Incoming Rokinon 85mm 1.4 AE

I've been looking for at 85mm primes for an upcoming indoor concert. To that end, I've mostly looked at the f1.4 offerings: Nikon D, Nikon G, Sigma EX, and the Samyang/Rokinon/Bower/etc.

The local shop had the Nikon D for rent and the Simga EX for sale. They're both fantastic lenses, but a bit too spendy for me at the moment. I don't think I'd buy the D; most places want around $800 for it used and I can get the Sigma brand new for just a bit more. The Nikon G was tempting, but I refrained from even trying it because I knew the price point was well above what I'd consider spending given the quality and price of the Sigma entry.

In my endless hunt for bargains, the internet led me to the Rokinon group. I'm pretty used to manual focus lenses thanks to my 105mm Micro-Nikkor AI-S, another bargain-priced lens for the quality results it gives. Luckily, unlike our Canon and Sony counterparts, the Nikon group gets the option of the extra chip. I found one used from Amazon and decided to give it a shot. The lens shows up tomorrow, just in time for the concert tomorrow! We'll see how it goes!

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out. Bring a backup just in case though.

Let me know how it works for you. I'm a fan of their wide angle lenses but find them difficult to focus in low light. I blame that not on the lenses but on my advancing age and lack of manual focus practice.

I'll bring my 50mm 1.8D as backup. It won't reach quite as far, but it should still do just fine.

Well the lens arrived so I ran home, attached it, went back to work just in time for the Kona Ice truck to be parked out front! Here are a few quick shots I took; only editing is white balance correction and resized down quite a bit. Manual focus on still objects isn't too bad! We'll see how it works tonight!

On a side note, is there an easy way to attach images from my Nikonites gallery? I re-uploaded them to attach them in this post.

The concert was awesome! I've been stuck at work all day, so I haven't had the chance to go through last night's photos but a good number of them look pretty great on the preview screen.

Even with shooting wide open at f1.4, it was a very low-light scene nearly the entire time. I'm glad I shot in RAW; I should be able to get them usable. On the other hand, my 16gb card nearly ran out of space!

Isn't this a manual focus only lens? I've been wanting one but keep hearing that its manual only which is a slight turn off for me..

Pics look great though! I'm impressed!

eurotrash said:

Isn't this a manual focus only lens? I've been wanting one but keep hearing that its manual only which is a slight turn off for me..

Click to expand...

Yes, it's manual focus but it's an 85 1.4 for less than $300. You can't expect autofocus for that price. By comparison, the Nikon D version is $1000 and the AF-S IS $1700.
If you get a good copy, this lens is a steal at that price.

One more thing...buy the AE version and you get focus confirmation and metering.

I bought the AE (chipped) version. I highly, highly recommend spending the extra $30 for it. All Nikon bodies will give focus confirmation to manual lenses, but in addition to metering you can also use your thumb/forefinger wheel to adjust aperture rather than relying solely on the aperture ring. It is much, MUCH more convenient!

And yes, as mentioned above it is a manual-focus lens. So is a $1200 Zeiss 85mm 1.4.

Well, the lens was awesome. The 85mm really gives a lot of reach and being able to open to f/1.4 captured what little light there was at the venue!

I uploaded a bunch in low quality for social media stuff, but since photographers like our pixels I'll upload some higher quality ones.

In the mean time, enjoy a test shot of my cat and two of the shots from the concert.

Another couple of things I've been extremely impressed with this lens is its color rendition and sharpness. It is not a macro lens by any means, minimum 1m focus depth, but it is able to produce very sharp details when cropped in and the colors are fantastic.
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I'm impressed with the concert pics... very nice

I have been reading about that lens recently and it looks pretty good. I was wondering if they make wide angle lenses that fast and quality.

In addition to the 85, Samyang makes an excellent 14 2.8, 24 1.4, and a 35 1.4 with the 14 and 35 the best of the 3. Be sure to buy from a source that accepts returns and test the lens immediately as the Samyang/Rokinon/Bower etc. lenses don't have the QC as the big names.

B&H has a rebate on the Rokinon 35 1.4 right now which gets you the chipped verion for $389:

Rokinon 35mm f/1.4 Wide-Angle US UMC Aspherical Lens RK35MAF-N

I recently went on a short vacation to the beach so the better concert pictures have been delayed, but at least now I also have moonlit water reflection silhouettes to add to this lens' portfolio. It was absolutely perfect! The lack of autofocus may have actually been a bonus because manual lenses tend to have much nicer focus rings.

The 35mm 1.4 from this company is full-on awesome. I've tried it at the local shop (Vivitar version) and it is amazing; every bit as good as the 85 I have. The Vivitar version has the added bonus of being cosmetically styled the same as my Rokinon 85mm. It doesn't make any actual difference, but it's nice having matching glass.

I haven't bought the 35 1.4 though though because my Nikkor 1.8 covers my fast 35 needs on this crop sensor body. If I had a full frame camera, it would be an instant purchase.