lighting there is some pretty wicked chromatic aberations. However it seems the moment you come off of f1.4 it's exponentially better and by f2.8 the lens is a monster to shoot with. I read someone here say you cannot use a filter. That is not true, it has 72mm filter threads. I'm sure copy to copy vary with these lenses but if you're lucky enough to get one like mine you're in for a good time!

Antes de adquirir este producto leí muchas opiniones acerca de este lente. Todos estaban de acuerdo en que este tiene tiene la mejor relación entre costo / beneficio. Debo admitir que concuerdo con todo lo que se dice sobre él. Es un lente súper luminoso con el que se pueden lograr resultados espectaculares. Nota: No tiene autoenfoque y la apertura se fija manualmente con el lente. El modo de operación me recuerda a los lentes FD de Canon. Como siempre, el servicio de Amazon en la entrega de 5*

For the price it is one the optimal choices in pairing lenses. I love it so much. I havn't used it for video yet, but I will be soon. It's an enjoyable lens to be with. The focus pulls slow, however I like it as it's not too fast either so I don't miss my mark by being overly excited :) I've only used manual focus since I was 12, so it is a great lens for me! It's crisp and clear. There are some aberrations on the bokeh but I don't mind it at all..gives some pleasant textures. The pictures I took in an enclosed fireplace at around sunset (with clouded over skies that where snowing) light coming through a small window turned out fantastic for the location and given light. Here's an example: Yes it noisy but that is the camera settings I had it at and the post processing look I desired. [...]

The Rokinon 85mm F1.4 lens is a steal for its price, if you can handle it. Costing under $400 CAD, this is obviously a great deal given its optical quality and aperture. Under studio conditions, or with still subjects, the shallow DoF really produces beautiful images. Unfortunately, at this price there is always a catch. In this case, it's the lack of autofocus. Obviously, this is the main downside to this len, but if you've never tried manual focus before you will definetely be in for a surprise. When operating at F1.4, you'll find even when you feel like you're in focus, after review you'll find even if your focus is just a few centimeters too close or far away, it is a useless image. As for sharpness, the lens is crystal clear at f8, and the chromatic aberrations are slightly noticeable in the unfocused plain. Overall, the lens is fantastically built, but if you don't think you can handle manual focus, this lens is not for you.